Michael Wardian will be in Seregno, Italy on Sunday, April 22 to take part in the 100k World Championships.  In last year’s competition, he came away with a silver medal…not too shabby.  So what better way to warm-up for the 100k World Championships than to …attempt to set the world record for a treadmill marathon?  Personally, I’d choose some extended couch time and an Arrested Development marathon, but that’s just me.  But Michael has the silver medal, so I think I’d take his advice over mine any day of the week.

Level Renner was on hand at the Boston Marathon expo this past Saturday (4/14) to bear witness to Michael’s attempt to take back the world record he once owned.  Here’s the proof:

Unfortunately, he didn’t get it.  From both the look on his face and his mood, you wouldn’t be able to tell that he suffered a bit of a disappointment.  Michael was very accommodating to both fans and certain underground media-types, and you could tell that he just really enjoyed talking shop.

If memory serves me correctly, the record attempt was done on a Woodway Treadmill.  And although Michael had nothing but positive things to say about the whole experience, I have run on Woodways before and absolutely hated it.  Not sure if they’re all generally the same, but the one I ran on was definitely shorter than the standard treadmill, so I was worried the whole time that I’d fall off the back of it.  On top of that, its unique tread was a little slick, which only served to compound my fears.  Nothing says relaxed treadmill run like jamming right up against the front out of fear.  I also think that it just didn’t have as much give to it as the average treadmill does.  It could’ve just been me, but it felt like there was also heat rising up from it, and that doesn’t help with chaffing.  At the time, it was the only treadmill in my gym that went faster than 6:00 pace, so I was forced to use it if I had to get a quality run/workout done indoors.  Combining all those negative attributes I listed above, and  you can imagine how I felt about my 10-12 miles.  I can’t imagine what it’s like running a marathon on one of those things.

Keep an eye out for Michael this Sunday, as he represents the USA at the World Championships.  Best of luck to you, Michael.  We’re all rooting for you!  Go here for live coverage, but make sure you have plenty of snacks and drinks on hand…it’s a long one!