Polish runner sets record for distance running in 12 hours
Stelmach's achievement equates to a new world record for women, and is still pending ratification. She completed the goal set before the tournament, breaking the world record for distance running in 12 consecutive hours - 149,130 km - set by American endurance icon Camille Herron at the Desert Solstice Invitational 2017.
Except for a little personal problem that caused her to "have to go to the bathroom every 2 hours", Stelmach still ran "very comfortably" for the first 75km. After that, the 40-year-old runner faced some issues such as overheating and stomach pain, but she still managed to set a new milestone in 12 hours.
The Polish athlete said she originally planned to run for 24 hours, but stopped when one of her two sons ran in and hugged her. "What a great start to 2023," Stelmach wrote when sharing the record on social networks.
Stelmach also shared about her plans for the year, which include participating in the Comrades Marathon - an approximately 89km ultramarathon race held annually in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg, and the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc - the world's toughest ultra-trail race.
Stelmach, who is also a coach and runs several coaching clubs, is a well-known long-distance runner in Poland. She finished first at Cappadocia Ultra-Trail 120K in 2021, second at Black Canyon Ultra 2022 and currently holds the European record of 80 km (50 miles) with 5 hours 5 minutes 58 seconds.
The Spartanion was established to give Israeli runners a place to compete close to their home country in order to meet the necessary criteria to participate in Spartathlon - the world famous 246 km race held annually in Greece between Athens and Sparta, the modern town on the site of ancient Sparta.
Spartanion sees a number of world records in 2022, including Lithuanian ultramarathoner Aleksandr Sorokin breaking two records previously set by himself. He became the first person to run 161 km in 10 hours 51 minutes 39 seconds, then continued to run and broke the second record - the longest distance run in 12 hours with 179 km (111.24 miles). Sorokin ran 122 laps on a track with a length of 1.46 km, with a pace of 4:03 / km.
