SPRINGFIELD, Mo. 17-year-old Calix Fattmann is about to be one of the youngest people in the world to run 100 marathons. 

Saturday was his 99th race right here in Springfield, at “Run for the Ranch.”

“I’ve always wanted to hold a record of some kind for running,” Calix Fattmann said, “not exactly fast enough to go for those records for speed, but if I can do this, then that’s something.”

Calix tells me who inspired him to start running.

“My dad,” Calix said, “I got interested in running when I was like four, my dad just take me to the college track at Mizzou because he would run laps while training for like a marathon or some kind of running event. And apparently, I would see him and want to run laps with him.”

“I think kind of how he got started, is I raised him by myself since he was 7 months old, and I would take him to the gym where I would be working out, he was two years old, he wanted to run an indoor track with me,” said Ken Fattmann, Calix’s father.

Ken said he’s extremely proud of Calix’s accomplishments starting at a young age. 

“I did my first 5k when I was five, and then when I turned ten, I said I wanted to do my first 10k that year, I didn’t do that, I went straight for the half marathon,” Calix explained.

“He was like that tall,” gestured Ken, “so, he started training for it and he ran his first half marathon at ten.”

“And I did 52 half-marathons that year because I liked it so much, I just, I wanted to keep going, and then I wanted to do a marathon soon after that, but I wasn’t old enough yet, so I waited until I was 12 and a half, and then once I finally could do it, I guess I got hooked,” Calix said.

Other runners are also proud of him.

“It’s awesome,” said Ed Geren, another runner at the marathon, “I mean it’s just a great accomplishment, just to be able to recover and do that many races is really a great accomplishment.”

Calix’s 100th marathon will be in Texas next week.

“It feels amazing,” Calix said, “it’s something that no one else can say and that’s really cool. So, it’s something to put on the college resume I guess.”

“Very proud of him,” said Ken, “and I think it just shows that he can really do anything he sticks his mind to, whether he decides to stick with marathoning or go on to other things, he wants to do triathlons now, anything he determines to do, he’ll do.”