A quick shout out to fellow Arlingtonian, Michael Wardian, who set the US 50k Road Championship record this weekend at the US National 50 championships in Camusett State Park, NY. Iron Mike broke the existing 27 year old record by 49 seconds with a time of 2:55:05. In the process, Mike also broke ultra-speedster, Greg Crowther’s Camusett course record set just last year by 9 and a half minutes!?
Alex Tilson holds the official American 50k record at 2:51:48 (5:32/mile!) set in 2002. La Sportiva team member, Chuck Smead, STILL holds the unofficial (though well respected) record of 2:50:46 from way in 1976. In March 2002, just eight months before Tilson’s run, the American UltraRunning Ass’n published The Strange Story of the American 50K Road Record – a piece well worth reading.
[Final paragraph expanded for detail and clarity 3/4/08 5:45 p.m.]
