Runner Camille Herron has held the women's world record for 100-mile run since 2017. That record only lasted five years, though, because at the 100-mile Championships in Nevada on Friday, Herron broke her own record. The 40-year-old runner finished the race in 12 hours 41 minutes 11 seconds, which is about an average of 7:37 minutes per mile.
That was good enough to beat her previous record of 12:42:40 by just under a minute and half. It's an impressive feat, to say the least.
Faster as a Master 🤠🙌! The Jackpot 100/ @usatf Championship was a great way to start my career as a Master’s runner 🎉🎽.
— Camille Herron (@runcamille) February 19, 2022
Overall winner
50-mile WR for 40-44 in 6:08:24
12 Hour WR in 94.5 miles/152.83km
100 Mile WR 12:41:11 (7:37 per mi/4:44 per km)https://t.co/dbBQCy37qj pic.twitter.com/YpLJHZ6Fa1
This was her first race as a Masters racer in the age range of 40-44 and she tweeted about kicking off the status with a bang. Along with breaking her own world record, she broke the 50-mile record for her age group. Herron also finished about 30 minutes ahead of the male winner, Arlen Glick, who clocked in with a time of 13:10:25.
Herron reflected on the race and how far she has come since 2021, when she landed in fourth place.
"What a difference a year makes ... I came back healthy, humbled, hungry to redeem myself, and [ready] to let the magic come out," Herron told BBC Sport.
To train for a 100-mile run is no easy task and, in the past, Herron had been no stranger to the feeling of hitting a brick wall in the middle of her runs. Back in 2018, Herron had a unique way of fixing that zombie-like feeling runners experience after so many laps: Taco Bell. Yes, she actually ate food from that fast food joint during races back then.
Moving forward, Herron has said she hopes to become an ultrarunner at the Olympics, but the issue there is that ultrarunning is not currently an Olympic sport. It remains to be seen if it will be by the time Paris hosts the Summer Olympics in 2024.
