The “Extra Mile Endurathon” is sort of a bizarre event. There’s one taking place in Boulder right now, I just checked it out, so thought I’d share – – – A group of people start walking. The group must stay together, walk at the same speed, and at pre-determined intervals they all stop together for a 10 minute break. This goes on for DAYS, until only one person is left standing, and he or she must walk one more mile (thus the name), and is declared the winner.
When I saw them, the Boulder contingent had been walking for 73 straight hours, around a 4 mile loop in downtown Boulder. I saw two TV crews filming them, and then an article in the local paper. They plan on breaking the world record (in this particular event) of 102 hours. 13 walkers began the event, and relatively quickly (36 hours) 10 dropped out, leaving a distinct group of 3 who are very committed and experienced. This group is:
Ulli Kamm – famed ultrawalker (and Director of this event), Ulli is 60 years old and has done 229 ultras including 10 Hardrock 100 finishes – all without running a step.- Glen Turner – a long time ultra runner, this spring Glen “zoomed” (trotted in a Flintstones-like cart) across the US in 37 days.
- Debbie Richmeier – I don’t know much about Debbie, but she looked as rested as the other two.
Sound whacked? Well, aren’t we all? Or are we? You be the judge! Please post a Comment below; it would be fun to hear what others think. Here are my observations:
They all looked quite relaxed and happy- Unlike running, one can eat and drink as much as one wants and still walk
- Also unlike running, one tends not to sustain injuries or even blisters while walking
- A key aspect of this is teamwork – they say the point is to support each other to walk as far as they can rather than compete.
It’s unclear what will happen at Midnight Tuesday, which is when the new world record would be reached – it appears all three of them will hold on that long, and rather than attempt to walk each other into the ground, they may just call it good enough and draw straws to decide who will walk the “extra mile”.
Tags: Endurathon, Ulli Kamm
Adventure Running 
June 3, 2008 at 5:16 am |
No doubt a challenging accomplishment. I noted, however, that the Daily Camera reported that Richmeier broke the record for the longest a female has continued walking when she surpassed the previous record of 40 hours. I’m surprised that record is so low. I’ve personally walked/run/trekked more than 40 hours straight during adventure races. Last year, I did a race where a team from Singapore took 53 hours to complete one trekking leg (my team took about 45 hours) and they didn’t stop, so I’d think the female on their team would have had the record back then. I guess it’s all about reporting the feat. I’m glad Richmeier has far surpassed the 40 hour mark to achieve the 70+ hour mark. That’s a long time to be on your dogs!
June 3, 2008 at 5:28 am |
Good point Jenifer; probably numerous women have walked further. That’s why I wrote: “They plan on breaking the world record (in this particular event) …”. I was mainly impressed that no one was sick or had blisters!
June 3, 2008 at 5:18 pm |
They sound crazy. I like crazy people.
June 3, 2008 at 5:39 pm |
After work today I took a stroll on the bike path and saw the 3 walkers after 4 days of walking. They looked really good. Ulli looked fresh.
This is a cool event. I read the book “The Long Walk” and loved it…couldn’t put it down.
June 4, 2008 at 4:57 pm |
UPDATE – From the Daily Camera:
“Three determined athletes in Boulder broke the world record for endurance walking together early this morning when they stopped their 103-hour trek at the Lazy Dog Sports Bar & Grill, 1346 Pearl St., and had a beer.”
“We finished at 103 hours,” Kamm said. “We did what we had planned to do.”
“According to the rules, to win the top prize of $1,000, the last walker must go an extra mile after the second-to-last person drops out. Boulder’s last three walkers decided to stop together and split the prize money.”
“That’s how we wanted to do it,” Kamm said. “After burning all those hours together and fighting together, it would not have been nice if one person stopped and another went a half hour longer.”
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/jun/04/boulder-walkers-break-world-record/
June 9, 2008 at 12:17 am |
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