On May 3 at the Wisconsin Half Marathon, Noah Bliss, 10, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, set a new single-age world record of 1:37:15, as recognized by the Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS). He broke Drew Dahlin’s record of 1:38:54, set in 2012.

Going into last Saturday’s race, the record wasn’t on Noah’s radar. His plan was to run with his father, Jeff. The pair started a little faster than their planned 7:45 pace, and Noah only picked it up from there. When Jeff slowed down for an aid station around 9.5 miles into the race, Noah left him behind and cruised to the finish a couple of minutes ahead of his dad. Noah’s mother, Monica Bliss, also ran the race, and Noah waited for both parents at the finish line, greeting each one with a bottle of water.

Noah finished 71st out of 2073 runners in the half marathon and was the fastest of the 18 competitors in the 19-and-under age group by more than two minutes.

Noah began running at age seven, inspired by watching his father at road races, and was instantly hooked. By the time he was eight, Noah was asking his parents if he could run longer races. Noah’s father, who has a half marathon best of 1:28:30, took up running when Noah was about six years old, and has raced as far as 50 miles.

Upon doing some research, the Bliss family learned that the minimum age for running the Wisconsin Half Marathon in their hometown was 14. Because the race was important to Noah, his parents got in touch with race director Jonathan Cain, to describe Noah’s training and past racing experience. After consulting the race’s medical director, Cain granted Noah an exception.

Jeff Bliss said that some voiced their concerns about Noah’s health, but they were not deterred. “From everything we read…and [from] talking to his doctor and the medical director for the race, we weren’t concerned as parents. Studies had shown that there was no concern.”

“His interest in running seemed very unique for an eight-year-old, so if he wanted to be a part of it…I wanted him to experience it,” said Jeff.

Eight-year-old Noah handled the distance well and finished his first half marathon in 2:09:02.

A fourth grader at Kenosha School of Technology Enhanced Curriculum, Noah, who is 4-feet, 7-inches tall and weighs 71 pounds, also likes to play basketball and football with his friends.

His father estimates that Noah averages about 15-20 miles of running per week while training for a half marathon. He does some of his training with his father, and some of it solo.

While the ARRS recognizes this as a world record, in a twist, Noah will not be credited with the American record. While the ARRS tracks single-age world records, a different organization, USA Track & Field recognizes American records. The two organizations have different criteria that need to be met in order for a performance to be considered a record.

The American record for 10-year-olds, as recognized by USA Track & Field, is a 1:25:42, set by Jerome Daniels in October of 1984. According to Ken Young of the ARRS, Daniels’ performance was never submitted to the ARRS for verification. If Young can verify the 29-year-old performance by Daniels, it could potentially become the world record retroactively.

The ARRS only recognizes official race times, not chip times, which subtract the amount of time it takes each competitor to get across the starting line once the official race clock begins. Noah had a chip time of 1:36:47, but because it took him 28 seconds to get across the starting line after the start was signaled, his official time, for record purposes, will stand at 1:37:15.

Either way, the record might not last for long. Noah is planning to run another half marathon on May 18 and is already planning to be closer to the front of the field when the starting gun goes off, which could automatically give him a 28-second advantage over his record-setting performance.

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