Camille Herron

Jacquelyn Camille Herron is an American ultramarathon runner and scientist.^[1] She has 12 world records in ultramarathon distances.^[2]

Camille Herron

Herron in 2017
Personal information
Birth name	Jacquelyn Camille Herron
Born	(1981-12-25) December 25, 1981 (age 42) Norman, Oklahoma
Height	5 ft 9.5 in (1.77 m)
Website	http://www.camilleherron.com/
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Track and Field
Event(s)	Marathon and Ultramarathon
Coached by	Conor Holt
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	Marathon: 2:37:14 50 km: 3:20:58 50 miles: 5:38:41 100 km: 7:08:35 12 hrs: 151.111 km (93.896 miles) 100 miles: 12:41:11 24 hrs: 270.116 km (167.842 miles) 48 hrs: 435.336 km (270.505 miles) 6 day: 901.768 km (560.333 miles)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing the  United States World Championships 2015 IAU 100 km World Championship Individual 2015 IAU 100 km World Championship Team 2015 IAU 50 km World Championship Individual 2019 IAU 24 Hour World Championship Individual 2019 IAU 24 Hour World Championship Team

Early life and education

Herron was born in Norman, Oklahoma. She attended Westmoore High School in Oklahoma City, where she was a three-time All-State recipient in cross country, a three-time State Champion in track and field, and valedictorian.^[3]

After receiving academic and athletic scholarships, Herron attended the University of Tulsa, where she was a Top 10 Senior and earned a bachelor's degree in Exercise and Sports Science in 2005. She began doing scientific research in college to understand why she had stress fractures as a young runner.^[1][4]

Herron obtained a masters degree in Exercise and Sports Science from Oregon State University in 2007. Her research focused on identifying the optimal anabolic stimulus for musculoskeletal health, emphasizing the importance of frequent light mechanical stress interspersed with infrequent high-intensity stress.^[5][6]

Personal life

Herron was born with central auditory processing disorder and hearing loss and had a near-drowning incident at the age of three.^{[7][8][9][10]} In 1999, when she was 17, Herron and her family lost their home and possessions during the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak. She stated that she found the event to be a turning point, and began running longer distances on Sundays as a way to celebrate life.^[11]

In 2024, Herron was diagnosed with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.^[12]

Herron's unusual running gait and arm swing are attributed to an extra bone in her foot and twists in her arm and femur.^[9][13]

Career

Herron returned to competitive running as a road racer under the guidance of her husband, Conor Holt, a former elite runner and college coach.^[8] She attributes her success in ultrarunning to her scientific knowledge and training approach, which prioritizes short, frequent runs to accumulate high volume consistently.^[4]

Herron has worked as a research assistant in bone imaging and osteoimmunology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, co-authoring several scientific papers.^[14]

Herron was partnered with Lululemon Athletica, with whom she collaborated on product development and initiatives such as the launch of a women's trail shoe and the lululemon FURTHER program, which included a 6-day ultramarathon for women in March 2024.^[15][16][17] On September 26, 2024 Lululemon ended its association with Herron in the wake of a controversy^[18] in which she and/or her husband were found to be removing positive information about other athletes from Wikipedia while adding positive information about herself.^[2][19][20]

Herron and her husband manage an online coaching business.^[21]

Notable achievements

• Herron is a 3-time Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier and a 21-time marathon winner.^[22]
• She competed on the 2011 US Pan American Team in the marathon, finishing 9th.^[23]
• Herron set the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon by a woman in a superhero costume, completing it in 2 hours, 48 minutes, and 51 seconds, dressed as Spiderwoman.^[24]
• In 2017, she became the third American to win the Comrades Marathon.^[25]
• Herron is the only athlete to win all of the IAU Ultra Road World Championships (50 km, 100 km, and 24hrs).^{[26][27][28][29][citation needed]}
• Since 2015, she has set numerous Ultramarathon World and American Records/Bests between 50 miles and 6 days.^[30][31][32]
• In 2023, she improved the women's 48Hr World Record by 14.8 miles to 270.505 miles (435.336 km), the third best performance in the world behind only two men. She is the first woman to hold an outright American record.^{[33][34][35][36]}
• In March 2024, she set records between 48 hours and 6 days, including 12 World Records. She broke the 33 year old 6 day World Record set by Sandy Barwick in 1990.^{[37][38][39][40][41]}
• In April 2022, she became the youngest woman to reach 100,000 lifetime running miles.^[42][43][44]
• In May 2022, she won the Strolling Jim 40 Miler overall, beating the men, and set a new women's course record.^[45]
• In 2023, Herron became the first woman to break 24 hours at the 153-mile Spartathlon, setting a course record of 22h 35min 31s. She is the first athlete to win both the Comrades Marathon and Spartathlon.^[46][47]
• Herron has achieved success in trail running as well, with wins at various races including the JFK 50 Mile,^[48] Bandera 100 km, Black Canyon 100 km,^[49] Tunnel Hill 100 (course record),^[50] Tarawera Ultramarathon 100 km and 100 miles (course records at both), and the Javelina Jundred (course record)^[51] She won the Tarawera 100 Miler in a new course record of 17:20:52 two weeks after surviving a rollover car accident.^[52]
• She is a four-time IAU International Ultra Runner of the Year.^{[53][54][55][56]} She is also a six-time honoree of the USA Track & Field Ruth Anderson Ultrarunner of the Year award,^{[citation needed]} eight-time USATF Athlete of the Week honoree,^{[citation needed]} the 2017 Ultrarunning Magazine Female Ultrarunner of the Year,^[57] and four-time Ultra Performance of the Year.^{[citation needed][58][59][60][61][62]} In 2022 and 2023, she was voted USATF Master's Runner of the Year and the 2022 RRCA Master's Runner of the Year.^[58][63][64]
• In 2024, she was inducted into the Road Runners Club of America Distance Running Hall of Fame.^[65][66]

World records

Camille Herron holds the International Association of Ultrarunners World Record/World Best performances at the following events:

100 miles (160 km)	12h 42min 40s	7:38 per mi (4:44 per km)
24 Hours	270.116 kilometres (167.842 mi)	8:35 per mile (5:20 per km)
48 Hours	435.336 kilometres (270.505 mi)	10:39 per mile (6:37 per km)
6 Days	901.768 kilometres (560.3326 mi)	15:25 per mi (9:35 per km)

She also holds the following Global Organization of Multi-Day Ultramarathoners^[31][32] records:

300 kilometres (190 mi)	Open and W40-44 (48 Hour split)	31h 7 min 42 s	10:01 per mi (6:14 per km)
200 miles (320 km)	Open and W40-44 (48 Hour split)	33h 35 min 31 s	10:05 per mi (6:16 per km)
400 kilometres (250 mi)	Open and W40-44 (48 Hour split)	43h 44 min 14 s	10:33 per mi (6:34 per km)
500 kilometres (310 mi)	Open and W40-44 (6 Day split)	2d 14:50:17	12:08 per mi (7:32 per km)
600 kilometres (370 mi)	Open and W40-44 (6 Day split)	3d 09:23:38	13:06 per mi (8:08 per km)
700 kilometres (430 mi)	Open and W40-44 (6 Day split)	4d 02:33:59	13:36 per mi (8:27 per km)
800 kilometres (500 mi)	Open and W40-44 (6 Day split)	4d 21:44:55	14:13 per mi (8:50 per km)
900 kilometres (560 mi)	Open and W40-44 (6 Day split)	5d 22:40:58	15:19 per mi (9:31 per km)
300 miles (480 km)	Open and W40-44 (6 Day split)	2d 11:54:28	11:59 per mi (7:27 per km)
400 miles (640 km)	Open and W40-44 (6 Day split)	3d 16:34:26	13:17 per mi (8:15 per km)
500 miles (800 km)	Open and W40-44 (6 Day split)	4d 22:19:17	14:12 per mi (8:49 per km)
72 Hours	Open and W40-44 (6 Day split)	550.542 kilometres (342.091 mi)	12:38 per mi (7:51 per km)
4 Days	Open and W40-44 (6 Day split)	691.755 kilometres (429.836 mi)	13:24 per mi (8:20 per km)
5 Days	Open and W40-44 (6 Day split)	807.494 kilometres (501.753 mi)	14:21 per mi (8:55 per km)

References

1. "Alumna Camille Herron finds stardom in running universe". August 11, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
2. Dickinson, Marley (September 23, 2024). "U.S. ultrarunner Camille Herron involved in Wikipedia controversy". Canadian Running Magazine. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
3. "Oklahoma Sports and Fitness July/August 2015 Page 18". www.oksportsandfitness-digital.com. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
4. Yu, Christine (January 30, 2023). "Camille Herron's Advice For Ultra Athletes: Skip the Long Run". Trail Runner Magazine. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
5. Herron, Jacquelyn Camille. "The effects of whole body vibration on bone recovery following hindlimb unloading of adult female rats". ir.library.oregonstate.edu. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
6. "Coach Camille Herron". Run with Camille Coaching. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
7. admin (June 27, 2022). "Camille Herron: Crushing World Records, Narrowing The Gender Gap, And The Power of Happiness - Rich Roll". Retrieved February 23, 2024.
8. "No Finish Line: Camille Herron - World Champion Ultra Marathon Runner on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
9. Finn, Adharanand (November 18, 2019). "'I puked, fouled myself and collapsed - it was great': Meet the record-breaking ultra marathon runner fuelled by beer and burritos". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
10. Hoppe, Stephanie (March 2, 2022). "Camille Herron is Doing What She Was Born to Do". Women's Running. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
11. How a Tornado Gave Camille Herron a New Reason to Run, retrieved February 23, 2024
12. Salathe, Camille Herron as told to Sandra Rose (July 8, 2024). "'I Didn't Get Diagnosed with Autism Until 42 — Suddenly My Whole Life Made Sense'". Flow Space. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
13. Silva, Zach (November 21, 2019). "Camille Herron was 'born to run'". The Coos Bay World. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
14. "herron jc - Search Results - PubMed". PubMed. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
15. "Camille Herron Shattering Records At Lululemon 'Further' Ultra... And It's Only Halfway Done". March 9, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
16. "Are women 'made' for ultrarunning? Camille Herron seems to think so". Runner's World. July 3, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
17. "FURTHER". lululemon. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
18. Dickinson, Marley (September 26, 2024). "Lululemon ends partnership with ultrarunner Camille Herron". Canadian Running Magazine. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
19. Dreier, Frederick (September 27, 2024). "The Strange Saga of Ultrarunner Camille Herron and Wikipedia". Outside. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
20. Boecker, Brianna (September 30, 2024). "Wikipedia scandal: Here's why ultrarunner Camille Herron was dropped by Lululemon". Women's Agenda. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
21. "Camille Herron Interview". www.garycohenrunning.com. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
22. Hedman, Jonas (February 2, 2022). "Introducing the World to Camille Herron 10.0". runblogrun. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
23. "USA Track & Field - Team USA opens competition At Pan American Games". December 25, 2019. Archived from the original on December 25, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
24. "Guinness World Records".
25. "Camille Herron Becomes First American to Win Comrades Marathon in 20 Years". Runner's World. June 7, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
26. Mock, Justin (April 13, 2015). "This Week In Running: April 13, 2015". iRunFar. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
27. Mock, Justin (October 26, 2015). "This Week In Running: October 26, 2015". iRunFar. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
28. Mock, Justin (January 8, 2018). "This Week In Running: January 8, 2018". iRunFar. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
29. Mock, Justin (March 2, 2020). "This Week In Running: March 2, 2020". iRunFar. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
30. Bedkowski, Jacek. "IAU Records". IAU - International Association of Ultrarunners. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
31. "GOMU - Global Organization of Multi-Day Ultramarathoners - World Records". www.gomu.org. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
32. "Non-Standard Multi-Day World Records". Global Organization of Multi-Day Ultramarathoners. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
33. "Unbelievable! Camille Herron Shatters 48-Hour World Record". Runner's World. March 26, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
34. "Camille Herron breaks 48-hour ultra-running record". AW. March 26, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
35. Metzler, Brian (March 26, 2023). "Camille Herron Sets New Women's 48-Hour Running World Record". Outside Online. Retrieved February 22, 2024.^{[permanent dead link]}
36. Hicks, Meghan (March 25, 2023). "Camille Herron Sets 48-Hour Running World Record of 435.336 kilometers (270.505 miles)". iRunFar. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
37. "BBC World Service - Sportshour, Record runner fuelled by tacos and smiles". BBC. March 26, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
38. "Inside Camille Herron's Boundary-Breaking Process for Running 6 Straight Days". Runner's World. March 19, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
39. Milne, Keeley (March 13, 2024). "Camille Herron captures 12 world records at Lululemon's FURTHER". Canadian Running Magazine. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
40. Beasley, Jared (March 13, 2024). "Naps, tacos and 11 world records: how Camille Herron ran 560 miles in six days". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
41. Powell, Bryon (March 21, 2024). "Finding a Groove: An Interview With Camille Herron About Her 6-Day World Record at the 2024 lululemon FURTHER Event". iRunFar. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
42. Burfoot, Amby (April 6, 2022). "Camille Herron Will Run Her 100,000th Mile This Week". Outside Online. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
43. "Camille Herron reached 100,000 miles on April 7, 2022". Retrieved February 22, 2024.
44. Godfrey, Ed. "'I love to run': How OKC's Camille Herron became the youngest woman to log 100,000 lifetime miles". The Oklahoman. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
45. "Strolling Jim™". ultrasignup.com. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
46. Milne, Keeley (October 1, 2023). "Camille Herron obliterates Spartathlon course record by more than two hours". Canadian Running Magazine. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
47. Metzler, Brian (October 4, 2023). "Armed with Smarts and Science, Camille Herron Sets an Astounding Record in Greece". RUN | Powered by Outside. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
48. mitchpa (December 20, 2020). "Hayden Hawks Wins with 5:18:40 Course Record; Camille Herron adds JFK Win to Her Resume". Runner's Gazette. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
49. Mock, Justin (February 17, 2020). "This Week In Running: February 17, 2020". iRunFar. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
50. "Tunnel Hill 100 Mile". ATRA. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
51. Wilson, Mark (October 31, 2021). "2021 Javelina Jundred Mile Results: Arlen Glick, Camille Herron Win in the Desert". iRunFar. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
52. "Camille Herron Breaks 100-Mile Course Record 2 Weeks After Harrowing Car Accident". Runner's World. February 15, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
53. Bedkowski, Jacek (April 11, 2022). "2021 IAU Athlete of the Year Winners". IAU International Association of Ultrarunners. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
54. "Reus & Herron win IAU Athlete of the Year 2015". Archived from the original on August 17, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
55. "International Association of Ultrarunners". Archived from the original on August 17, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
56. "The Winner of the 2018 IAU Athlete of the Year". International Association of Ultrarunners. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
57. "Herron and Walmsley named 2017 UltraRunners of the Year". Ultrarunning Magazine. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
58. Hobbs, Nancy (December 4, 2023). "2023 USATF MOUNTAIN ULTRA TRAIL RUNNERS OF THE YEAR ANNOUNCED". American Trail Running Association. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
59. "USATF's Mountain Ultra Trail Council Announces 2018 Runners of the Year". ATRA. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
60. "USATF Mountain, Ultra & Trail Running Council announces 2016 runners of the year". ATRA. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
61. "USATF's Mountain, Ultra & Trail Running Council announces 2017 runners of the year — ATRA". ATRA. November 28, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
62. "USATF's Mountain Ultra Trail Council Announces 2019 Runners of the Year". American Trail Running Association. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
63. Bolt, Richard (November 26, 2022). "McLaughlin, Peterman, Herron & King Selected USATF MUT Runners of the Year". American Trail Running Association. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
64. "RRCA Announces 2022 National Running Award Recipients". Road Runners Club of America. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
65. programs (April 11, 2024). "RRCA Announces 54th Class of Distance Running Hall of Fame Inductees". Road Runners Club of America. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
66. rrcaexecdir (April 12, 2024). "RRCA Announces 54th Class of Distance Running Hall of Fame Inductees". Endurance Sportswire. Retrieved April 13, 2024.

External links

• Official website
• Camille Herron at World Athletics
• Camille Herron at ITRA