Aaron Yoder Smashes “World Record” for Backwards Mile
“When I’m running backwards, it almost feels like I’m flying."
By Katie Dupere, Men's Health
Run a Mile in this guy’s shoes and you’ll probably fall on your ass. That’s because Aaron Yoder is famous for his backwards running style—and recently broke the official Guinness World Record for fastest backwards Mile.
Yoder completed the unusual feat just 5 minutes, 30 seconds. Yes, you read the correctly.
By the way, the previous backwards Mile world record was set by Yoder in 2015. That speedy run was completed in 5:54.
Yoder ran his latest backwards Mile on Friday, Sept. 4 in Lindsborg, Kansas as part of the New Balance 5th Avenue Mile. The event, which is in its 40th year, moved “off 5th Avenue and onto your street" this year due to social distancing measures. Runners were encouraged to remotely participate in their virtual run anytime between September 4 and 13, and asked to “visualize racing 20 blocks of tree-lined 5th Avenue with thousands of other virtual runners.”
Yoder ran the Mile on straight stretch Kansas road, which was free of any obstacles like moving vehicles or stray pedestrians—barring a small construction crew which seems understandably puzzled by the display.
Prior to his backwards-running success, Yoder was a competitive runner for more than 20 years, spanning from his childhood to young adult life. A severe knee injury stunted his career, with doctors instructing him to stop running all together. But Yoder found a solution to keep running a part of his life.
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