Ultra-endurance world record for Merijn Geerts
Merijn Geerts has run 603 kilometres in 90 hours in an extreme race. The Belgian athlete has therefore beaten the world record in this exceptional discipline.
This extraordinary feat was achieved at the Race of the Champions - Backyard Masters in Rettert, Germany. The principle of such a race is quite simple. The 24 participants at the start must complete a 6.7 km course in less than an hour. There is a new start every hour for all those who finished the previous lap within the time limit. The race only ends when there is just one competitor left.
After almost four days of racing with almost no interruptions, the Belgian athlete was the last man standing. Merijn Geerts could finally raise his arms to the sky. Not only was the 47-year-old from Ghent the only person to complete a 90th lap, he also beat the previous record of 85 laps.
Merijn Geerts ran a total of 74 hours 38 minutes 50 seconds to complete the 90 laps with an average of 49.05 minutes per 6.7 km lap. His fastest lap was completed in 40.42 minutes and the slowest in 55.08 minutes.
This is a true ultra-endurance feat that follows in the footsteps of other recent Belgian performances, such as that of Matthieu Bonne in the extreme triathlon.