What a woman! Camille Herron made history in the ultramarathon
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The 37-year-old American Camille Herron is full of amazing stories in her extensive sports career, including running for 24 hours
It is clear that Camille Herron she is not an ordinary athlete. This, because no athlete on average could complete 655 laps and a half on the track for 24 hours and also break two world records in parallel.
Leer en español: ¡Qué mujer! Camille Herron hizo historia en la ultramaratón
T13 from Chile highlights the work of Herron, who last December, again, showed her competitive ability with a journey of 262 kilometers in 24 hours in which she also completed 100 miles (equivalent to 160.9 kilometers) of the Desert Solstice Invitational in 13 hours and 25 minutes.
The Desert Solstice Invitational is an event that takes place in Arizona, United States, during the winter solstice, and in this competition, Herron ran up to eight kilometers more than the man who finished second, according to T13.
You may be interested in reading: What are the most challenging marathons in the world?
Who is this 'super' woman?
Herron is a long-distance American runner native of Oklahoma City. In her outstanding resume as an athlete, there are several world records at ultra-marathon distances (marathons with different motifs and modalities), the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon with a superhero costume.
In addition to that, Herron won the Comrade Marathon in 2017. On December 25, our protagonist today arrived at 37 years of age. Camille measures 1.77 but barely weighs 54 kilos, she also resides in Oklahoma City, and her trainer, Conor Holt, is also her partner according to information provided by her website CamilleHerron.com.
Extraordinary athlete
BBC World ensures that the levels of resistance of Herron have no limits, since an average marathoner would be in agony when running a quarter of the distance she covered, but Herron did not even feel pain.
Herron told the prestigious British media: "I had seven stress fractures when I was young but I did not know my bones were broken," says the woman, who celebrated her 37th birthday on Christmas day, "I did not think the pain was so bad".
When she was 23, Camille barely covered 112 kilometers a week, but with the help of her husband Conor, she went further than him in their first race together. From there, she won 21 marathons. In 2015, she left behind the mark of the best ultramarathon runner of all time, Ann Trason, in the 100 kilometers and said: "the impetus told me that maybe I should continue in this," she says.
An unforgettable competition
Herron decided to overcome the limits of her body in 2018, running on average from four to six ultramarathons in the year. Therefore, in the Desert Invitational Solstice, she was among the 30 athletes who could choose to run more than 161 kilometers, do it without stopping for 24 hours or do both simultaneously on a 400-meter track located in Phoenix.
"It was the furthest thing I had come to and I had to make it to the idea to do it in 24 hours, which meant running at night and solving other problems that you do not face when you travel shorter distances, you go through a period in which your body wants to sleep, it was an unknown adventure for me", Herron explained in a statement compiled by T13 of Chile.
The new experience hit Herron, who before the sun came up, felt like she couldn't resist anymore, but she already had a contingency plan ready. This one was directed to the menu of his favorite fast-food restaurant: Coca Cola, ginger beer, water, and sports drinks stood out in their hydration.
"We decided that if I got to that point, I would try to get more substance in. In fact, my assistants went to Taco Bell and bought me some double tacos and beer, I felt like a zombie, like I was in a trance. First time running that distance and I felt as if my mind had taken over my legs", she said according to TL13.
For years, the legs and head of Camille Herron look like perfect exams because of their incredible resistance. At the age of 36, the US ultra-marathon runner set the women's 24-hour record by running 262 kilometers and 192 meters on a 400-meter track, which she gave 650 laps.
New record and down the men!
Herron also completed her first 100 miles in 13 hours and 25 minutes, which also meant a women's track record at the Desert Solstice Invitational in Phoenix, United States.
The test in which Camille broke the records had 33 participants, it was in parallel a qualifier for the national team of the United States, said Athletes.info. There were 650 laps in which she maintained a race pace of 5m29s/km, which knocked down the mark of the Polish Patrycja Bereznowska, regards to the 24 hours.
As you can imagine, Herron had to be very well prepared with her personal implements and in fact, she used three shoes instead of one.
Herron fainted exhausted at the end of the long journey of 24 hours and she even had to be transported in a wheelchair: "It was the most exciting thing: to triumph in a highly competitive male field, I feel as if I were on the moon past, "he said at the time to BBC World.
At the same medium he added, "really it came to the mind imposing the body and feel that the farther forward, be more egalitarian in terms of the possibility that women trounce men."
Finally, Herron believes that the day that the Ultramarathon becomes an Olympic sport is not too far away and that the Olympic Games are the next step for this specialty to earn respect internationally.
LatinAmerican Post | Onofre Zambrano
Translated from "¡Qué mujer! Camille Herron hizo historia en la ultramaratón"
