B.C. runner and triathlete sets barefoot 50K world record

Less than two years after being hit by a truck and breaking her neck, Kelowna’s Savannah Wild took on the huge goal of running 50 kilometres around a track, barefoot, faster than any woman had ever done it.

Guinness World Records required Wild, 27, to finish within seven hours. On Sunday, she clocked 5:08:11 at Greater Vernon Athletics Park, beating the mark by nearly two hours.

Returning from a spinal cord injury

Wild’s run comes after a crash in 2024, when she was hit by an F150 while cycling and broke her neck. She has said she was told her athletic career was over. “I was told athletics was off the table. I’ve always liked proving people wrong,” she said, pre-run. “The barefoot world record attempt is my answer to that.”

Wild runs Sav Athletics, where she works as an ultra-endurance coach. Her background includes a 500K barefoot run and a 300K ultra-triathlon. Wild has been an ultrarunner for more than five years and began racing triathlons in 2022.

Why barefoot?

Barefoot running is not new territory for Wild. In 2021, she ran 500 kilometres without shoes, an effort she has said pulled her into ultra-distance running. Before this record attempt, she described the 50K as a full-circle return to where it started. Even so, Wild hadn’t dedicated many recent training miles specifically to barefoot running.

“I am yet again amazed at the power of the mind and body,” she told Canadian Running. “I’ve been so fixated on my preparations for other races this season that I neglected to train much barefoot, only accumulating about 10 kilometres out of the thousands of kilometres run this year.”

Running on the track offered Wild a more forgiving surface than pavement, something she hoped would help her avoid the stress-fracture issues she dealt with during her 500K run. That didn’t mean that she found it easy on her feet. “Nearing the end, it did feel like glass,” Wild told The Chilliwack Progress. She said being on the track also made logistics simpler, with fuel, fluids and first aid close by, though the clock kept running the whole time.

Strength and support

Wild’s result still needs to be ratified by Guinness World Records. During her run, supporters were on hand to help collect the witness reports, timing records and video evidence required for submission. “The day was a beautiful testament of strength and community,” she says. “Although I was the only runner, there was nothing solo about this attempt. Find your people, choose your challenge, and then just have fun.”

Wild will tackle the Canadian Death Race in Grande Cache, Alta., in early August.