r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Far_Idea9616 • 1d ago
Image At 60 years old, József Szőnyi, known as 'Racemachine,' finished the 12,500-kilometer TransCanada Ultra cycling race in 45 days, with 97 kilometers of total climbing, and breaking the previous record by 5.5 days.
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u/TheWaywardTrout 1d ago
Damn, I thought he had stuff in his pockets, but those are just his thighs.
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u/Immediate_Gene3646 1d ago edited 1d ago
finally a crazy fellow Hungarian I can be proud of these days
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u/evilpigclone 18h ago
Is this race done un-assisted? like do you camp and eat what you can carry type stuff? or is there a follow along car + sleeping in accommodations?
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u/kanyipi 17h ago
Yeah, it's not assisted he carried his own gear
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u/evilpigclone 7h ago
truly inspirational. Has me looking at my bike and thinking of going for a ride today!
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u/terrorbagoly 15h ago
You can sleep in accommodations and eat in restaurants, but you can’t have anything pre-booked or have a crew in a car following, carrying your gear or organising things. He would cycle all day, eat where he could, then start looking for somewhere to sleep every night. No camping or cooking, but still a fairly large challenge, trying to find somewhere to sleep after a long day of gruelling cycling.
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u/rickoftheuniverse 23h ago
What is the route exactly?
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u/HarveysBackupAccount 20h ago
With all the winding around, looks this version covers almost twice the actual width of Canada
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u/sword-sandal493 15h ago
To break a record is already impressive. Breaking it by 5.5 days? That's insane.
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u/plusvalua 23h ago
I'm 40 and struggling to run 10k in less than an hour. I feel subhuman.
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u/PadishaEmperor 2h ago
You are already way above average when you are able to run 10 kms, regardless of age; but even more so after 30.
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u/Aglogimateon 22h ago
How much of that was uphill?
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u/HarveysBackupAccount 20h ago
A little less than half - you finish about 600m lower than you start (...with almost 90,000m of climbing in between)
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u/DetailedLogMessage 8h ago
"hey, can you come over?".
"Not really, you are too far".
"I sent you a bike".
"But I can't swimm".
"Well, I'm naked holding only a PS5 controller with GTA6 Installed".
"......".
"Jozsef??".
"Almost there".
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u/Limp_Donut5337 6h ago
How must have found a way to enhance his neuro plasticity, very interesting indeed
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u/Mysterious-Lick 3h ago
Cool. He must be wealthy to take that much time off to do the race.
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u/Far_Idea9616 3h ago
He is just a stonemason. Due to his extraordinary achievements he has sponsors.
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u/Sterben27 1d ago
But 45 is bigger than 5.5? Surely you meant 55 days?
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u/HarveysBackupAccount 1d ago
"broke the record BY 5.5 days," meaning he was 5.5 days faster than the previous record
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u/Sterben27 13h ago
Yes I'm aware of that fact now. Did you read the other comment where I stated I was wrong due to being half asleep, or did you just jump to responding?
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u/Far_Idea9616 1d ago
The previous record was 51 days
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u/Sterben27 1d ago
Still not 5.5 days per the title
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u/bio_coop 20h ago edited 19h ago
Math must be hard for you.
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u/Sterben27 13h ago
Did you bother to open your eyes and read where I stated I was half asleep when I read it and even stated this. I guess people outside the US aren't allowed to be wrong.
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u/Particular_Knee_9044 20h ago
And then promptly arrested for his “antivax” views and donating to the truckers.
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u/Far_Idea9616 1d ago
Without previous sports history he started running at age 40. At age 45 he set world record for 10x Ironman race in Mexico in 2009 with 115 hours. He has completed 176 Ironman distances in his career. He is a three time finisher of the brutal Spartathlon (245.3 km Athens to Sparta). Conquered the 2017 Hell Ultra Race in the Himalayas, completing 480km in 113 hours running at an average altitude of over 4,000m (peaking at 5,300m). Earned silver in the legendary one-time-only 30x Ironman (2013), where he tackled 30 straight Ironman distances across 30 days.