I read an article in a newspaper today about a guy, Park Barner, who said he ran 162-plus miles in 24 hours back in 1979.
"I was one of the best ultramarathoners in the world."
I was just wondering if anyone ever heard of this guy, or if you think he is a little full of it. I'm not sure what the world record is for 24 hours, but 162 miles seems like a lot of distance covered in 24 hours.
He would run 50 milers and marathons on back to back days and stuff like that. He was like DK but faster and more humble. BTW I think the 24 hour record is 188 miles.
Hell of a ultra runner. You boy Park is very well know and very legit! Distances below are in Km's.
All-Time Performances- 24 Hour Outdoor Track
World Men
303.306 ( 1) Yiannis Kouros (AUS) 13 Feb 1956 04 Oct 1997 Adelaide AUS
295.030 ( 1) Yiannis Kouros- 2 13 Feb 1956 01 Mar 1997 Canberra AUS
294.104 ( 1) Yiannis Kouros- 3 13 Feb 1956 13 Apr 1996 Coberg AUS
285.362 ( 1) Yiannis Kouros- 4 13 Feb 1956 06 May 1995 Sugeres FRA
285.002x ( 1) Yiannis Kouros- 5 13 Feb 1956 03 May 1996 Sugeres FRA
284.070 ( 1) Yiannis Kouros- 6 13 Feb 1956 02 Mar 2002 Soochow TPE
283.600x ( 1) Yiannis Kouros- 7 13 Feb 1956 15 Mar 1985 Montauban FRA
282.981 ( 1) Yiannis Kouros- 8 13 Feb 1956 08 Apr 1995 Coberg AUS
280.469 ( 1) Yiannis Kouros- 9 13 Feb 1956 04 Aug 1990 Melbourne AUS
275.982 ( 1) Anatoliy Kruglikov (RUS) 09 Oct 1957 24 Jun 1995 Podolsk RUS
10
275.828 ( 1) Yiannis Kouros- 10 13 Feb 1956 22 Sep 2001 Verona ITA
275.357 ( 1) Yiannis Kouros- 11 13 Feb 1956 09 May 1997 Surgeres FRA
274.480 ( 1) Dave Dowdle (GBR) 19 Nov 1954 22 May 1982 Gloucester ENG
273.828 ( 1) Valmir Nunes (BRA) 16 Jan 1964 10 Mar 2003 Soochow TPE
272.624 ( 1) Jean-Gilles Boussiquet (FRA) 26 Jul 1944 02 May 1981 Lausanne SUI
272.619 ( 2) Eduard Khirov (RUS) 17 Jul 1961 24 Jun 1995 Podolsk RUS
271.750 ( 1) Masayuki Otaki (JPN) 05 Jun 1965 27 Mar 2004 Soochow TPE
271.200 ( 1) Anatoliy Kruglikov- 2 09 Oct 1957 27 Aug 1994 Podolsk RUS
270.337 ( 2) Lubomir Hrmo (SVK) 25 Feb 1961 22 Sep 2001 Verona ITA
270.224 ( 1) Yiannis Kouros- 12 13 Feb 1956 28 May 2004 Surgeres FRA
20
270.200 ( 1) Valmir Nunes- 2 16 Jan 1964 25 May 2002 Campinas BRA
268.975 ( 2) Eduard Khirov- 2 17 Jul 1961 27 Aug 1994 Podolsk RUS
268.251 ( 1) Donald Ritchie (SCO) 06 Jul 1944 26 Oct 1991 Hendon ENG
267.510 ( 1) Yiannis Kouros- 13 13 Feb 1956 02 May 2003 Surgeres FRA
267.088 ( 3) Ivan Labutin (RUS) 20 Mar 1959 24 Jun 1995 Podolsk RUS
266.275 ( 2) Ryoichi Sekiya (JPN) 27 Dec 1956 02 Mar 2002 Soochow TPE
266.180 ( 1) Yiannis Kouros- 14 13 Feb 1956 13 Apr 1997 Coburg AUS
265.932 ( 1) Rae Clark (CA/USA) 07 Feb 1952 28 Sep 1990 Portland OR USA
265.683 ( 1) Yiannis Kouros- 15 13 Feb 1956 23 Sep 2000 Verona ITA
264.410 ( 1) Ryoichi Sekiya- 2 27 Dec 1956 04 Apr 2005 Taipei TPE
30
264.400 ( 3) Mikhail Eremisov (RUS) 1961 27 Aug 1994 Podolsk RUS
264.108 ( 1) Jean-Gilles Boussiquet- 2 26 Jul 1944 11 Aug 1980 Blackburn ENG
263.466 ( 1) Mark Pickard (ENG) 08 Mar 1960 10 Oct 1981 Hendon ENG
262.790 ( 1) Valeriy Goubar (UKR) 05 Jul 1948 Oct 1988 Odessa UKR
262.668 ( 1) Yiannis Kouros- 16 13 Feb 1956 02 Jul 1984 New York NY USA
262.640 ( 1) Rune Larsson (SWE) 11 May 1956 12 Jul 1986 Honefoss NOR
262.324 ( 1) Yiannis Kouros- 17 13 Feb 1956 22 Sep 1989 Verona ITA
262.324 ( 1) Yiannis Kouros- 18 13 Feb 1956 25 Sep 1999 Verona ITA
262.238 ( 1) Seiji Arita (JPN) 25 Jan 1957 09 Oct 1994 Arcueil FRA
261.640 ( 2) Ryoichi Sekiya- 3 27 Dec 1956 10 Mar 2003 Soochow TPE
40
261.478 ( 1) Yiannis Kouros- 19 13 Feb 1956 03 May 2002 Sugeres FRA
261.204 ( 1) Park Barner (PA/USA) 13 Jan 1944 01 Jun 1979 Huntington Beach CA USA
Did the Yiannis guy ever run a regular marathon for time? 188 miles in 24 hours is no joke....makes DK look like a bum. What is that 740 pace?
Thanks for all the info.
He sure was a great ultra runner.
DK is one of the nicest, most humble men I have ever met. A true gentleman. I can't understand why everyone bashes the guy.
Allan Greaves wrote:
DK is one of the nicest, most humble men I have ever met. A true gentleman. I can't understand why everyone bashes the guy.
Love the sarcasm.
Mrr82 wrote:
Did the Yiannis guy ever run a regular marathon for time? 188 miles in 24 hours is no joke....makes DK look like a bum. What is that 740 pace?
Kouros' marathon PR in about 2:25, but this is from at least 15 - 20 years ago. Amazingly he is still pushing the envelope, having set the 6-day WR in Nov. 2005.
going home wrote:
Mrr82 wrote:Did the Yiannis guy ever run a regular marathon for time? 188 miles in 24 hours is no joke....makes DK look like a bum. What is that 740 pace?
Kouros' marathon PR in about 2:25, but this is from at least 15 - 20 years ago. Amazingly he is still pushing the envelope, having set the 6-day WR in Nov. 2005.
DK is not in the discussion next to Kouros. DK is not in the discussion with the best in the U.S.
It turns out he was born in 1956, not setting records.
Sorry I missed the Joggers miss info post and repeated it, oh no this new factoid with two cites it will hit Wiki by noon!!
Did this Yannis guy ever come in 2nd?
Helsinki marathoner Ted Corbitt was still running 6 day ultras at 81 years old. Ted turned 88 earlier ths year and he'd still beat many letsposters.
My idea of a distance event is stretching for the last beer in the back of the icebox.
Park Barner photo 3 down 2 over
Kouros also dominated the Westfield Sydney/Melbourne ultras in the 80s.
1985 - 960kms in 5d 5h.
1987 -1060kms in 5d 17h
1988 -1015kms in 5d 19h
1989 - 1011kms in 5d 2h
1990 - 1005kms in 5d 23h
These races were worth quite a deal of money in the day. They were run on hilly open highways.
He also has won the Spartathlon and in recent years has concentrated on the 48hr races -cause he now thinks he has lost the speed to better his 24 efforts.
This dude is the real thing. I've had the pleasure of running in a 24 hr relay against him at Coburg. We had a torrential downpour and yet he still powered through to a WR despite the track being ankle deep in water at one stage.
He is the guy who had 2.15-20 talent, his 2.24 was on a rugged course and he never focused on the shorter races.
But he is one off in his ability to go for extended periods at a relentless level.
He is now 50 but continues to notch up staggering feats in the ultra world.
He might not be as publically recogniseable as another ultra runner but he is very, very much the real deal.
My favorite Park Barner story is him describing eating rolls of frozen, chocolate chip cookie dough while running ultras.
The Power Bar of the 1970s. . . .
Park Barner image.