Meet Mike Wardian - The World's #1 Runner - Is He The "Eliud Kipchoge" Of Backyard Ultras?

Makes Paper wrote:

SouthernFriedRealist wrote:

He’s a heck of a runner but he’s more of a gimmick runner instead of straight up racer...virtual ultra races, setting world records while pushing baby strollers, marathons on random surfaces/areas, marathons on back-to-back day’s, etc.

If he wants to measure up against the ultra guys, hopefully he will jump into some of the more competitive ultra events..

He does plenty of “gimmicky” runs, I assume because he enjoys them. But, a month ago he got third in the US 50 km Road championships at age 45. He’s been 8th at JFK (age 43), 10th at Leadville (age 43), ran a sub-7:30 100km (11th fastest in North America, age 45). He does just fine.

At 46, you're certainly not in your speed prime, no way around that, but he's certainly living his best life and it's cool that his family gets behind his unique endeavors.

His ability to recover and stay competing is mind boggling, gotta love it!

So, are we going to see more races like this forthcoming?

Are there any good, legitimate virtual race proposals (for elites and hobby runners)?

Nova Scotia trail runners are having a similar event in May. Hope they get an elite crowd again.

last time I doubted mike and his antics was 2011 .... and he dropped a few minutes off his marathon pr to 217

hats off to mike. good for the running community

Great podcast, Robert.

LetsRun.com wrote:

Yesterday Rojo caught up with Mike Wardian - currently the world's #1 runner - as he was only person to win a race of consequence last week. The podcast has just gone live. Rojo was extremely impressed by how the guy needs no sleep and wonders if he's going to become the "Eliud Kipchoge" of backyard ultras.

https://www.letsrun.com/news/2020/04/nick-symmonds-podcast-backyard-2/

Can we please stop giving this guy attention? Everything he does is for a few likes on his social media profiles. Ran into him in an aiport a few years ago and he was a complete ass to his wife and kids. Seems really full of himself.

The guy is no gimmick runner, my friend.

I ran the Vermont City Marathon some years ago as a veteran and watched him fly by.

He won easily in something like 2:21.

What's your PR?

I mean, sure, he's run decently quickly and takes the time to document his training, racing, etc. But sacrificing several minutes on a marathon and dignity to run a dozen bullsh!t races a month just to post a video of him breaking the tape in some podunk town is cringeworthy to me.

2:24, four years ago, I ran. Sure, he's faster than me and many others, but I don't see the need to make a big deal about every single thing this man does.

hmmmmmmmmm wrote:

2:24, four years ago, I ran. Sure, he's faster than me and many others, but I don't see the need to make a big deal about every single thing this man does.

Mike Wardian is a decent runner but so is Radek Brunner. With 5 Spartathlon finishes (2x2nd 2x3rd) it's a clear 5:0 for Radek considering Mike's DNF there a couple of years ago.

Ya. Been doing this sort of thing for years. Even sprinted to the front of the 2008 olympic marathon trials and held the lead for a few miles.

I've heard people here complain that the rule of starting on time is somehow arbitrary. Last fall I ran a backyard ultra that was modeled after Biggs. The reason everyone leaves on the hour is so you can't bank time. The rules of the race I did required everyone be in a staging area (smaller than the aid station) as the hour counted down. When the horn went off you had to be moving toward and through the start/finish "gate". As the race went on, it only took 10 seconds for everyone to be out on the course. It seems to me that this virtual race did a good job of accommodating different circumstances but also maintaining the spirit of what a backyard ultra is. The DQ ending sucks but it was fair. Having the rule is a good thing, otherwise there would be some other "arbitrary" line that would have caused the DQ. Sometimes this type of thing happens, just as sometimes an NBA playoff series ends with free throws instead of a buzzer beater. If you actually followed this wacky event its hard to walk away thinking it was anything but awesome.

I'm a huge sports nerd and also love following running. Unfortunately it seems the know it all running fans who "were good" as track amateurs dominate how running as a sport is appreciated. All sports done at their highest level are compelling in some way, but different sports have more or less drama built in to the narrative. EVERY ULTRA has dramatic tension and way more interesting variables (even if nobody is around to appreciate it.) It's cool to see that Rojo has finally come around to realizing it.

Maybe there is hope for all the road running burnouts on Letsrun. I'm rooting for you guys.

rojo wrote:What are you - a failed ultra marathoner?

If we're being fair Robert, would you know an ultrarunner if you saw one? Perhaps more significantly and relevant, would you care?

I have not yet listened to the pod, just pushing back at the unnecessary clickbaity title. Wardian is an incredible runner who very much charts his own course, whose resume doesn't need hyperbole to leave one's jaw agape.

"King of Backyard Ultras" is a tricky title to give anyone, and it's hard to say what significance it may have beyond the title after a given race. It brings to mind claims of "longest run with no sleep" - a vastly different claim than "greatest multiday runner in the world" or the WR holder for a 6 day race, course record holder for ~500 km races (there are / were others than just Vol State).

[quote]startslowgoslower wrote:

I've heard people here complain that the rule of starting on time is somehow arbitrary. [/quot

You missed the whole point. Because of technology, Radek (who was in Praha, Hlavní město Praha, Česká republika ) thought he WAS starting right on the hour.

The debate isn't whether he should be starting at the beginning of the hour, it was whether he should have been DQ'ed because he used the wrong technology to keep track of when he should have started.

SteelTownRunner wrote:

rojo wrote:What are you - a failed ultra marathoner?

If we're being fair Robert, would you know an ultrarunner if you saw one? Perhaps more significantly and relevant, would you care?

I have not yet listened to the pod, just pushing back at the unnecessary clickbaity title. Wardian is an incredible runner who very much charts his own course, whose resume doesn't need hyperbole to leave one's jaw agape.

"King of Backyard Ultras" is a tricky title to give anyone, and it's hard to say what significance it may have beyond the title after a given race. It brings to mind claims of "longest run with no sleep" - a vastly different claim than "greatest multiday runner in the world" or the WR holder for a 6 day race, course record holder for ~500 km races (there are / were others than just Vol State).

Right now every podcast/website is making different GOAT lists. I'm all here for it! However sometimes having a too much perspective takes away the fun of if the moment.

Last person standing "Backyard Ultras" are still in their infancy. If Wardian is on the start of such a race then it's hard to say right now he isn't the favorite. But it's definitely too soon to crown him. This virtual race went off with less than a week of prep for most; however, it had many advantages mentally/physically to a 4+ mile trail loop. Given that, I don't think Wardians effort was greater than Maggie's. Hopefully next fall we get to see a serious throwdown at Big's.

I don't think I missed the point. I have a hard time believing he didn't have multiple watches to tell him when the hour started besides his tablet. His technology was working fine for the first couple days. If you're out on the course in one of these races you need to have moved out of the aid station.

startslowgoslower wrote:

. If you're out on the course in one of these races you need to have moved out of the aid station.

But he wasn't.

If you watched, that wasn't the first hour he started late after staring at his tablet. Some hours it was less than a minute but still late.

He had already been doing the same thing for 60 hours and cranking out each run in around 40 minutes. He certainly had no reason to bank time and his response was clear that he did not want to start early either as that would also be a DQ.

So you're saying he should have been DQ earlier?

Did he not have multiple devices going? If Zoom isn't working so well on you phone everyone knows you should definitely switch to the desktop version. It's kinda on you. And that's whats at stake in a virtual race. Wardian had backup technology just in case.

Not trying to take anything away from this dude, but I think he lost. That being said he is so freaking badass! These guys are both legends.

Also I'm qualifying everything I'm saying as "i think" providing personal context and talking about the nature of what a backyard ultra is. I don't really see what your point is besides saying "yeah but..."

That was a nice listen. Thanks, rojo.

Wardian needs such little sleep normally, it sounds to me like he could do this for way longer. I mean, if he starts getting tired, he could catch a 10 minute nap every hour and that would be close enough to his normal sleep (10x24= 4 hours). I could see him doing it for a full week if pushed.