We’re all about records and best times this week. Two records fell, the women’s 5k and 50k. Read on to learn more.
BETH POTTER BREAKS 5k RECORD
Beth Potter (SCO) ran a world record-breaking 14:41 at the Podium 5k in Barrowford, UK in early April.
Potter is a former Olympic level track athlete from the UK. She transitioned to triathlon in 2017 and has spent the last couple of years focusing on her swim and bike, which has paid dividends for her in triathlon as she took home a World Cup win in Valencia last year, and recently won the Super League Arena games in London.
Triathlete Magazine asks ‘why move to triathlon‘ when she’s obviously a great runner! The answers are clear to understand.
She gave the team at Ironwoman Podcast a breakdown of the race, and talks about how triathlon and cross training has helped her stay injury free to put in consistent training.
DES LINDEN BREAKS 50K RECORD
Olympian and Boston Marathon winner Des Linden tackled her first ultra marathon on a certified 50K course near Eugene, Oregon. She finished the distance breaking the women’s record in the process.
Looking for a new challenge after coming fourth in the US Olympic Marathon trials, the pandemic hit and race officials had to cancel the New York City and Boston marathons. So onwards to a new challenge. The 50k. Linden was quoted as saying this new distance was ‘intriguing.’
Her plan had been to do the Two Oceans Ultramarathon in South Africa, but that was too canceled. So her sponsor Brooks helped set up a course of their own, in Orego. It was a certified race, so all bets were on for an official time record.
Her time for the 50k? 2:59:54. That’s a 5:47 average mile pace.
World Athletics does not recognize world records at this distance, but this is still categorized as a ‘world’s best’ time.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE ZONE?
What does a long run mean to you? It’s the time where the work is all about heart rate ‘zone two’. It’s where the mind wanders and life is processed. Zone two is the happy place for so many runners and so we celebrate that!
Celebrate long run days with your Zone Two heart rate front and center. This new tee is now available at the POPPYsports store.
