A 26-year-old making his race debut has won an utterly insane 160km cross-country foot race in the US.
Adam Peterman won the Western States 100 mile race in California in a record 15:13.47 at an average pace of 5.43sec/km.
The elapsed time also includes several stoppages through the race – brief medical exams, meals, and toilet breaks – to make it even more insane.
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The race follows the Western States Trail – a hiking trail that climbs more than 5km, and descends more than 7km, and includes a river crossing.
It’s regarded as the leading race of its kind.
Peterman – who has now won five ultra-marathons – told the race livestream at the finish line he didn’t think he was a chance early in the race.
“I felt so bad at the beginning – at mile like 4-15 I thought ‘this is a bad day for me’ – I had all these negative thoughts,” he said.
It wasn’t until he caught up with another runner and found a stride that his fortunes started to turn.
Peterman took the lead with about 40km left to go, and streaked away to win by a half-hour. As he approached the finish line, he somehow still had enough energy to stir the crowd.
“You never know what’s going to happen over 100 miles so I just tried to run my own race and I hoped that would make me podium at the end,” he said.
“It worked – I felt like I was within myself the whole time. I couldn’t imagine pushing myself that whole race. It’s so long, so you have to run within yourself.
Kiwi Ruth Croft was first woman home, finishing in 17:21.30 – the third-fastest time ever recorded by a woman. She finished 12th overall.
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