Move over Forest Gump, there’s a new king in town.
Ultramarathon runner Dave Proctor might just be the closest thing to Tom Hanks’ famous character in the classic 90s film.
The Canadian undertook the herculean task of setting a new unofficial world record for the distance ran on a treadmill in 24 hours.
But the long-distance runner didn’t just beat the previous record, he absolutely tore it to shreds.
While most of us would be happy just doing a marathon in one day, he completed more than six in one go.
Proctor clocked up a blister-inducing 260.4 km – nearly 162 miles – in front of crowds at the Calgary Marathon Expo.
He looks like he’s bloody enjoying it here…
https://twitter.com/runproctor/status/736586482828214272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
But afterwards he told the Calgary Herald: “I hate running right now. I don’t want to ever go out for a run.
“That was a terrible choice. That really, really, really hurt.
“But I know that three or four days will pass and I’ll get an itch.”
https://twitter.com/runproctor/status/736489911776202754
To put his monumental feat into context, he could have effectively made it from Manchester to London in the time. Sometimes the Mega Bus can’t even do that.
His 24-hour pace was so quick that he beat the previous record by a whole 3km – and if that wasn’t enough, he averaged under nine minutes per mile. Just let that sink in for a moment.
The 35-year-old also smashed the 12-hour record by an astonishing 6km having notched up 139.2 km—nearly 87 miles – by the halfway stage.
Running alongside a team of friends and fellow runners, seven world records fell including team distance and the fastest to 100 km.
The 12-strong team did it to raise money for Canadian families coping with incurable mitochondrial disease. Huge respect.
https://twitter.com/runproctor/status/737013111467610112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
