I often get asked about our ultra distance walk ranking lists and whether the best times recorded have world record status Here is how I respond.

The shorter distance walks (up to 50km) are controlled by World Athletics (WA) and the World Masters Assn (WMA). Open and Masters records for all the shorter distances are clearly documented and there is a rigorous process if you wish to apply for a new one. Obviously only elite racewalkers ever aspire to that sort of standard.

Alas, as there is no world governing body for ultra distance walking, there is no such thing as an "official" world record for any ultra walking distance (100km, 12 Hours, 100 Miles, 24 Hours, etc, etc).

Certain countries may maintain their own record lists. For instance, Great Britain includes some ultra walks in its records list - see http://www.gbrathletics.com/uk/ or http://www.gbrathletics.com/uk/mh99.htm - but they are not necessarily kept up to date. The Australian Centurions control and maintain Australian Ultra Walk records but we are an exception to the rule here and some would argue that our records are really just "best on record" rather than "records", but I won't get into that discussion. As far as we are concerned, the Australian Centurions recognise them as Australian Walk Records.

The most definitive record and rankings lists are those maintained by French walking enthusiast Emmanuel Tardi and by Dutch centurion Gerrit de Jong, a number of which I have on our centurions website via page http://centurions.org.au/centranks.shtml. You can see the following there: 100km, 100 Miles, 6 Days. I do not have all-time ranking lists for other standards like 24H, 48H, etc but there are other sites which do attempt to maintain ranking lists. One of the best is https://www.belgianwalkingassociation.com. There you can find ranking lists for 100km, 200km, 24 Hours.

If you were so minded, you could try to produce definitive lists all in one place but you would then need some way to maintain them - not something I would  contemplate at this time.

Last Updated    10 October 2024

Australian Centurions Secretary: Tim Erickson, 1 Avoca Crescent, Pascoe Vale, Victoria,3044 (terick@melbpc.org.au).