Camille Herron breaks men’s course record at Texas trail marathon

U.S. ultrarunner Camille Herron broke the men’s course record at a trail marathon in Texas over the weekend, confidently capping off her last long-distance race ahead of the 100-mille Western States Endurance Run at the end of the month.

Herron finished Saturday’s 42.2-km race at the Texas Trail Running Festival in 3:49:47, beating the men’s course record by 1:41 and the women’s course record by almost 29 minutes. She completed the four-loop course at the Grelle Recreation Area trail system in Spicewood, Texas, more than 40 minutes before this year’s top men’s finisher and more than an hour before the marathon’s second-place women’s finisher. There were 10 runners in the women’s category of this year’s race and 57 competitors overall.

 

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Herron proudly displayed her first-place prize—a bird feeder in the shape of a Texas Longhorn—in social media posts over the weekend. “It was a great course and good prep for Western States,” Herron wrote. “I won a really sweet bird house. Thank you @trejatrails for putting on a fun event.”

Herron, who lives in Oklahoma, wrote that it had been a few years since she’d run in Texas and that it was good to be back: “They have a great trail community—I’ll have to come back for more.”

Amid the many congratulations posted in her Instagram feed, Herron was asked if Saturday’s race will be her final long run before Western States, which kicks off in California’s Olympic Valley on June 24. “Yep,” she replied, “ready to roll.”

A “roll” is exactly what Herron has been on at events large and small in 2023. The runner, who has set world records in 50-mile, 100-mile, 100-kilometre, 12-hour and 24-hour events,  set the 48-hour women’s world record in Canberra, Australia in March by running 435.336km. If she’s to add to her impressive string of ultrarunning records at this year’s Western States, Herron will have to best the 16:47:19 run by Vancouver’s Ellie Greenwood in 2012. Herron cracked the top 10 in the women’s field at last year’s Western States, running 18:51:54 to place eighth.

Looking beyond Western States, Herron will be among 10 women athletes to compete in Lululemon’s recently announced Further six-day ultramarathon next March.

She noted she’ll also need to fit hanging a birdfeeder into her busy schedule, and that she’s curious to see who flocks to her newest racing trophy. “Can’t wait to see who becomes our new neighbour.”