Viktoria Brown smashes 72-hour world record

Viktoria Brown is doing exactly what she planned: attempting to beat the women’s six-day world record, and annihilating all the other multi-day records on her way there. Brown is in her fourth day at the Six Days in the Dome race in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She has already broken her own Canadian records for both the 48-hour (353.86 kilometres) and 72-hour events, and set a new 72-hour female world record with 467 kilometres (pending ratification).

The Whitby, Ont. native has been a top contender in ultrarunning in the past several years. In February, she set the current 72-hour world record at the Jackpot Ultra Festival in Henderson, Nevada. She also previously held both the Canadian 12-hour and 100-mile records, which were bested several weeks ago by Amanda Nelson, also of Ont., at Survivorfest, a 24-hour race in Edmonton.

An accomplished world-ranked triathlete, Brown ran her first ultra in 2020 at That Dam Hill. She decided to jump into the race only after all her other races that season were cancelled, and not only won the race outright but set the course record and a new women’s Canadian soil record (210 km at that time). Both of those records have now been taken by Nelson, but Brown has been working towards the six-day goal for several years.

Brown has has made no secret of the fact that she’s going after the world six-day record in this event. The athlete took to Instagram ask: “Will we see the longest standing women’s road-running world record fall?” She shared her top three goals, including taking the woman’s world record of 884 km, and if that doesn’t prove attainable, attempting to beat the Canadian women’s six-day record, at 731 km.

“Of course I have very high expectations as usual,” Brown wrote. “If all else fails I would like to go for the full six days no matter the distance. I just want to be out there on the track up until the last bell rings signalling the end of the race.” At last year’s Six Days in the Dome event, Brown struggled with an asthma attack and a leg issue, and ended up dropping out (albeit with several records) just after 72 hours. “My biggest challenges will be handling my asthma and potential injuries,” she acknowledged on Instagram.

Six Days in the Dome is an annual event at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, Wis. The entire race takes place around an indoor 443-metre track, and participants can sign up either to run the 24-hour, 48-hour, or 6-day race.