Karel Sabbe

Karel Sabbe (born in Waregem in 1989) is a Belgian dentist and ultrarunner. While Sabbe is not a professional athlete, he has repeatedly set several speed records on prominent trails and completed elite races such as Barkley Marathons.

Karel Sabbe
Personal information
NationalityBelgian
Sport
CountryBelgium
SportUltramarathons

Life

Karel Sabbe is a professional dentist. During his youth and student days, he mainly played football and tennis. In 2014 he ran his first marathon. Without any background in running he participated in the Coast to Coast-race in New Zealand consisting of a 36 km trail run, 67 km kayaking and 140 km cycling.[1]

This was followed by the Marathon des Sables (2016) in preparation for the Pacific Crest Trail (2016), where he finished 38th out of 1,200 starters. He eventually finished the 4,300 km long Pacific Crest Trail in 52 days, dethroning world record holder Joe McConaughy. He also smashed the record on the Appalachian Trail (2018), which was also previously held by Joe McConaughy, by more than 4 days. It took him 41 days.[2] For both records he is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

In the summer of 2020 he became the record holder on the Alta Via 2 in the Italian Dolomites. In October he became world champion Big's Backyard Ultra in a new world record of 75 laps (good for 502 km in 75 hours).

During the summer of 2021 he set the new speed record on the Via Alpina, a long-distance hiking trail through the Alps. He completed the red trail, the longest of the network, in 30 days, 8 hours and 40 minutes.

In 2023, Karel became the 17th person to complete the Barkley Marathons.[3] At less than six and a half minutes before the time limit, he holds the current record for the slowest person to complete the course.[4]

During the Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail and the Barkley Marathons, he was logistically supported and guided by his brother-in-law and physiotherapist, Joren Biebuyck. During the Via Alpina record attempt, Joren was joined by friends of Karel.

In the city of Ghent, a hill was named after him, the Karel Sabbeberg, after Karel Sabbe climbed this hill a thousand times as part of his training.

Records

References
  1. "Been there, run that: It wasn't all bad in Belgium..." The Brussels Times. 5 August 2023.
  2. Miles, Kathryn (2018-08-29). "This Guy Just Beat the AT Speed Record by 4 Days". Outside. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  3. Sottile, Zoe (2023-03-19). "For the second time in history, a record 3 people have completed one of the world's toughest races". CNN. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  4. "3 Runners Make History at Tennessee's Grueling Barkley Marathons". Runner's World. 2023-03-17. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  5. Runner's World - Karel Sabbe breaks Appalachian Trail speed record
  6. FKT - Karel Sabbe (Appalachian Trail 2018)
  7. Canadian Running Magazine - Karel Sabbe runs 500K to win Big's Backyard Ultra, Dauwalter takes U.S. crown
  8. FKT - Karel Sabbe - Via Alpina, Red Trail
  9. Thomas, Gregory (26 August 2023). "An ultrarunner just smashed the Pacific Crest Trail speed record, hiking 57 miles per day". The San Francisco Chronicle.
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