Good Sports: Madera man aims for record in race through 7 continents

MADERA, Calif. (KFSN) -- A small pistachio farm in Christian Johnson's backyard is the training course for something unimaginable to most.

"I'm going to be doing a 50k, so an ultra marathon, in every continent in seven consecutive days," he said.

That's 31 miles a day, seven days and seven continents. Christian will be the first man to ever do it.

He's run races all around the globe, but on a typical day, it's back and forth through his family orchards in Madera.

"We actually hand-planted all these pistachios as a family," he said. "It took us way longer than it should have, but it was a fantastic experience."

It's also what Christian describes as perfect terrain for world-record prep.

"We've got wood shavings everywhere -- little bumps, ups and downs, so it's not a flat surface, so it actually helps working the ankles and the stability muscles a little bit," he said.

It will take Christian through extremes, with the first leg beginning in Antarctica.

"We're going to be running on snow pack, but still depending on the conditions, it could be really forgiving and you might lose a little bit of your push off," he said.

From there -- it's a run in South Africa. Then, a trip to the western edge of Australia.

Abu Dhabi checks off Asia. Then, he's on to Portugal in Europe.

A midnight race in Colombia beats the South American heat, and the week that would set a world record ends in Miami.

"There's no doubt that I'll be able to do it," Christian said.

Christian is also motivated by his grandpa, who was diagnosed with parkinson's disease four years ago.

He literally follows in his footsteps of his grandpa's, who walks the same pistachio grove to keep the disease from robbing his movement.

"The record's cool, but bringing awareness to Parkinson's is cooler," Christian said.

Christian is raising money for the Michael J Fox Foundation, one of the largest non-profits for Parkinson's research. It's a small tribute to one of his biggest supporters.

"I became an athlete, did all these different races, started to build myself as an athlete and was always there to support me, so he means a lot to me for sure," he said.

As Christian pushes toward the finish line in Florida, he'll know his grandpa is also staying the course.

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