Helsinki delivery man Ashprihanal Aalto won the world’s longest ultra-marathon, the New York Self-Transcendence 4 960km race, for a third time but was still upstaged by a woman who finished almost 10 days behind. Suprabha Beckjord, the only woman to have completed one of the world’s most extreme sporting events, is also the only person to have completed the race eight years in a row.
Aalto finished the 4 960km in 46 days six hours, 55 minutes and 11 seconds, two days ahead of his nearest rival, and had time to rest again before Beckford (48) crossed the finish line in 55 days, 13 hours and 13 minutes on Saturday.
The runners assemble at 6am each day and are allowed to keep going until midnight.
Over the years, Beckjord (48) who owns a gift shop in Washington DC, has run 45 192 laps of the 0,87km course around a city park and a high school in the Queens district of New York.
While almost six days slower than her personal best, Beckjord was lauded just for finishing again and organisers said they expect the former 1 600km (1 000 mile) world record holder back in 2005.
For Aalto, the winning time was a personal best and his third victory in the New York race, which is recognised by the International Association of Ultrarunners as the world’s longest foot race.
World record holder Wolfgang Schwerk (48) of Germany, managed only fifth. But he offered no excuses for his time of 50 days 3 hour 4 minutes 39 seconds — against a world record of 42 days 13 hours, 24 minutes 3 seconds. He will also be back next year. – Sapa-AFP