488. Camille Herron, U.S. 100-Mile Road Champion & World Record Holder

"It could be two o'clock in the afternoon and the sun's beating down on us, and I'm just smiling. I'm gritting my teeth through the afternoon sun, and still believing I can push through it."

On February 18, renowned ultra runner Camille Herron made history — again. The queen of the ultra scene ran and won the USATF 100-Mile Road Championships in Henderson, NV, and not only won the race outright (the first male finisher was half an hour behind her), she broke her own 100-mile world record by 89 seconds, finishing in 12 hours 41 minutes and 11 seconds. That's a 7:36 per mile pace on an 85-lap course. On this episode, Camille (who turned 40 on Christmas) talks all about that race, including how she prepped for it, her goals going into the race, and how she has tweaked her training and lifestyle habits in order to "age like a fine wine," she says. Plus, how she got into running and ultras, and where her always-happy demeanor came from.

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What you'll get on this episode:

• How Camille's feeling since running the USATF 100-Mile Road Championship (4:05)
• What Young Camille was like, and how she found and fell in love with running (6:25)
• Reflecting on the USATF 100-Mile Road Championship, and what Camille's goals were going into the race (14:00)
• What Camille's training is like (18:25)
• Why Camille started working with a registered dietitian (23:50)
• The lifestyle choices Camille has made recently so she can perform at her best (32:45)
• All about the 85-lap 100-Mile Road Championship course, and how Camille broke it down mentally (36:35)
• How Camille was feeling at the start line (44:30)
• The pressure of being Camille Herron (47:00)
• How Camille felt during the first half of the race (49:25)
• How Camille pushed through the "dark parts" of the race (55:00)
• That finish line feeling (59:30)
• How Camille celebrated (1:05:00)
• Camille's advice for the ultra-curious (1:08:00)

For more, check out:

Camille Herron in the New York Times

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