A team of Canadian women took back the 100 x 1 mile relay world record on Sunday in a time of 8 hours, 57 minutes, and 26 seconds. They reclaimed the record by almost 21 minutes, an answer to the previous record set last year by a group of women in the U.S., who clocked 9:18:32.
The average goal pace to comfortably break the record was 5:34 per mile, but by the 60th mile, according to Canadian Running, the group was already seven minutes ahead of their goal, and as the faster women ran their legs, they kept improving on that lead.
In 1999, the original record was set by a group of Canadian women. Their squad of 100 ran a time of 9:23, which stood for more than 20 years, until a San Francisco-based team lowered it last summer.
The women who took to the track—to rip 100 consecutive fast, solo miles in the July heat—included runners from various chapters of their athletic lives, from 12-year-old 5K phenom Sawyer Nicholson to 2020 Olympian and 800-meter specialist Maddy Kelly, who ran the final mile of the day. To make the occasion full circle, the runners passed the same baton that the winning Canadian Athletic Milers Club used 24 years ago.
Race announcer Teresa Baerg celebrated the women’s achievement, writing on Instagram, “Watching these 100 women come together to compete as one team, when any other day they might be competitors, was really special. It’s what the running community is all about.”
“It’s incredible to see how every single runner’s contribution added up,” she continued. “No one person could have won it or lost it for the entire group, but instead every lap, every mile added up to something spectacular. It was obvious that every runner was there to be a part of something much greater than themselves.”
And in the spirit of the “rising tide lifts all boats” aphorism, the team holding the previous record commented on another Instagram post commemorating the record, “Congratulations from the San Francisco Women’s 100 x 1 Mile Relay Team on your incredible achievement today! Well done, Canada!!”
Abby Carney is a writer and journalist in New York. A former D1 college runner and current amateur track athlete, she's written about culture and characters in running and outdoor sports for Runner's World, Like the Wind Magazine, The New York Times, and other outlets. She also writes about things that have nothing to do with running, and was previously the editor of a food magazine.
