Another day another marathon.

Wardian consistent again with 2:45. Interestingly, Vabrousek slows significantly from prior efforts down to 3:19 while Ryan Hall goes from 3:41 the day prior to a 3:05.

Two to go. Wardian averaging 2:45 over first 5, and his Antarctica time remains faster than anyone elses best on any other day. Insane to the membrane.

6 down, 1 to go. Brutally hot and windy in Dubai, apparently.

Vabrousek in a tight battle for 2nd. Top 5 guys all under the former record average for all 7.

Still shocked that Ryan Hall has not dropped out. Seems that's all he could do the last couple of years. I would love to see a 1-2 hour TV package of all of this.

Michael Wardian is not human. Crazy what he is doing, day after day.

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Jason
None of the secrets of success will work unless you do.

Runners started their final marathon at Manly Beach in Sydney at 1am this morning. I saw some of the tail-enders finishing when I arrived for my morning swim just before 6am.

How could someone not back Wardian to win this?

A specialist ultramarathon runner with a long and consistent performance history including a couple of podium finishes at the World 100km, vs pro triathlete with a bucket-load of IM finishes but a low mileage trainer.

It about backing up and running well, mile after mile, day after day. That's what top ultra runners do, both in races and in training.

I had an interesting chat to the organiser after my swim. The logistics (and cost) is staggering.

They use a private jet for much of it, complete with business class seats which flatten out to allow runners to have a (reasonably) decent sleep.

Not sure it's my cup of tea....spend $70k, travel the world, see relatively little of it. :-(

As good as that is, I'd actually have bet on Ryan Hall in his prime (not now). I'd bet a 2:45 marathon, even in tough conditions, is not a particularly hard effort for a sub 2:10 marathoner at their prime. But I could be wrong!

I don't know how a 2:05 marathoner performs in 7 straight marathons operating on little sleep mostly on airplanes. But, the Ryan Hall of today topped off the week with a 5:15 marathon for 3rd to last place. Could a current 2:10 marathoner average better than 2:45 over 7 like this? Maybe. Could the world's best ultra runner (Wardian is not) average better than 2:45 over 7? Maybe. But, no one has ever come close to what Wardian just did, though of course, very few have tried.

I wouldn't say no one has ever come close.

All credit to Wardian, but there has definitely been multiday ultra performances that would have to be considered more impressive.

Sorry, my "no one has ever come close" is in regards to 7 marathons, 7 days, 7 continents only. The previous record was 3:32 average, 47 minutes per marathon slower. I am making no attempt at comparing this effort to different ultra efforts, of which, obviously, there are many insanely impressive achievements, and of which I am no expert.

What is not to be overlooked here is the voluminous travel that occurred during this week. Chartered plane or not, that is a lot of airport time and airplane time.

Also noteworthy is that Wardian ran an extra 15 miles after he finished Sydney (with other runners still in progress) in order to get his first ever 200 mile week.

Yes, fair comment. An athlete can only beat who is there and the times of those who have gone before.

The 7/7/7 is a niche event and Wardian has now given us a glimpse of what is possible for a very good runner. All credit to him.

Mainstream media.


https://www.facebook.com/...eos/684860528360387/

They would need to offer up some pretty good prize money to get a 2;05 or so(current) to do a race like this. As impressive as the new record is and the guy that set it, there are dozens of runners who routinely run 150 to 180 mile weeks, averaging below 6 minute pace too. Of course that is in a cozy home running out your door, so a whole different sport when you throw in that kind of travel inbetween each one. But there are some guys that run these marathon a day workouts that run 2;05+ who would not mind the travel and would do quite well I would assume. But it is such a big undertaking that it would take someone paying them good money to do it, not for shits and giggles like the current fields.

To me Wardian's times are like Dave Scott doing that first 8;30 Kona. It was super impressive and we all thought we were close to the limit. But of course they began to pay prize money and guys focused on this one race, and now we are looking for a sub 8 hour there for the men. I see a 2;30 average for the 7/7/7 well within reach of todays athletes, but of course they have to actually have enough incentive to go and do it.

And just maybe Wardian is the Dave Scott of this sport, taking on all comers as the time drops and dropping his times too, no way to know until high mileage elite marathoners take up the challenge.

I'm assuming that the top guys didn't need to pay anything to do this? Someone above mentioned that it was 70k!

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I'm assuming that the top guys didn't need to pay anything to do this? Someone above mentioned that it was 70k!


I saw somewhere that the entry fee was $36k? Not sure what that included, but even that is high. And I don't know what to tell you, what does it cost to train for a year, go to lots of races(without any prize money), with very little sponsorship, and then race in Hawaii. And all along you have to pay your full freight to just about everything. That is what the environment was like when Dave and myself were challenging the top tier of triathlon performance. More than the 36k entry fee, but less than 80k I would guess?


We won steak dinners, running shoes, and in one instance a set of snow skis!!!!! We pushed out the limits pretty far without much compensation, just for the love of the sport and the lifestyle. Compensation came later, and unfortunately for Dave, mostly after his career was over. I would guess that Wardian is in somewhat the same boat as pro triathletes of the 80's were, some money here and there, but still sleeping on a lot of couches and crashing at friends and fans houses, with some sponsor support.

I saw somewhere that the entry fee was $36k? Not sure what that included, but even that is high.

The price for the 2018 race is 36,500 Euro ($38,500 US as of today). It includes the flights from one race to the next and cold-weather clothing for the marathon in Antarctica. It doesn't include the flight to the start and from the finish home. That would put the cost about $40,000 U.S.

Wardian had to dip into his own pockets to help expense this. Hoka, Tmobile (owner is a rabid running fan) and a few other sponsors closed most of the gap for him but he spent a little of his own money (per himself).

Probably a worthwhile investment though because he was featured on ESPN, Sportscenter, tons of other media, etc. He essentially spent a couple grand for millions of impressions...that my friends is good bang for your buck.

So sad to see Ryan Hall leave running though. Dude is all class. He and Sara passed me a half back in July or so. I was struggling running a high 1:13 and I kept seeing Sara closing the gap and then the two of them flew by me with a mile left and it was effortless for the two of them. Spoke with them both afterwards and was just stunned at how down to earth/humble they were. Truly an incredible couple.

Will always have a soft spot for Ryan, he was my idol went I started running in college.

Still can't believe these dudes ran a 180 mile week at the times they did it in. Makes my mileage seem like child's play.

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