Runner Camille Herron sets 160 km record – distance is said to be 200 meters too short

Camille Herron
Runner sets 160-kilometer world record – then the distance is said to have been 200 meters too short

Camille Herron ran the 100 miles (160 kilometers) faster than any woman before her. But her record could not count – because of a few hundred meters.

Running a hundred miles is no special feat for Camille Herron. The 40-year-old American has already covered completely different distances than the equivalent of 160 kilometers, in a 24-hour race she once covered a total of 270 kilometers. But what the ultra runner achieved in February was a special achievement for her too: she ran the 100 miles in 12 hours, 41 minutes and eleven seconds.

A world record she set at the Jackpot Ultra Running Festival in the US state of Nevada. She even left all male competitors behind and distanced the second by more than half an hour. And that despite difficult conditions: “It was hilly, so you had to climb. There were no trees, the heat was one of the biggest challenges,” she told the “New York Times”. A few months later, however, the shock came: her world record, which is even found in the printed Guinness Book of Records, could not count.

Camille Herron is said to have missed exactly 218 meters

The US athletics association USATF had remeasured the route and came to the conclusion that it was too short. Herron did not run 100, but only 99.3 miles. Strictly speaking, 716 feet, i.e. 218 meters, should have been too little. An almost ridiculous distance given the total distance – but enough not to officially recognize the world record.

Camille Herron’s disappointment is great. “I definitely want it to count as a world record because I put my heart and soul into this competition,” she told US broadcaster CNN. “It was a historic moment for the sport.” The organizers cannot understand the complaints of the association either. The route was officially measured and certified by the athletics association in the run-up to the run, with a length of exactly 100.00396 miles.

World record is “extensively reviewed”

It is still unclear whether Herron will be awarded the world record or not. The association has announced that the case will be “extensively and thoroughly reviewed by experts”, and then a decision should be made. If the record is not recognized, she wants to keep trying, but also says: “It’s 100 miles. It’s not like I can just get back on my feet quickly and try again. I need time to get used to it recover to aim for a world record.”

Camille Herron does not have to grieve too much if the decision is not in her favour: The previous world record was also in her hands, even if she was almost a minute and a half slower.

Sources: “New York Times” / CNN / Camille Herron on Instagram

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