 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 13, 1976 (age 48) Wheeling, West Virginia |
| Height | 6 ft (1.8 m) |
| Weight | 169 lb (77 kg) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  United States |
| Event | Ultramarathon |
Harvey Sweetland Lewis (born April 13, 1976) is an American ultrarunner. [1] [2]
| | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 13, 1976 (age 48) Wheeling, West Virginia |
| Height | 6 ft (1.8 m) |
| Weight | 169 lb (77 kg) |
| Sport | |
| Country | United States |
| Event | Ultramarathon |
Harvey Sweetland Lewis (born April 13, 1976) is an American ultrarunner. [1] [2]
Lewis was born in Wheeling, West Virginia and spent much of his childhood in Berea, Ohio.
Harvey Lewis, an ultramarathon runner and high school teacher from Cincinnati, Ohio, is known not only for his athletic achievements but also for his distinctive lifestyle choices. [3]
Lewis is a dedicated vegan, a decision he attributes to both health and ethical reasons. He believes that his plant-based diet contributes significantly to his endurance and recovery as an ultramarathon runner. [2]
In addition to his running career, Lewis is a full-time social studies teacher at the School for Creative and Performing Arts, balancing his teaching responsibilities with his training and racing schedules by run-commuting to work. [4]
Lewis represented Team USA at the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) 24 Hour World Championship in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2017. [3] Lewis's qualifying run for the 2017 championship was 157.9 miles [4] on September 19, 2015, when he won the NorthCoast 24-Hour Endurance Run in Cleveland, OH.
Lewis has competed in well known events such as the Badwater Ultramarathon, Arrowhead Region Ultra and the Marathon des Sables, as well as lesser known endurance events such as the Ultra Gobi, [5] where part of the challenge for the 50 participants is in self-navigating and self-supporting the 400 km course (250 miles) through the Gobi Desert in western China, with temperatures ranging from below freezing to 100 °F. [6]
In July 2014, Lewis won the Badwater Ultramarathon near Death Valley, CA, in just under 23 hours and 53 minutes. [7] This race is touted as the world's toughest foot race due to extremely hot temperatures and immense elevation changes throughout the course. [8] Six months later near the Canada–US border in International Falls, MN, Lewis tied for second place at the Arrowhead 135. [9] [10] [11] [12]
Runners must qualify and apply to compete at Badwater, and only 100 runners are invited each year. [13] In 2014, the field included runners from 25 different countries, including the 2013 winner from Portugal, Carlos Sá. Badwater is cited by National Geographic Adventure as Number 1 for the Top Ten Toughest Races. [14] In the same National Geographic Adventure listing, Arrowhead (referenced above) comes in at Number 7.
Lewis has a legacy with the Long Haul 100 Mile trail race in Land-o-Lakes, Florida having won the event on two occasions. He won the 2022 Long Haul 100 Mile with a time of 16:07.24. [15] He also won the 2020 Long Haul 100 with a time of 15:55:19, that year he won by over two hours. [16] He placed second in 2021 with a time of 14:49:07, behind Keith Lundquist. [17] In 2019, he placed third overall with a time of 18:19:29. [18] In October 2023, Harvey broke the Backyard Ultra record by completing 108 laps (450 miles) over five days of running. [19] [20]
Winner, Big Dog's Backyard Ultra (450 miles) October 2023 [21]
Winner, FANS 24-Hours, Minnesota, June 4, 2022: 148.68 miles [22]
Winner, Long Haul 100 (100 Miles) January 2022 [23]
Winner, Big Dog's Backyard Ultra (354.16 miles) October 2021 [24]
Winner, Badwater Ultramarathon (135 miles) 25:50:23 July 2021 [25]
Winner, Long Haul 100 (100 Miles) January 2020 [26]
Winner, Badwater Ultramarathon (135 miles) 23:52:55 July 2014 [27]
Winner, SC24, Spartanburg, SC, March 16, 2014: 154.590 miles [28]
Winner, Stone Steps 50K, Cincinnati, OH, Oct. 27, 2013: 4:15:33 [29]
Winner, NorthCoast 24-Hour Endurance Run, Cleveland, OH, Sept. 21, 2013: 150.58678 miles [30]
Winner, FANS 24-Hours, Minnesota, June 2, 2012: 142.86 miles [31]
Winner, Tie Dye 32M, Apr 28, 2012: 4:01:32 [32]
Winner, Sulphur Springs 160 km, May 29, 2010: 17:12:37 [33]
Sulphur Springs 100 (Ontario, Canada) on the "old course" at 17:12:37, in 2010. [34]
Backyard Ultra, World Record of 108 laps completed (450 miles) over 5 days, October 2023. [35]
In 2008, Lewis earned a grant to retrace the steps of Mahatma Gandhi's famous 1930 Salt March: a nonviolent protest to the salt tax, which had provided a British monopoly resulting in extreme pricing of salt to colonial Indians, who were prohibited to manufacture salt on their own. Gandhi, who started with 80 followers called satyagrahis , or "truth-force," walked 241 miles from his home (the Harijan Ashram) to the coastal city of Dandi, where Gandhi picked up some grains of salt, thereby sparking the civil disobedience movement which eventually led to India's independence. [36] [37]
In 2009, Lewis retraced Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic Selma to Montgomery march. [38] Lewis also met with the 99-year-old Amelia Boynton Robinson after his run. Robinson (then known as Boynton) was a nonviolent protester who helped organize the 1965 march, and was one of several marchers beaten unconscious by state troopers and county officers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge six blocks from its start. [39] "I believe God kept me alive 99 years so I can share my story with young people," Robinson told Lewis. [40]
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Dean Karnazes, is an American ultramarathon runner, and author of Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner, which details ultra endurance running for the general public.
The Badwater Ultramarathon is a 135-mile (217 km) ultramarathon race starting at −282 feet (−86 m) below sea level in the Badwater Basin, in California's Death Valley, and ending at an elevation of 8,360 feet (2,550 m) at Whitney Portal, the trailhead to Mount Whitney. It takes place annually in mid-July when the weather conditions are most extreme and temperatures can reach 130 °F (54 °C).
Scott Gordon Jurek is an American ultramarathoner, author, and public speaker. Throughout his running career, Jurek was one of the most dominant ultramarathon runners in the world, winning the Hardrock Hundred (2007), the Badwater Ultramarathon, the Spartathlon, and the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run (1999–2005). In 2010, at the 24-Hour World Championships in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France, Jurek won a silver medal behind Shingo Inoue and set a new US record for distance run in 24 hours with 165.7 miles. In 2015, Jurek set the Fastest Known Time running record for the 2,189-mile Appalachian Trail.
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Jeff Browning is an American ultramarathon runner and coach. After moving to Bend, Oregon, Browning transitioned from mountain biking to ultrarunning, and has since won more than two dozen 100 mile races. Previously a graphic designer, Browning has been a professional runner and coach since 2017. He was listed as one of the top 10 ultrarunners of the year by Ulrarunning Magazine in 2019, 2021, and 2022, and is the oldest runner ever to be included in these awards. He attributes his success and longevity in the sport to not only a high volume of running, but an additional focus on cross training, strength and mobility work, and adherence to a low carb, high fat diet.
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Connie Gardner is an American ultramarathoner and member of the USATF. She has competed in ultramarathons all over the world, and has won 11 USATF national championships. Her ultramarathon victories include the Burning River 100 Mile Trail Race, the Mohican 100 Mile Trail Race, the NorthCoast 24-Hour Endurance Run, the Tussey Mountainback 50 Miler (2011), and the JFK 50 Miler.
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Ellie Greenwood is a British and Canadian ultramarathon runner. She is a four-time 100km World Champion, winning both individual and team titles in 2010 and 2014. She won the 90 km Comrades Marathon in South Africa in 2014, becoming the first British woman to win the race. Greenwood is also a former champion and course record holder for the Canadian Death Race, Western States 100, and the JFK 50 Mile Run.
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