Michael Wardian runs 2:29 indoor marathon days before Barkley Marathons

Chris Zablocki and Laura Manninen set new world bests in the indoor marathon at the Armory in New York City on Saturday.

Michael Wardian
March 25, 2017
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Two new world bests in the indoor marathon were set on Saturday at the Armory in New York City.

RELATED: Gary Robbins won’t settle for anything less than a finish at the Barkley Marathons.

Though not officially recognized as an IAAF record, Chris Zablocki set a new world best in the 211-lap race running 2:21:47 taking eight seconds off the previous best. The New York Road Runners, the organizers of the NYC Half and the TCS New York City Marathon, among other events, put on the Armory’s NYC Indoor Marathon World Record Challenge. Meanwhile, Espoo, Finland’s Laura Manninen improved the women’s indoor marathon world best to 2:42:31.

Zablocki ran 13 marathons in 13 months prior to competing at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Los Angeles last February.

Back in fourth, Michael Wardian ran 2:29:46 just weeks after completing the World Marathon Challenge, which entails completing seven marathons in seven days on seven continents. On 16 hours of sleep the entire week, Wardian averaged an incredible 2:45 setting a world record for the combination race challenge.

Wardian, who resides in Arlington, Va., will race the Barkley Marathons beginning March 31-April 1 in Frozen Head State Park, Tenn. The 100-plus-mile event is considered the toughest footrace in the world and must be completed within 60 hours, 12 hours for each of the course’s five loops. There, Canadian Gary Robbins will join Wardian in their quest to add to the short list of 14 finishers who have managed to complete the Barkley Marathons. No Canadian has ever completed the ultramarathon.

Results from the NYC Indoor Marathon can be found here.

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