100k in 5:59:59

bruce fordyce did the 90km Comrades Marathon (extremely hilly) in 5:24:00 in 1986.If he had kept that pace for an extra 10km he would have touched 6hrs flat. On a flattish 100km he could have gone under 6:00:00, at his best. I think he still holds a the 50 mile world record.

He was however, probably the greatest ultra runner ever.

I think you Bruce had the 50 mile record, but his Comrades time puts him closer to the possibility of doing 6hrs for 100km. He was slight, about 5"4, very light upper body. Not 2:09 class for marathon but speedier than most ultra runners, I think he did a 14:40 5km once, which is pretty good when you consider he started running at university more or less for the ultras and didnt concentrate on 5km, I think it was an afterthought, he was never a 5km runner

His 50 mile record of 4:50 is a 5:48 pace. He is certainly the guy to have come closest. But who/when will there be someone who will do it?

I say it'll happen in the next 10 years. Our knowledge of refueling and endurance is getting better and better.

Too late...ever heard of Rexing?

What hasn't that cat done?

Didn't Dean Karnazes already run like 200k in 12 hours or something?

DKs Hussy wrote:

Didn't Dean Karnazes already run like 200k in 12 hours or something?

No he ran 100K in 12 hours, that was to go to run a marathon, while ordering pizza. He went on to run the marathon in 12 hours, completing his day.

1986 race was "down", but it still does include at least 5 significant uphills of ???

Anyway, Bruce was a one of a kind animal, and did have a 2:20ish standard marathon to his credit. He could easily have run 6:00 for 100k.

no no no... wrote:

No he ran 100K in 12 hours,

You guys are dyslexic, he did 12k in 100 hours...

Or did he stay awake for 100 hrs to decide which 12 pizza joints he'd get pies from on his next marathon.

Damn, Comrades "down" is still a beast, and so was Fordyce:http://www.cip.informatik.uni-muenchen.de/~singer/aktuell/bilder/comrades1.jpg

yeah, if you consdier Bruce's 50 mile record averages out at 5:50 a mile, he should have been able to maintain 6:00 per mile over the extra 20km longer distance

he was one of a kind

That still doesn't get you under 6:00:00You actually have to average a second faster than his 50 mile world record for the additional 12+ miles.Bruce was the best but I still don't think he could have gotten 6:00:00 flat.His Comrade's races where incredible but still don't get you there (avg. 5:50 to 6:00 when 5:47 is needed for 6:00).

someone almost did wrote:

yeah, if you consdier Bruce's 50 mile record averages out at 5:50 a mile, he should have been able to maintain 6:00 per mile over the extra 20km longer distance

he was one of a kind

Big deal, Rexing could run under 6hrs. on his butt.... You know why he would do such a thing...run 100K on his butt...why...because he can. Thats why.

His Comrade's races were incredible and that is why I posted the course profile to support the claim that his 5:24, 5:48 avg. pace there would bring him under 6:00 on the flat.

to answer your original question, you need to find the male equivalent of me. My take on it is you would need a guy capable of 2:06 who is better suited for 100k than for the marathon! Even the best are hard pressed to stay within a minute a mile of marathon pace.

Agreed. Abe's record is unreal for a women (and most men). Probably equivalent of Radcliffe's marathon record. Has any other women even gone sub 7?

Sub 6:00 100k is going to be hard to do. There are a lot of factors involved. It is going to take someone with a smoking marathon pr and a penchant for distance. They'll probably be asian since those guys run some ridiculous mileage.

A sub-6 50 mile is a rarity these days; primarily because it is hardly run.

Patrick,

Sub 6 for a 50 mile is very common... as a split in the 100 km. You did it by a comfortable margin, it was the next 12 miles where the trouble started.

Most of the South African guys had the same problem. Comrades seemed to program them to run 85 to 90 km and then fall apart. I think that was part of the reason they stopped sending a team to the World Cup.

I know Frith vd Merwe won the woman's Comrades in 5:54 for 90km !!!

As good as Bruce was, I think Friths time for a women 16 years ago is phenomenal, probably a greater achievement. Anne Trason did the Comrades recently and didnt break that time. If Frith had done an extra 10km at about 4 secs a mile slower, she would have got about 6:34 for 100km. And thats a tough course, if she'd been on a flat course who knows?