U.S. ultrarunner Candice Burt runs a 32-mile ultra every day for 200 days
The ultrarunner and race director capped off a months-long streak, shattering the previous world record of 23 days
Photo by:
Mikey Brown
U.S. ultrarunner Candice Burt of Boulder, Colo. has reached her goal of running an ultramarathon every day for 200 days, a streak that shatters the previous world record of 23 consecutive days of ultrarunning.
Day 200 / 6,436 miles / 32 miles a day
“I’m pretty tired… I think I’ll go home now” —Forrest Gump pic.twitter.com/XNTdUaDT5f
— Candice (@runcandice) May 24, 2023
On Tuesday, the 41-year-old capped off the colossal feat she began on Nov. 5, running her final consecutive daily distance of at least 50 km surrounded by friends and supporters in Boulder. She shared the occasion with the huge social media following she has built during the streak with a video showing her crossing a makeshift finish line with the message: “Day 200/6,436 miles/32 miles a day—’I’m pretty tired… I think I’ll go home now’ —Forrest Gump.”
Although Burt‘s streak—which saw her run a total distance of 10,357.74 km—has ended, she’s taking a slow, cautious approach to easing off her mileage. She ran a marathon on her first day off, and completed more than 32 km on her run Thursday. She said that while she’s been feeling good on her post-record runs, the tapering process has helped her tune in to just how taxing it is to run 200 ultras in 200 days. “I’m slowly feeling a bit more,” she tweeted after Thursday’s run. “I don’t have much fatigue running even 20 miles, but as I taper off the world record, part of me seems to be allowing myself to think, ‘my legs feel tried today’ instead of having to box that up and file it away.”
Day 150 / 4,836 miles / 32 miles a day
A fitting celebration of Day 150 was an almost entirely night run starting just after midnight. Other than the sleep deprivation, running at night is great because you don’t have to deal with cars or people and the desert comes alive… pic.twitter.com/W9UfcLbirg
— Candice (@runcandice) April 3, 2023
The mother of two had established herself as an accomplished ultrarunner well before setting out on her record attempt. She set the unsupported fastest known time (FKT) on the 170-mile Tahoe Rim Trail and won various ultramarathons including the Delirious West 200-miler in Australia and the Ultra Fiord 100-miler in Chile.
Day 100 / 3,236 miles / 32 miles a day I’ve learned through this streak to celebrate every day. Running 100 ultramarathons in 100 days I realized each day is a gift. Each finish is a gift. No run we do is any different, but we downplay the significance of our daily routine. pic.twitter.com/z1GXOEXZA7
— Candice (@runcandice) February 13, 2023
Burt, who is also the race director for popular ultras including the Moab 240 and Bigfoot 200, wrote in January that she set out on her latest ultra challenge without a clear target, but knowing that she wanted to try to surpass the previous record of 22 days by a wide margin. (During Burt’s streak, Megan Cassidy of Kissimmee, Fla., nudged the record up after completing a 23-day streak.)
Record breaking day complete 🐆 including bobcat sighting! (I’m still streakin’ but fun milestone) pic.twitter.com/bQDmZ3s8M6
— Candice (@runcandice) November 28, 2022
“From the very start of considering the streak I just wanted to be open to doing it for as long as my body would hold up,” she wrote. I wasn’t sure if that would even be the record-breaking 23 days, but I wanted to try. In my head, my goal was MUCH, MUCH bigger than 23.”
“Most of all, though, I wanted to do this level of running, this insane volume, to satiate my curiosity. See what I was capable of. See how my body adapts. Or if it can adapt.”
Burt has submitted documentation to the Guinness World Records to have her record verified.
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