NordicTrack powered by iFit, a specialist in at-home connected fitness equipment, has celebrated running history being made by elite runner Zach Bitter, who set a new world record for 100 miles on a treadmill, with a time of 12:09:15.
Bitter’s average pace was roughly 7:12 per mile, and he ran sub 7-minute miles for the last 10 miles, crushing the previous world record of 12:32:26.
Bitter ran from his Phoenix, Arizona, home on the NordicTrack X22i Incline Trainer, positioned as ‘a premier treadmill built and tested to perform at extreme use.’ The 12-hour event was live streamed on YouTube, with a who’s who of the ultrarunning world and other elite athletes serving as hosts and guests. Viewers could interact with the hosts and guests through social media, using #treadmill100WR, and directly through the live stream chat.
“Running on the NordicTrack treadmill was a comfortable experience, even for a 100-mile run,” said Zach Bitter. “I was able to fully focus on pushing myself, without the added mental strain of tracking splits – and treadmill cushioning was an enormous asset in accomplishing this goal.”
Bitter is already known as the fastest 100-miler on track (11:19:13) and trail (12:08:36).
Bitter created this event for himself after all his races were cancelled. He said, “The quarantine situation is like an ultra – the first 50 miles is physical, the second is mental.
“This challenge is representative of what the entire world is living through, and I hope my event is a reminder for everyone to stay mentally strong, so you can go the distance.”
The NordicTrack X22i treadmill that Bitter used is powered by iFit connected, interactive fitness technology. iFit streaming workouts include Live Workouts, Global Workouts and Studio Workouts. All styles of workout include an interactive experience. Here, the speed, incline and decline is automatically adjusted to reflect the trainers cues or the natural topography of the Global Workout trail routes being used whilst running.
‘For example, if a person is running up Mount Kilimanjaro, a workout series the iFit crew shot on location, they’ll feel their treadmill automatically incline or decline based on the actual grade of the trail.’
Additional sponsors for the 100 mile challenge event included: SFuels, Altra, Coros, Buff and Purpose.
NordicTrack and sister companies iFit, ProForm and FreeMotion are based in Logan, Utah, and are owned by ICON Health & Fitness, a specialist in home, commercial and connected fitness with more than 275 fitness patents, with 138 pending.
