The history of women’s six day ultra races has been overshadowed by the focus on the men’s record. The impetus for writing a series of posts about the women’s six day record came from interviewing Eleanor Robinson and Lorna Richey Michael who both competed in the New York Road Runners Six Day Track Race in 1984. I realised that 1984 was a stellar year in the history of the women’s event. The record changed hands five times and women drove the distance up by 91 miles in just 8 months. There hasn’t been a year like it before or since.

Six day ultras began with Victorian-era pedestrianism. Women competed in both individual events and races against other women in the 1870s and 1880s. The six day format was revived in the USA in 1980. The following year, Marcy Schwam became the first woman to compete in a six day race since the revival, setting the “modern era” record. This post sets out the progression of that record since 1981.

Women’s six day world record progression

June 1981 – Marcy Schwam (USA) – 384 miles/617.988km – Pennsauken, New Jersey, USA

August 1982 – Ros Paul (UK) – 407 miles 741 yards/655.689km – Nottingham, UK

August 1983 – Eleanor Adams (UK) – 409 miles 1178 yards/659.298km – Nottingham, UK

May 1984 – Christine Barrett (UK) – 421 miles 1320 yards/678.741km – Stoke-on-Trent, UK

June 1984 – Mary Hanudel (USA) – 423 miles/680.753km – Pennsauken, New Jersey, UK

July 1984 – Eleanor Adams (2) – 462 miles, 278 yards/743.771km – New York, UK

October 1984 – Edith Couhé (France) – 472 miles, 1300 yards/760.800km – La Rochelle, France

December 1984 – Eleanor Adams (3) – 500miles 1452 yards/806.000km – Colac, Australia

March 1986 – Eleanor Adams (4) – 502 miles 994 yards/808.800km – Colac, Australia

November 1987- Eleanor Adams (5) – 521 miles 362 yards/838.800km – Colac, Australia

November 1989 – Eleanor Adams (6) – 538 miles 1063 yards/866.800km – Colac, Australia

November 1990 – Sandra Barwick (New Zealand) – 549 miles, 110 yards/883.631km – Campbelltown, Australia

March 2024 – Camille Herron (USA) – 560.3 miles/901.800km – La Quinta, California ***subject to IAU ratification

Notes on world record progression

The world record progression shows that Eleanor Adams (now Robinson) was the preeminent ultrarunner for the six day event. Adams set the record six times from 1983 to 1989. She remains the only woman to have held the record more than once. During this time the record distance increased by over 128 miles. Her 1989 performance still stands as the v35 world record and the British record. It was her last six day race. Sandra Barwick finished just 6km behind Adams and took the record the following year.

Camille Herron broke Barwick’s record at the “FURTHER” women-only six day race in La Quinta, California (subject to IAU ratification). The event was a joint initiative between Herron and her sponsor, athletic brand  Lululemon. Herron holds the world records for 100 miles and 48 hours. When the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) signalled its intention to eliminate the 1000 km, 1000 mile and 6-day races as official IAU races in 2021, Herron was one of the athletes who objected to the decision. The IAU reconsidered its decision on the six day event and reinstated it.

Sandra Barwick’s world record, set in 1990, was also the v40 record. Both Adams and Barwick ran their longest distances in their early forties. Camille Herron is 42 and will take the v40 record.

Herron joins an elite group of women who have exceeded 800km/500miles. The others are Eleanor Adams, Sandra Barwick and Catherine (Dipali) Cunningham of Australia. Cunningham has done this three times at the Sri Chinmoy 6 Day Road Race in New York, first in 1998 and then again in 2001 and 2009. Her 2009 performance, 512 miles 1759 yards/825.593km, is the current Australian record.

Prior to Herron’s performance, the best performance so far this decade was by Annie Paringaux (v55) of France. She covered 492miles 247 yards/792.024km at Policoro in Italy in March 2022.

Six day racing for women today

In 2008, Andy Milroy wrote:

The six day event  continues to be a focus for multi-day runners all over the world, but there are relatively few such races, due to the cost and commitment needed to organise such a prolonged race. Consequently the number of six day runners is not large. The race continues to have a unique place in the sport of Ultrarunning, and for many remains a fascinating and formidable challenge.

According to the Deutsche Ultramarathon Vereinigung (DUV) website, more than a dozen races of six days or longer were held in 2023 in the USA, seven European countries, and Australia. 131 women competed. This suggests that the six day format is still popular despite the challenges of hosting such long events.

Ten invited athletes participated in the Further race. None had completed a six day race before. Data from the race will be used in sports science research. Lululemon is collaborating with the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific to research fatigue resistance, and the physiological and biomechanical effects of ultrarunning on women.

It is to be hoped that the “Further” race created by Camille Herron and Lululemon will create new interest in women’s six day races and reach different audiences, encouraging more women to participate.