American runner sets half marathon record on treadmill
"Running on the treadmill for 20 minutes is hard enough, but Leblanc took it to the next level, setting a world record in the half-marathon," commented Canadian Running Magazine.
On July 22, Leblanc broke a Guinness World Record at a local gym in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA. He completed the distance of 21.0975 km in 62 minutes and 50 seconds, breaking the old record of 63 minutes and 8 seconds set by compatriot John Raneri in 2020. Raneri achieved the best (PB) time when running a marathon of 2 hours 12 minutes. 33 seconds in December 2022.
Leblanc set the speed on the machine at 20.12 km / h for almost the entire run. Canadian Running Magazine said this American runner ran the first 5km in 14 minutes 54 seconds and reached the 10km mark in 29 minutes 46 seconds. In the end, he broke the record for running a half-marathon on a treadmill by 18 seconds.
The 32-year-old runner revealed that the inspiration to break the record came from a friend who broke a similar record while running on a treadmill at high altitude. "He broke the record at altitude, so when he did it at sea level, I knew I had the edge," Leblanc said. "Setting a world record will not only bring communities together, but the whole world behind a noble cause to help children."
Leblanc works full-time as a diagnostic echocardiogram technician at Lafayette General Medical Center. He wants to use this job and his passion for running to raise money for Camp Bon Coeur - a camp for children with heart disease in need of treatment. The American runner set a goal of $25,000 and has now raised nearly $10,000.
Breaking the half-marathon record on the treadmill is not Leblanc's first feat in running. In 2015, he was the first Louisiana-born runner to run 1 mile (1.6km) in under 4 minutes, with a time of 3 minutes 59 seconds 95 at Lafayette. This achievement helps him qualify for the USA selection contest for Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021.
