An extreme athlete from Arlington has broken the world record for the fastest time in a series of 50K races on all seven continents.
Michael Wardian, 51, completed a seven-day string of back-to-back ultramarathons in every corner of the world on Friday morning, a spokesperson told ARLnow. His net time of 26 hours, 40 minutes and 16 seconds smashed the record of 31 hours, 25 minutes and 37 seconds that Christian Brown Johnson set during the Great World Race the previous year.
Wardian, an Arlington Forest resident with an extensive background in extreme competitions, averaged just 3 hours and 48 minutes per 50K race.
“I just kept saying as I was finishing, just try to honor what you’ve done, don’t quit and keep chasing your dreams,” a visibly winded Wardian said after crossing his final finish line in Miami, according to footage shared with ARLnow.
The weeklong race began at Ultima Base in Antarctica, where Wardian broke another world record on his first day — finishing a 50K race on the frozen continent in just 4 hours, 24 minutes and 48 seconds.
The vast majority of runners competing in the World Marathon Challenge were only running marathons, but Wardian was one of only two men running almost five more miles in each race to complete a 50K. Even so, he came in first in the marathon results as well.
Wardian’s aggregate time for marathon portion of his races was 21 hours, 34 minutes and 32 seconds, edging out Chinese competitor Shengxian Wang’s 21 hours, 42 minutes and 36 seconds.
Although Wardian broke a record in Antarctica, that race was actually his slowest. His fastest time was in South Africa, where he completed a 50K race in just 3 hours, 24 minutes and 43 seconds.
“It’s always tough to have the results you want, and you know, sometimes you get them and sometimes you don’t, but it’s the process that matters,” Wardian said. “[I’m] so proud of how it worked out.”
