Lucy Edwards quickly realised her usual diet of porridge, hummus and peanut M&Ms would not sustain her for a month of back-to-back marathons.

The Christchurch woman is running 400 kilometres in 17 cities of 13 climate change-affected countries. It's a feat she hopes will raise awareness and spark discussion about "the single biggest challenge facing our generation".

Inspired by erosion and refugees in Kiribati, forest fires in Portugal, heatwaves in Germany and hurricanes in Miami; Edwards, 29, said her passion for nature and exercise compelled her to take action by fundraising for Generation Zero, a youth-led organisation aimed at mitigating climate change in the South Pacific.

SUPPLIED She is most looking forward to the runs in Fiji and Kiribati.

Her trip, which kicked off in France on November 16, would take her to Germany, Kosovo, the United Kingdom, Austria, Italy, Portugal, America, Mexico, Canada and Kiribati, before she laced her sneakers for the final time to run alongside friends in Auckland on December 16.

READ MORE: The blood, sweat and tears behind Christchurch's hardcore endurance athletes

She planned to run 19 half marathons – and a few 10.5 kilometre runs – leaving her free days for long-haul travel between events.

SUPPLIED She spends most days travelling to a new destination, dropping off her gear, mapping out the route then running and writing.

"I recall comedian Eddie Izzard – who completed 27 marathons in 27 days – taking an unscheduled rest day on day five, resulting in him having to complete a double marathon on his final day. I am really hoping nothing like that happens to me."

Despite fracturing her foot just over a month before embarking on the trip, 10 days in and seven countries down, she said it had been a "challenging", but amazing, journey so far.

"Future generations may not be able to run along the coast, jump in the local lakes or bike through the forests – activities that we often take for granted. There is this lingering idea that [climate change] is not happening now.

"As people cannot see the effects day-to-day, it is easy to put it on the backburner," Edwards said.

Growing up in an athletic family, Edwards' parents were keen runners and she spent many hours at the finish line of their events, but for the environmental lawyer it was not love at first step.

"I remember I used to hate it. Running long distances as fast as you can is surely not an enjoyable experience for anyone [but] when you are exposed to something like that for long enough you grow to enjoy it.

"By the time I finish, I will probably be fit enough to do another one – ironic as I am fairly sure I will never want to run again."

Edwards wanted the project to have "a bit of shock value" to draw attention to the gruelling challenge, so the idea of the long-distance runs was born. She endeavoured to reduce the carbon emissions by offsetting the emissions from her flights.

"Although not a permanent fix, flying was an unavoidable consequence of this project and I hope that the message spread and the stories told will outweigh the carbon cost."