- By Caila Ball Running a marathon: impressive. Running an ultra marathon: incredible. Running four ultra marathons, each 250 kilometers (155 miles) in uniquely challenging desert terrain, in one year: that’s a level of physical and mental fitness most people can’t even imagine. Samantha Gash is one of less than 30 people in the world who doesn’t have to imagine this experience, because she lived it first hand. Gash was the first female and youngest person to complete RacingThePlanet’s Four Deserts Grand Slam in one calendar year. She ran four consecutive 250km ultramarathons; one in the driest (Atacama Desert in Chile), one in the windiest (Gobi Desert in China), one in the hottest (Sahara Desert in Egypt) and one in the coldest (Antarctica) desert on earth. A true symbol of determination and perseverance, Samantha Gash is a National Crusader for the League of Extraordinary Women, and featured in the new movie, Desert Runners, which chronicles this 2010 accomplishment. Whether you...