Joe Fejes wrapped up 2012 nicely by breaking the event record at the Across The Years 72-Hour Run in Glendale, Arizona. Fejes, a 47-year-old resident of Georgia, amassed 329.64 miles over 72 hours between December 29 and January 1. In doing so, he surpassed the heretofore unapproached event record of 323.42 miles, set by Yiannis Kouros in 2005. He also improved by 49 miles his winning tally at last year's event.

How impressive was Fejes' feat? To start, consider that Across The Years also has 24-hour and 48-hour events. With his daily average of just more than 109 miles for the three days, Fejes averaged more miles per day than the winners of the 24-hour (Ian Sharman, 109.18 miles) and 48-hour races (Volodymyr Balatskyy, 207.86 miles).

But taking down the Kouros mark is what really turned heads in the ultra community. The Greek runner holds world records at 100 miles, 1,000 kilometers and 1,000 miles, as well as at 24-hour, 48-hour and 6-day events. As ultrarunner John Morelock put it in an e-mail to Runner's World Newswire, "The 72-hour run is not a recognized event by USATF or IAAF; however, any time someone breaks a record held by Kouros, some incredible running was done."

Scott Douglas Scott is a veteran running, fitness, and health journalist who has held senior editorial positions at Runner’s World and Running Times.

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