The world of ultramarathon running is relatively niche and few everyday runners are plugged into the ultramarathon scene.
With that said, superstar American ultramarathon runner Camille Herron has become nearly a household name among regular marathon runners, including those who never dream of running a single step more than the regular 26.2-mile marathon.
Indeed, Camille Herron has been an ultramarathon icon for years at this point, with an incredible career to her name.
Her latest entry has just been added to the record books: 41-year-old Herron has now set a brand new 48-hour running world record at the 2023 Sri Chinmoy 48 Hour Festival in Bruce, Australia.
The 2023 Sri Chinmoy 48 Hour Festival ran from 10:00 AM on March 24, 2023, to 10:00 AM on March 26, 2023, and was set up as a loop course on a track, seeing runners complete as many laps of the 0.4 km route as possible during that time.
Herron’s official distance is still to be confirmed, but she passed the 435.2-kilometer (270.4 miles) mark (1088 laps of the ultramarathon course) with 47 seconds remaining in the 48-hour time clock (passing this distance at 47:59:13).
In terms of pace, this means that Herron averaged a bit more than 9 kilometers per hour (6:40 per kilometer) or 5.6 miles per hour (10:39 per mile).
Plus, her actual average moving pace was faster because she took several breaks along the way.
Herron reportedly rested for about 40 minutes after 24 hours had elapsed, and just took a handful of additional 8-10 minute breaks during the 48-hour ultramarathon.
The previous 48-hour ultramarathon world record was set just last month, in February 2023, at the 2023 Taipei Ultramarathon where UK runner Jo Zakrzewski covered an impressive 411.458 km, or 255.668 miles in 48 hours.
Although Herron’s new world record distance has yet to be officially confirmed at the time of this news release, based on the fact that she passed the 435.2-kilometer (270.4 miles) mark at 47:59:13, Herron surpassed the previous 48-hour running world record by about 24 kilometers or 15 miles.
In fact, she passed the previous 48-hour running world record distance (411.458 kilometers) (255.668 miles) after about 45 hours and 8 minutes of run time.
According to the timing system employed at the 2023 Sri Chinmoy 48 Hour Festival in Australia and social media posts, Herron ran the first 100 kilometers (62 miles) in about 8 hours, and 50 minutes, and passed the 100-mile (161 kilometers) mark around 14 hours and 41 minutes.
At the halfway point—24 hours into the ultramarathon—Herron had covered more than 238 kilometers (148.5 miles).
She crossed the 200-mile (322 kilometers) checkpoint after 33 hours and 35 minutes.
It goes without saying that Herron beat the previous 48-hour U.S. women’s record en route to smashing the world record.
The previous record, set in 2020, was held by Marisa Lizak, who covered 391.87 kilometers (243.5 miles) in 48 hours.
Camille Herron’s new 48-hour running world record also beat the still-standing men’s U.S. record of 421.9395 kilometers (262.1811 miles), which was set back in 2017 by Olivier Leblond.
With this performance, Herron adds to her list of world-record ultra performances, including the world record in the 50 mile ultramarathon, 100 mile ultramarathon, and 24-hour running world record.
World Athletics will ratify the official world record distance for her 48-hour ultra. For now, the record is pending.
You can find the full results of the 2023 Sri Chinmoy 48 Hour Festival here.
Camille also has a personal website where you can keep up with her adventures and accomplishments.
