Italian man wins 3,100-mile ultramarathon after 43 days of running

Andrea Marcato averaged 114K per day for six weeks to win the arduous race in Salzburg, Austria

On Monday, Italy‘s Andrea Marcato won the 2020 Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3,100-Mile Race in Salzburg, Austria. Marcato was one of five runners entered in the 4,988K run, and he took the win after 43 days and 12 hours of running. This was his first time running the 3,100-miler, and according to the event website, he became the fastest first-time runner in the race’s history. He is also just the fifth person to finish the race in fewer than 44 days.

Sri Chinmoy race

The Sri Chinmoy 3,100-miler is normally held from June to August in New York City, but due to COVID-19, organizers had to find a new venue. They ultimately decided to relocate to Salzburg, where the race started on September 13. In past years, the race has had very limited fields of 10 to 15 runners, but this year the group was even smaller, and just five men were chosen to run. Marcato was joined by Ireland’s Nirbhasa Magee, Slovakian Ananda-Lahari Zuscin, Milan Javornicky of the Czech Republic and Ushika Muckenhumer, who got the chance to race in his home town of Salzburg. Of the five men, all but Marcato and Javornicky had run the 3,100-mile race before, but Marcato’s winning time is days quicker than the PBs of his competitors.

Runners in the Sri Chinmoy ultra have 52 days to complete the run, which means they have to run at least 96K per day to make it to the finish line before the cutoff. A daily race schedule makes things even more difficult for runners, since they may only run from 6 a.m. until midnight each day. This mandatory rest period of six hours per day is certainly helpful for the athletes, but not being allowed to run as often as one would like certainly adds to the pressure of meeting that daily quota of 96K, because once midnight hits, runners can’t make up for lost time until the next morning.

Marcato’s big win

Marcato won the race handily, and his competitors are still on the course in a battle for second place. As if running 4,988K wasn’t enough, shortly after he crossed the line for the win, Marcato got back on his feet and continued to run until he hit 5,000K. As reported on the race website, Marcato ran the first 1,000 miles (1,609K) of the race in 14 days, five hours, which is an Italian record. He ran his second 1,000-mile stretch even quicker, covering the distance (and re-setting the national record) in 14 days, one hour, and he closed his third and final round of 1,000 miles even faster, posting an amazing 13 days, 23 hours. While Marcato has had a couple of days to rest, the remaining four men are still running, and they have less than a week to complete their races before the 52-day cutoff.

posted Monday November 2nd
by Running Magazine