West Jutland man runs 1 km for every World Cup goal scored

A West Jutland man has run 292 kilometres since the start of the football World Cup, covering one kilometre for every goal scored in the tournament, DR reports.

Asbjørn Højris Schmidt from Holstebro took on the challenge after stumbling upon the idea in an ultrarunning group on Instagram. Though he admits he is no ultrarunner—his only marathon was a decade ago—he embraced the task for the excitement.

“There have been evenings when I went to bed hoping for 0-0 results,” he said.

The toughest stretch came early in the tournament, when multiple group-stage matches were played daily. On one of those days, he ran 19 kilometres after putting his children to bed and falling asleep himself, forcing a late-night effort.

So far, he has counted only goals scored in regular and extra time, excluding penalty shootouts. With three matches remaining, he hopes the tournament reaches 300 goals—matching 300 kilometres. He may add penalty shootout goals as extra distance once the World Cup concludes.

Asked if he might extend the challenge to the upcoming Danish Superliga season or the Women’s European Handball Championship, he laughed: “That would probably be a bit too much for my level.”