American genius breaks 100-mile treadmill world record in four minutes

American athlete Zach Bitter just broke two world records of more than 100 miles in one day last year, and he can be called a god-level figure in the ultramarathon world. Even though he could only stay at home during the epidemic, he was not idle. On May 16, he broke the treadmill 100-mile (160.934 km) world record in 12 hours, 9 minutes and 15 seconds, or 4 minutes and 31 seconds per kilometer pace. , pushing the original record by more than 20 minutes. What's even more powerful is that for such a long time, most people need a lot of solid supplies to satisfy their cravings, but except for a box of potato chips at the end, he only drank liquid supplies. The god was like an immortal!

Extended reading: The American genius ran 160 kilometers in 4-minute ultramarathon and broke two world records in one day. The American genius ran 12:09:15 in 4-minute speed and broke the 100-mile treadmill world record? Zach Bitter

The battle for hegemony on the treadmill is fierce in 2020. The 50-kilometer treadmill world record alone has been refreshed three times since January, and the 33-year-old American athlete Zach Bitter chose to challenge himself Excellent 100 miles (160.934 kilometers). In fact, at the end of August 2019, he successfully broke the 100-mile world record by running the 100-mile indoor playground at an average pace of 4 minutes and 13 seconds per kilometer and 11:19:13. He also continued to run in 12 hours. 104.8 miles (168..6 kilometers), breaking his own world record set in 2013. Therefore, this time it is a challenge for him with the same distance but a different "track".

Extended reading: Treadmill breaks 50K! American runner breaks world record in high school gym

View this post on Instagram

A history making day for @zachbitter as he continues to redefine what is possible for human athletic performance? #treadmill100wr

A post shared by SFuels (@sfuels.sf) on May 16, 2020 at 7:56 pm PDT Challenge 1: Psychological Anxiety

Bitter finishing the run When interviewed, he told foreign media Runner's World that the most important thing for him during the challenge was to constantly reinvigorate his spirit. "Stopping on the treadmill feels like a waste of time, and I feel anxious because of it. I almost have to stop and go on the treadmill, even just to switch treadmills (he challenged two treadmills at the same time)." Challenge 2: Battery consumption Too fierce

For this challenge, Bitter installed two NordicTrack X22i treadmills at his home. He did not do much testing before the competition because he knew the machines would time out after a few hours, so He directly planned to switch between the two in case of failure. "We had about 4 weeks of planning time, and there were a lot of things that could go wrong, but luckily no major problems occurred."

However, there were still unexpected hiccups during the challenge, such as two placed in the room. There are two treadmills, two cameras, one electric fan and one air conditioner. The total power consumption is so high that the screen of one of the treadmills suddenly goes black. Although it is still running and can calculate the distance, they have to take more connections. An extension cord to reduce the power output of appliances in the house. Once again, the treadmill briefly stopped counting, but luckily they noticed and fixed the problem immediately. Zach Bitter's 100-mile challenge switches two treadmills? Zach Bitter Challenge 3: High temperature and supplies

Supply is a crucial link for marathon and ultramarathon runners. Bitter developed a supply strategy similar to the one he ran at the 100-mile indoor playground in August last year, but some problems arose: The indoor track temperature last year was about 15.5°C, which was a very comfortable temperature for running; but despite trying again and again, The air conditioner and fans were all running, and the temperature in Bitter's home was between 21 and 24 degrees Celsius. What surprised him even more was that the overheating temperature did not come from the external environment, but from the heat emitted by the treadmill itself.

The superheated temperature made Bitter feel dehydrated in the first few hours of the challenge, so he tried to rely only on liquid energy drinks for replenishment; in the next few hours, he consumed more energy in a race against time. To gain more energy, he increased his fluid intake to about 1700cc within 1 hour; after a few hours, his stomach felt back to normal. Zach Bitter only relies on liquid energy drinks for replenishment? Zach Bitter Challenge 4: Entertainment in boredom

In order to squeeze out a little fun on the boring treadmill, Bitter plays up and down games according to the pace of the treadmill. , but usually around 4 minutes and 20 seconds per kilometer.

"I just want to keep my thoughts away from the treadmill and the distance. If I think too much, I may "lose too many points" at once. As the day goes by, I change 3-4 different speeds in 1 mile, and these Pace helps me get closer to my goal.

At the same time, Bitter is also busy listening to radio, music, and live broadcasts. The one that surprised him the most was comedian Bert Kreischer. Burt spent a lot of time chatting with the three female ultramarathon athletes, and Bitter's wife Nicole also joined them. They even talked about training Burt to reach 100 miles. Bitter took Burt's willingness to run an ultramarathon seriously. , he said: "Bitter is very interested in running 50 miles on the treadmill in 24 hours. I think he will run 50 kilometers or 50 miles before jumping to 100 miles." These interesting topics also accompany Bitter A few hours after the 11th kilometer.

Even with the distraction, time on the treadmill still feels like years. At mile 87 (about 140 kilometers), Bitter ran into the bathroom to rest for two minutes and ate a box of olive oil and sea salt potato chips. This was the only solid food he ate, and he ended up eating 12 packs in total. Energy drink, potato chips and 226cc of soda water. View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Zach Bitter (@zachbitter) on May 16, 2020 at 10:56am PDT

Bitter from August last year So far, he has set his second 100-mile world record in nine months. When he finally finished, he immediately gorged himself on salty foods like ground beef, cheese, and sea salt. A few days after breaking the world record, Bitter recovered a lot, but he doesn't want to run on the treadmill for a long time just yet. He estimates that it will take 6 weeks for his feet to fully recover.

Under the new coronavirus epidemic, Bitter has many events canceled, postponed or pending. However, as long as he stays healthy, he will pursue the record he set. He said: "I have always looked at records as an interesting goal. In every big project, I enjoy running. Even if I have had bad days, I still have a lot of fun training and preparing. In the past two years "I have more good days than bad days, so these things may be interesting to me." If he does the next challenge, Bitter plans to go 10 seconds per mile, which is about 4 per kilometer. Completed 100 miles in 07 seconds.