Name: Phoenix runner Zach Bitter attempting 100-mile treadmill world record on YouTube
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Phoenix runner Zach Bitter attempting 100-mile treadmill world record on YouTube

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Arizona RepublicView CommentsThere's no better place to chase a world record than your own home, especially&nbsp;in quarantine mode during the COVID-19 pandemic.That's exactly&nbsp;what Phoenix ultramarathon runner&nbsp;Zach Bitter will be doing as he&nbsp;attempts to break&nbsp;the 100-mile treadmill running world record Saturday, 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.,&nbsp;streaming live on his."I had my eye on some treadmill stuff in the past just because I thought it was an interesting concept, and I thought, well, now is probably the best time to do it," Bitter said. "I translated my training from before to more treadmill runs rather than flat road runs or track runs.”He will be pushing himself on a new, state-of-the-art NordicTrack X22i treadmill; the&nbsp;event doubles as a promotion for&nbsp;the interactive treadmill that debuted last fall.Companies including SFuels, NordicTrack, Altra, Buff, Coros and Purpose are sponsoring the event.The 100-mile treadmill world&nbsp;record was set by&nbsp;Dave Proctor, who covered the virtual distance last year in&nbsp;12 hours, 32 minutes.In August 2019, the&nbsp;three-time national champion Bitter&nbsp;achieved the&nbsp;100-mile indoor track world record, crushing it&nbsp;by almost 10 minutes (11:19:13) at the Six Days in the Dome event at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee.Bitter began endurance running during his college&nbsp;days at&nbsp;University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and continued his rigorous training regimen&nbsp;after he graduated in 2008. He started by running up to 50 to 60 miles per week outdoors and gradually increased that range tenfold until he began running up&nbsp;to an amazing&nbsp;150-plus miles&nbsp;per week.&nbsp;And if not for the pandemic, this attempt at the treadmill record would not be taking place.“I probably wouldn’t be. I was preparing for a 100-mile race in London, but it was a really flat track race similar to the one that I did at the Pettit Center last year," Bitter said. "I was most of the way through my training cycle for that when all of the races got cancelled in March."Once that happened, I was left with either stepping back from training and just waiting for something to pop up, or just kind of keep at least some semblance of the fitness there and then target something that I can put on by myself.”He also drew inspiration to go for the world record because he saw many ultrarunners creating their own timed trials and challenges outside.To break up the monotony of running on a treadmill compared to the Valley's scenic trails, Bitter enters a meditative state&nbsp;by envisioning himself in another familiar location where he enjoys running.“What I’ve done in the past with short-looped courses is try to give myself small benchmarks so I’m not thinking too far in advance," Bitter said.&nbsp;"When you’re doing something that’s really long like this, you can really burn up a lot of mental energy if you’re just thinking about getting to the finish when you’re two hours in.“That might be one of the advantages of a treadmill is you can do that and set the pace and know you’re hitting your splits. When I’m on a 400-meter track, I still have to be cognizant of hitting my splits and break out of there every once in awhile so I’m on track. Taking it into bite-sized chunks is the way I like to describe it and if you do that enough times, eventually you find yourself with a few miles to go.” Have tips for us? Reach the reporter at or at 480-486-4721. Follow his Twitter .Support local journalism.&nbsp;.View Comments

Arizona RepublicView CommentsThere's no better place to chase a world record than your own home, especially&nbsp;in quarantine mode during the COVID-19 pandemic.That's exactly&nbsp;what Phoenix ultramarathon runner&nbsp;Zach Bitter will be doing as he&nbsp;attempts to break&nbsp;the 100-mile treadmill running world record Saturday, 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.,&nbsp;streaming live on his."I had my eye on some treadmill stuff in the past just because I thought it was an interesting concept, and I thought, well, now is probably the best time to do it," Bitter said. "I translated my training from...

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Dana Scott

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Phoenix runner Zach Bitter attempting 100-mile treadmill world record on YouTube

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