Canada’s Calum Neff breaks Marine Corps Marathon’s 50K course record

Canada’s Calum Neff smashed the 50K course record at the Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, Va., on Sunday—a race he says was a training run for a longer ultra event next month.

Neff, who is based in Houston, Texas, ran the Marine Corps Marathon 50K course in two hours, 55 minutes and 56 seconds, beating the previous course record of 3:05:45 held by U.S. ultrarunner Chris Raulli by 10 minutes.

The first male runner, Calum Neff, has crossed the finish line of the 48th Marine Corps Marathon 50k with a unofficial time of 02:55:56. #MarineCorpsMarathon, #USMC #RunwiththeMarines pic.twitter.com/gf0jkH2ELf

— Marine Corps Base Quantico🇺🇸 (@MCB_Quantico) October 29, 2023

It was Neff’s first time competing in the Marine Corps Marathon, which marked its 48th year on the weekend, but as Neff told NBC News, it wasn’t his first time racing the 50K distance. “I’ve raced quite a few 50Ks,” said Neff. “I’ve competed at the 2019 ultrarunning world championships for Team Canada and broke the Canadian 50K national record during the pandemic.”

Elite pacer weighs in on Ruth Chepngetich’s performance in Chicago

Neff ran the previous Canadian 50K record of 2:51:27 in Houston in 2019, before Chris Balestrini of London, Ont. eclipsed his mark in 2021 (2:48:32).

Even though Neff shattered the 50K course record, Neff told local news that the race was actually a training run for the upcoming JFK 50-miler trail race on Nov. 18. 

Neff was born in Scotland to Canadian parents and has competed for Team Canada at multiple World Mountain Running Championships. He is also well-known for his world-class pacing skills, helping Keira D’Amato set the American marathon record at the 2022 Houston Marathon.