A pair of Quad Cities friends and world-champion ultra-running competitors are set to talk about big things at a Tiny Bench Big Questions Live Podcast Recording from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6, at the Coffee House in the Village of East Davenport.
The public is invited to hear from native Quad Citians Phil Young and Don Reichelt at the shop located at 1315 Jersey Ridge Road.Â
The men were friends and competitors while growing up in the Quad Cities and furthered their love of running at the University of Iowa, according to a Fleet Feet news release.
Fifteen years later, they are competitors at the top of their class in the U.S. in their ultra-running disciplines. For example, in 2023:
- Don Reichelt won the Men’s USA Track & Field 24-Hour Championships. It covered 126.5 miles at the Fat Ox in Goodyear, Arizona. He also set three manual treadmill world records in November 2022:. They were furthest distance in 12 hours, fastest 100 mile, and furthest distance run in 24 hours. In his off-time Don runs the successful Tiny Bench, Big Questions podcast.Â
- Phil Young’s time of 12:27:36, a 7:28 per mile pace, at the Tunnel Hill 100 (that’s a hundred-mile race) gave him the No. 1 spot in North America, No. 6 in the world, and No. 23 in the world all-time. Mr. Young also co-owns and operates Fleet Feet in Davenport, with his wife Jackie (named a Top 50 Running Store in the United States in 2023).
What is ultra-running?
Ultrarunners run races that are longer than a traditional 26.2-mile marathon. Such races are rapidly growing in the U.S and worldwide. They can be listed in either kilometers or hours. Examples include 50K, 100K, 50-mile, 100-mile, 6 hours (ranging from 25 to 50 miles), 12 hours and more.
The QC competitors will discuss ultra-endurance running during Saturday’s Tiny Bench Big Questions podcast and celebrate recent accomplishments.
