American marathoner Charlie Lawrence set a world record by running 50 miles (80.5 km) in 4 hours 48 minutes 21 seconds at Tunnel Hill in Vienna, Illinois.
Lawrence's time was nearly two minutes faster than the previous record set by UTMB champion Jim Walmsley in 2019 in California.
On Tunnel Hill on November 11, Lawrence started cautiously, picking up speed as he approached the 28-mile mark. The 28-year-old completed the 50-mile course in 4 hours, 48 minutes, 21 seconds, clocking a 3:35 pace. He achieved his pre-race goal, which he posted on social media, of breaking the 50-mile record and hitting a 3:35 pace.
Lawrence before crossing the finish line with a world record 50-mile run. Photo: Bare Performance Nutrition
Lawrence is a professional marathoner. He qualified for the U.S. marathon qualifying for Paris 2024 in October at the McKirdy Micro Marathon in Rockland, New York, where he equaled a personal best (PB) of 2 hours 16 minutes 10 seconds.
In an interview with semi-professional runner Michael Brandt on Instagram , Lawrence revealed that he wanted to become a professional runner since first grade. "I watched a cross-country race and told my parents that I wanted to win and I was going to win that race," the American athlete said. "For me, the hardest thing about being a professional runner is not to overtrain."
The Tunnel Hill 50 and 100 miles are unique races, with both road and trail classifications. The race’s trail and road courses are sanctioned by the USATF, meaning runners can break records in both distances. Legendary American ultrarunner Camille broke the women’s 100-mile (160.9 km) record in 2017 with a time of 12 hours, 42 minutes, 40 seconds.
Tunnel Hill's course is unpaved, and is certified as a trail race by both the American Trail Runners Association and the International Trail Runners Association. In 2018, American Zach Bitter ran 100 miles in 12 hours, 8 minutes, 36 seconds, a world best on an unpaved surface.
In addition to Lawrence's record, the women's 50-mile record was broken by American Polina Hodnette, who ran a time of 5:54:14. This is also the fourth fastest 50-mile time in North American history. The 100-mile also saw Bitter's record broken by Sweden's Elov Olsson, who ran a time of 11:26:19.
Hong Duy
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