In practically all racing codecs, information come all the way down to the smallest margins, and when Ivan Zaborsky of Russia set a brand new males’s six-day world document, it was by a distance that might have been erased by a single push of a sleep button on an alarm clock. After 144 hours of racing on the Six Days of France in Vallon Pont d’Arc, he stopped at midday on Might 4, having accomplished 650.919 miles (1,047.554 kilometers).
This broke Matthieu Bonne’s 2024 document of 649.655 miles (1,045.519 kilometers) by 1.26 miles (2.03 kilometers). To place that in perspective, it implies that Zaborsky ran 0.00875 miles per hour quicker than Bonne over the course of the occasion, the smallest of margins. His pacing over the course of six days noticed him touring simply forward of world document tempo for the primary 5 days after which making massive push within the remaining 24 hours to set a brand new customary.
Zaborsky isn’t any stranger to multiday races, as he prefers to run lengthy slightly than quick. He holds a number of long-distance information, together with the 304-mile (490-kilometer) Genuine Phidippides Run, which travels from Athens to Sparta in Greece and again once more.
On this interview a number of days after the race, Zaborsky gives a little bit of background on himself, explains his pathway to long-distance racing, how the postponement of the three-day world championships resulted in him signing up for this six-day occasion, his pacing plan, and the way the ultimate hours of fixed rain foiled his plans to run even farther.
To learn extra about Zaborsky’s world document, you’ll be able to take a look at our information article concerning the occasion. Remember to additionally see our interview with Megan Eckert, who set a ladies’s six-day world document on the identical occasion.
Ivan Zaborsky on his option to setting a brand new males’s six-day world document on the 2025 Six Days of France race. All images courtesy of Ivan Zaborsky.
[Editor’s Note: This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.]
iRunFar: Let’s begin with a little bit little bit of background about you. The place did you develop up, and the place do you reside now? How did you initially get into the game, and what do you do exterior of working?
Ivan Zaborsky: I used to be born, raised, and now reside in Moscow. I’m the pinnacle of the Company Finance division at Repair Value, a global chain of fixed-price shops. That’s, I work 5 days every week from 9 a.m. to six p.m. At first, I ran with my father and brother whereas I used to be in class. In 2015, I ran my first 24-hour race, and the subsequent one was my first Spartathlon. That’s how my ultramarathon journey started.
iRunFar: It looks as if you’ve a good bit of expertise with multiday racing, together with the 2024 GOMU 48-Hour World Championships and St. Petersburg Yard Extremely. When did you first begin collaborating in these very lengthy lap races, and why?
Zaborsky: My first 24-hour race was in 2015 in Moscow. After it, I participated in lots of races: Spartathlon (four-time finisher), Ultrabalaton, Extremely Milano San-Remo (present course document holder). I had my greatest consequence at a 24-hour race in Russia: 284.913 kilometers. Final 12 months, I set a brand new document on the Genuine Phidippides Run of 52 hours and 52 minutes. I don’t prefer to run quick, so my concept is that the longer the gap, the higher the consequence I’ve on it. That’s the rationale I got here into multiday working. It’s a really fascinating discipline the place you’ve nice prospects for various methods!
Zaborsky ran by really feel, making an attempt to not run too quick.
iRunFar: When and why did you determine to attempt for the six-day world document?
Zaborsky: I made a decision to participate within the six-day world championships after successful the Phidippides Run in Greece in November of 2024. The reason being that the three-day world championships was postponed to 2026, so I made a decision to attempt the six-day world championships. I anticipated a singular expertise.
iRunFar: How do you put together bodily and mentally for most of these efforts? What does your weekly coaching appear like?
Zaborsky: I began to run greater than normal. From March 21 till April 20, my working quantity was 1,315 kilometers. I included interval working and hill working in my weekly exercises. Mentally, I’m ready for each competitors. It’s not an issue.
iRunFar: Who did you’ve with you as your crew for the Six Days of France occasion? Have they crewed for you earlier than?
Zaborsky: My crew was my spouse. She helped me earlier than in 24-hour races.
iRunFar: It looks as if you based mostly your pacing plan very carefully on Matthieu Bonne’s pacing, proper all the way down to the larger breaks you took. If this was intentional, what was the reasoning behind it?
Zaborsky: No, I didn’t attempt to copy his pacing plan. I simply ran at a cushty tempo aside from the final day, once I ran extra to set a brand new document. I had massive breaks throughout the hottest hours of the day, and one or two small breaks at evening.
iRunFar: Had been you basing your tempo extra on the way you felt or on making an attempt to hit a selected time for each lap?
Zaborsky: I based mostly my tempo solely on how I felt and tried to not run quick.
The rain throughout the preliminary and remaining hours of the occasion slowed Zaborsky down, however not by a lot.
iRunFar: Did you expertise many high and low factors, or did you are feeling such as you have been in a position to preserve regular emotional and bodily states all through the occasion?
Zaborsky: I didn’t have many high and low factors. It was troublesome some nights, particularly within the early morning hours. However nothing essential.
iRunFar: You have been forward of Bonne’s tempo till you took yet one more longer sleep than he did close to the top. With a day left to run, have been you ever apprehensive that you simply wouldn’t have the ability to get forward of his tempo once more?
Zaborsky: No. I used to be certain that on day six, I’ll go forward. However heavy rain spoiled my plan a bit.
iRunFar: How did that remaining longer sleep have an effect on your remaining day of racing? Was that sleep at all times a part of the plan? How arduous did you must push within the remaining hours to just be sure you would get the world document?
Zaborsky: It gave me further time to relaxation throughout hottest hours, so l had energy to run with out massive breaks the final day. The ultimate hours have been slightly troublesome and lengthy due to fixed rain.
iRunFar: Was there ever a degree the place you have been assured that you’d get the document so long as one thing catastrophic didn’t occur?
Zaborsky: I feel it was on day six. I clearly understood that if I didn’t get injured, I’d get a document.