Camille Herron

According to the International Association of Ultrarunners and Ultrarunning Magazine, with preliminary results for the IAU 24 Hour World Championship in 2019, she holds the World Best performances at the following distances and surfaces:

Camille was born on Christmas Day in Norman, OK. Due to body quirks, she adapted a unique running style well suited for ultrarunning. She credits her athletic ability and steely toughness to her grandpa, who earned two Purple Hearts in World War II, and her dad, both of whom played college basketball at Oklahoma State University for 3-time Olympic Team Coach, Henry Iba. Hearing stories of her dad practicing six hours without water, as a 7 year old she would practice basketball without water until she would black out. When she was 17, her family became homeless when they lost their home and possessions in the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak. She started running long on Sundays to celebrate her life.[8]

She was a 3-time All-Stater in cross country, 3-time State Champion in track and field, and valedictorian at Westmoore High School. She accepted academic and athletic scholarships to the University of Tulsa, where she was a top 10 senior and earned a B.S. in Exercise and Sports Science in 2005. As a young and growing runner, she experienced many injuries and was inspired to understand why so that she could keep herself healthy and running for a lifetime. She got back into competitive running as a road racer in her fifth year of college coached by her husband and former elite runner, Conor Holt. In 2007, Camille graduated from Oregon State University with a Masters of Science degree in Exercise and Sports Science. She worked as a Research Assistant in bone imaging/osteoimmunology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and has co-authored numerous scientific manuscripts. She and her husband manage an online coaching business.[9][10][11][12]

She is a three-time Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier, 21-time marathon winner, and Guinness World Records holder for the fastest marathon in a Superhero costume, running 2:48:51 dressed as Spiderwoman.[2][13] She represented Team USA in the marathon at the 2011 Pan American Games, finishing 9th.[14] She also became the first 3-time winner of the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon.[15]

As an ultrarunner, she's won four USATF titles (50K Road, 50 Mi Road, 100K Road, 100K Trail).[16][17][18][19] In 2015, she became the first ultrarunner to win two World titles in the same year, winning the IAU 100 km World Championships and the IAU 50 km World Championships. In June 2017, she became only the 3rd American to win the Comrades Marathon, leading from start-to-finish. In a memorable finish, she accidentally stopped at the wrong timing mat after receiving the penultimate baton and rose. A male runner came from behind, tapped her on the shoulder, and pointed that she wasn't done yet. She went into a sprint the final 200m to win.[20]

As of October 2019, she has set 11 Open American Records (50 Mi Road Best, 50 Mi Track, 100K Track, 12Hr Track and Road, 100 Mi Track and Road, 200K Track and Road, 24Hr Track and Road)[21][22][23][24] and three IAU-recognized Open World Bests (100 Mi, 12Hr, 24Hr).[25] In October 2015, she set an unofficial 50 mile world best of 5:38:41 at the Fall 50, surpassing Ann Trason's 5:40:18 performance from 1991.[26] Her 100 Mile Women’s World Best of 12:42:40 at the 2017 Tunnel Hill 100 is also the fastest women's time on trail, averaging 7:37 per mile.[27] For her 100 Mile and 24Hr World Bests, she won the races outright beating all of the men. She was the top ranked American 24Hr runner, including both men and women, going into the 2019 IAU 24 Hour World Championship,[28] where she won her third World title and bettered her 24-hour World Best by running 270.116 kilometres (167.842 mi).[29]

She was voted the 2015, 2018, and 2019 IAU International Athlete of the Year.[30][31][32][33] She is also a five-time honoree of the USATF Ruth Anderson Ultrarunner of the Year award, six-time USATF Athlete of the Week honoree, the 2017 Ultrarunning Magazine Female Ultrarunner of the Year, and four-time Ultra Performance of the Year.[34][35][36][37][38]

• Official website