Michael Wardian Sets US 50k Road Championship Record

A quick shout out to fellow Arlingtonian, Michael Wardian, who set the US 50k Road Championship record this weekend at […]

By on March 4, 2008 | Comments

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.]

Bryon Powell

Bryon Powell is the Founding Editor of iRunFar. He’s been writing about trail running, ultrarunning, and running gear for more than 15 years. Aside from iRunFar, he’s authored the books Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons and Where the Road Ends: A Guide to Trail Running, been a contributing editor at Trail Runner magazine, written for publications including Outside, Sierra, and Running Times, and coached ultrarunners of all abilities. Based in Silverton, Colorado, Bryon is an avid trail runner and ultrarunner who competes in events from the Hardrock 100 Mile just out his front door to races long and short around the world, that is, when he’s not fly fishing or tending to his garden.