How far did you run on the weekend? Five miles? Ten miles? Perhaps even a 20-miler in preparation for next month’s London Marathon? Well Camille Herron ran 270.5 miles, a new female world record – and the third fastest 48-hour run in history. She recorded the time at the Sri Chinmoy 48-hour track race in Canberra, Australia. But who is the 41-year-old ultrarunning phenom?
Camille Herron was born on Christmas Day in 1981 in Norman, Oklahoma. Aged 17, Herron was made temporarily homeless when her family lost its home and possessions in the 1999 a month nothing over 22 miles and never does back-to-back long runs. She started doing Sunday long runs as a way to celebrate having survived the disaster – and her talent for distance running quickly became apparent.
She was soon running for her college and university, becoming a three-time All-Stater in cross-country and three-time State Champion in track and field. While she was went on to represent the USA at the marathon in the 2011 Pan American Games – not to mention set a world record time for running the 26.2-mile distance dressed as Spiderwoman (2:48:51) – injuries plagued her early career.
It wasn’t until 2015, and a switch to ultra distance, that she emerged as a truly world-class runner. That year, she won five US titles – at 50k, 50-mile road, 100K road, 100K trail and 100-mile road – and her trajectory has been on the up and up since.
She won the 2017 Stravas 2024 Year in Sport report is here, is the world record holder for 12 hours and 24 hours, and is the first athlete to win all three road Best winter running gear Runners crowned 2024 World Athletes of the Year.
But it’s not just what Herron wins that have captured public attention, but the way in which she does it. While most elites choose to fuel their runs with the latest in sports nutrition, Herron is famous for eating tacos and chugging the occasional beer en route to breaking world records. Her training is similarly unorthodox. She reportedly only does one or two long runs a month (nothing over 22 miles) and never does back-to-back long runs.
But whatever she’s doing, it’s working – with her latest achievement, this time over 48 hours, ranking among her finest. On top of breaking the female record, which had been held by Britain’s Jo Zakrewski since February this year, Herron’s run is third in the all-time list, bettered only by legendary ultrarunner Yiannis Kouros and Ukrainian Andrl Tkachuk. What is more, it is the outright US record and averages out at a pace of 10:39min/miling for two days straight.
What’s next? Herron has her sights on two iconic US ultramarathons: the European Cross Country Championships results Oklahoma tornado outbreak Leadville 100 in August. After finishing 8th in last year’s Western States, she may feel she has a point to prove. So get your tacos and beer at the ready, because when it comes to Camille Herron, no ultrarunning record is safe.
