Remember last year when Dean Karnazes was running his 50 Marathons in 50 days, in 50 states event? He even went on to win an Espy for his efforts. At the time, there was a big media blitz, put on by sponsor The North Face and we all kind of sat back and watched Dean do his thing.
Well, Brad Alsop is looking to put Dean to shame. He intends to run 131 marathons in 131 days. Brad started his endeavor on July 4th and will run a marathon, 26.2 miles, every day until Veteran’s Day, which is November 11th. While he’s not running in 131, or even 50 states, he is running to raise money for the Semper Fi Fund which has been established to aid United States Marines injured in combat.
The 37 year-old Alsop lives in Louisville, Kentucky and makes his daily marathon run through Iroquois Park in that city. He starts in the heat of the day, usually around noon, because he says that the Marines have to go to work in the heat of Iraq and Afghanistan. On average, it takes him about 3 hours and 50 minutes to complete his marathon, but his fastest time to date is 3 hours 14 minutes. Not bad times all things considered, especially when he’s not taking the typical “rest days” that most long distance runners take.
Hopefully Brad will stay healthy, he’s currently nursing an injured shin, and he can complete his goal. I respect the cause he is running for, and the effort is amazing. Hopefully we’ll hear more about this as he makes progress.
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You should write about these guys who are running +70miles a day, +50 days in a row.
http://www.srichinmoyraces.org/3100/about3100
But this is done by doing laps. 5649 laps of a .5488 of a mile course (883 meters).
Actually it’s 60.7 miles per day. http://www.srichinmoyraces.org/3100/about3100
Eleventh Annual Self-Transcendence 3,100 Mile Race
Wonder what this lap-course is, some kind of dirt or road circle? 5649 laps? 3100 miles of laps? This doesn’t seem to compare to any long trail or road race, over new and challenging terrain, no circles.
Either way you slice it, it IS a lot of miles. Even if it’s done on a closed track environment, but you’re right, it’s not the same as running on a road or dirt trail.
The impressive thing about Karnaze’s runs were that they were all done in different states each day. His course was always different and he had to deal with traveling too.
this isnt the most extreme distance thing ever done, you are all right there. im not for sure if anyone is familiar with the weather in ky but it is as hot and humid here as it is on the gulf and in fl. it is miserable, and to the think the guy is running a marathon at noon each day…you have to admit it is impressive.
Oh yeah, the heat and humidity takes it’s tool. I made the mistake of going for a run this past Saturday in the middle of the afternoon here in Texas. 106 degree heat index and three miles later I was beat.
Let’s not forget Sam Thompson who did 51 marathons in 51 days BEFORE Dean did it.
Of course, none of them did it juggling. Maybe that’s next.
LOL! Yeah, don’t they call it “Joggaling” or something like that? I’ve actually seen someone who does that. There are also a few people who have done 7 marathons, in 7 days, on 7 continents as well.
In this day and age though, the endurance athlete doesn’t get a whole lot of press, so anything they can do to generate buzz I suppose.
Paul Staso ran an average of 30 miles per day for 108 days across America in 2006 ALONE… pushing a 65 pound jogging stroller. See details at http://www.pacerun.com. Yes, Dean is good – but there are many guys like Paul who run amazing distances for some very good reasons. In Paul’s case, his 3,260 mile journey was simply to keep a promise to some school kids!
Dean is a great runner, don’t get me wrong. I respect the guy a lot, but he’s become the face of ultrarunning, when there are plenty of others doing amazing things as well. He’s got a good marketing machine behind him as well.
But yeah, there are some great runners out there doing some impressive endurance events that don’t get nearly as much coverage as they deserve.