Taiwanese runner breaks age category record in longest road footrace

Taipei, Oct. 16 (CNA) Taiwanese runner Lo Wei-ming (羅維銘) broke the record for his age bracket and finished third in this year's Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race on Monday evening in New York (local time).

Running the multi-day footrace for his fourth consecutive year, Asian record holder Lo broke the "age 60 record" by finishing in 45 days, 12 hours, 37 minutes and 55 seconds, according to the organizers.

The previous age 60 record of 50 days, 15 hours, 6 minutes and four seconds had been held by British runner William Sichel since 2014.

Now in its 28th year, the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race is the world's longest certified road race. It takes place every year in the borough of Queens in New York.

"Runners have to finish approximately two marathons a day from 6 a.m. to midnight for 52 continuous days in order to complete the distance in the allotted time," according to the organizer's website.

After completing the 3,100 miles -- equivalent to nearly 4,989 kilometers (km) -- Lo ran another 13 laps to complete the 5,000 km milestone in 45 days, 15 hours, three minutes and 57 seconds, the website said.

The first to finish this year's grueling race was Italian runner Andrea Marcato in 43 days, three hours, four minutes and six seconds. In second place was Ashprihanal Aalto from Finland, with a time of 44 days, nine hours, 22 minutes and 13 seconds.

Participants are required to finish the race within 52 days, and are allowed to run every day between 6 a.m. to midnight. This year's race started on Aug. 30 and will continue until Oct. 20, according to the website.

Described as the "Mount Everest of Ultra-Running," only 54 individuals have ever completed the punishing 4,989 km road race since it was first held in 1997, according to the organizers.