Background:

Yiannis Kouros’ 24-Hour Record of 303.306 KM /188.68 Miles From 1997 Is The Greatest Ultramarathon World Record

In 2019, Let's Run surveyed all ultramarathon records and found nothing that compares to Yiannis Kouros’ performances in 24-hour events. His record of 303 km from 22 years earlier seemed unbreakable.

Top 24-Hour Runs In History in Km source

  303.306 Yiannis Kouros  Adelaide     1997 track
  295.030 Yiannis Kouros  Canberra     1997 track
  294.104 Yiannis Kouros  Coburg       1996 track
  290.221 Yiannis Kouros  Basel        1998 road
  286.463 Yiannis Kouros  New York     1985 road
  285.362 Yiannis Kouros  Surgeres     1995 track
  285.002 Yiannis Kouros  Surgeres     1996 track
  284.853 Yiannis Kouros  New York     1984 road
  284.070 Yiannis Kouros  Soochow      2002 track 
  283.600 Yiannis Kouros  Montauban    1985 track
  282.981 Yiannis Kouros  Coburg       1995 track
  282.282 Denis Zhalybin  St Peterburg 2006 road

In April 2021, Lithuania’s Aleksandr Sorokin set a new world record of 100 miles in 11:14:56 at the Centurion Running Track 100 Mile in England.

In an interview, Sorokin explained how he got started running long distances.

In my youth, my sport was kayaking. I had good results, but I got injured and decided to end my sports career. Then alcohol, cigarettes, and a lot of food began. My weight became about 100 kilograms [220 pounds]. One day I said to myself, Enough! You have to do something about this. I quit drinking and smoking, and I started running. That was April of 2012. I even ran a half marathon! Once I saw a piece of paper on the ground, an invitation to race 100 kilometers. I decided it was a challenge to myself. I decided to run 100 kilometers. And from there this story began.

The pandemic interrupted his job as a casino dealer, allowing him to increase his training to about 260 kilometers (155 miles) per week.

During the event, his crew handed him a note indicating that he was in reach of the 12-hour world record, with 46 minutes left to cover 8 km.

"My first thoughts were: Why? No! I don’t want to! I’m tired enough already. But then I thought, Forty-five minutes, eight kilometers. I’d better do it now that I am here."

He continuted and set world records for both 12 hours and 150 kilometers.

iRunFar: How do you feel now that the race is over? Do you feel satisfied with your performance?

Sorokin: Oh yeah! This is exactly the word that I feel: satisfaction!

iRunFar: What else do you plan to race this year? Will you return to defend your title at the IAU 24-Hour World Championships in October?

Sorokin: Yes, I plan to be at the 24-hour world championships. But I don’t plan any other races for the year...

But the IAU 24H World Championship in Romania was cancelled. Sorokin ran the 2021 UltraPark Weekend 24 Hour race in Poland on August 28/29, where he broke the Yiannis Kouros world record, running 309.400 kilometers (192.252 miles), an average pace of 4:39 minutes per kilometer (7:29 minutes per mile) for 24 hours.

Let's Run then published a 2019 interview with Kouros that had been delayed by vision problems "as he had been busy welding iron as he worked on his house."

"There is no logic in this sport and using Western minded settings usually become a disaster. You have to take advantage of your feelings at races and be more secured at trainings."

"When I did my studies in music and literature I was sleeping about 30’ per 24h, because I wanted to give my best and finish as soon as possible. Before that, when I was building my house in Greece and at the same time I had to be trained for races I used to sleep about two and a half hour per 24h. Now I sleep between 4-6 hours."

Other news:

New women’s half marathon world record run by 22-year-old Yalemzerf Yehualaw of Ethiopia at the Antrim Coast Half Marathon in Northern Ireland on Sunday in 1:03:44.

Courtney Dauwalter set a women’s course record of 22:30:54 at Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc.

Eliud Kipchoge: “After leaving the marathon, I want to run the ultramarathons just to feel how it is.”