American ultramarathoner Zach Miller has sparked controversy over his water use during the 2023 World Trail Running and Mountaineering Championships (WMTRC) in Innsbruck, Stubaital.
Miller poured water on himself at the water station.
Miller competed for the US team in the 86km trail race on June 9. The 1988-born runner had a poor start and was only sixth when he reached the water area.
There, he poured four bottles of water over his head and threw the plastic containers to the ground, to the laughter of volunteers and a little girl. Miller then opened a bottle of water to drink, then went to a large water bucket on the right corner, scooped up several buckets of water, poured it over himself, and continued competing.
According to Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo , Miller did not violate any written rules of the 2023 WMTRC, but he "touched" some unwritten rules of the sport and affected the staff and athletes participating in the tournament. Using drinking water to cool down and throwing water bottles on the ground affected the competition conditions, forced volunteers to pick them up and put athletes who arrived later at risk of not having water to drink.
On Twitter , many people criticized Miller for disrespecting the sport, the country he represents, the volunteers, the opponents and the environment. Some even called for the US athlete to be banned from the next few tournaments.
The moment that brought criticism to Miller.
Many American fans, on the other hand, saw nothing serious in Miller's behavior and even blamed the volunteers for not notifying them that there was a bucket of water in the right corner. One of those defending Miller was celebrity coach and podcaster Jason Koop, who tweeted : "Imagine criticizing a guy who has been taking care of the Pike National Forest for years, including cleaning it, living in a trailer, and will give you his shirt for four plastic bottles."
Miller finished the 86km race on June 9 in sixth place with a time of 10 hours 15 minutes 45 seconds, 22 minutes 46 seconds slower than French runner Benjamin Roubiol. The remaining two positions in the top three belonged to Italian Andreas Reitererrer (10 hours 0 minutes 46 seconds) and Slovakian Peter Frano (10 hours 2 minutes 10 seconds).
Miller grew up in rural Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, wandering the hills because he didn’t want to stay indoors. He ran cross country in high school and at Rochester Institute of Technology, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering. His turning point came in 2013, when his high school coach convinced him to enter the JFK 50, the oldest ultramarathon in the country, and won.
At Barr Camp, the hostel Miller shares with his sister and brother-in-law, along with some 25,000 hikers each year, he spends his days chopping wood, cooking spaghetti dinners, and washing dishes. In the evenings, Miller runs up or down the mountain, regardless of the weather. The training plan is consistent with Miller’s minimalist lifestyle, as he is one of the few professional distance runners who eschews GPS tracking devices, preferring to rely on his senses and his innate sense of direction and pacing.
Ultrarunner Miller is known for his unique living arrangements and long-distance running. He lived on a cruise ship in his early 20s and now lives in a cabin halfway up Colorado's Pike's Peak, at an elevation of 10,200 feet.
Miller won both JFK in 2013 and Lake Sonoma in 2014—both 50-mile races—while living on a cruise ship, training on treadmills, in stairwells, and in ports of call on six different continents. In 2015, he became the first American to win the iconic CCC 101-kilometer race in Chamonix, France. Since then, he’s won the Madeira Island Ultra Trail in Portugal, The North Face 50 in California (both 2015 and 2016), and twice finished in the top 10 at the prestigious Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc 170K.
Hong Duy
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