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Liverpool man breaks 200-mile race record

Haider SaleemNorth West
Buckeye 200/Facebook Kelly holds his winner's awards beside Lake Erie after breaking the Buckeye 200 course record and jumping into the water at the finishBuckeye 200/Facebook
Kelly beat the previous course record by almost four hours

A Liverpool electrician who took up running when gyms closed during the coronavirus pandemic has broken the course record for a 203-mile (327km) race in the US.

Andrew Kelly, 29, from Allerton, won the Buckeye 200 in Ohio in 50 hours, 10 minutes and five seconds, race organisers said.

Competitors had six days to complete the course, but Kelly beat the previous record, set in 2023, by almost four hours.

Kelly said he had run every day since May 2020 and was using his electrician's wages and savings to fund six months of racing in the US.

Andrew Kelly Kelly takes on fluids beside the road during the 135-mile (217km) Badwater ultramarathon through Death Valley. Andrew Kelly
In 2025, Kelly completed the 135-mile (217km) Badwater ultramarathon through Death Valley, a desert region in California known for extreme heat

The race began and ended at Walnut Beach in northern Ohio, on the shore of Lake Erie. The lake is one of North America's five Great Lakes and forms part of the US-Canada border.

Runners travelled about 100 miles (161km) south through Ohio to Wellsville, near Ohio's border with the neighbouring state of West Virginia. They then turned around and followed the same route back to Walnut Beach.

There were no official aid stations on the course, which crossed former steel towns, Amish country and about 70 miles (113km) of rolling hills.

A friend drove ahead to meet Kelly every four to five miles (6.4 to 8km) with water, gels and electrolytes.

"The clock doesn't stop if you stop," Kelly said. "You just got to keep moving."

Andrew Kelly Kelly passes the 4,000ft (1,219m) elevation mark during the Badwater 135, which he completed in 31 hours, 44 minutes and 37 secondsAndrew Kelly
Kelly passes the 4,000ft (1,219m) elevation mark during the Badwater 135, which begins at Badwater Basin, below sea level, and finishes at Whitney Portal, 2,548m (8,360ft) above sea level.

He said temperatures reached about 32C, while stomach problems made it difficult to eat.

Coffee and caffeinated gels helped him stay awake, but soreness made resting difficult.

After more than 50 hours on the course, Kelly crossed the finish line at Walnut Beach and headed straight into Lake Erie.

"The second you cross the finish line, you had to jump in the water," he said. "It was an amazing finish."

Kelly began his US racing trip in Alaska, where he finished second among 30 finishers in June's 135-mile (217km) Denali race, completing it in 26 hours, nine minutes and 38 seconds.

The race follows the Denali Highway, a remote road through Alaska's mountainous interior, and takes place close to the summer solstice, when the sky remains light throughout the night.

Andrew Kelly Kelly poses with his race number against Alaska's snow-capped mountains during the Denali 135, where he finished secondAndrew Kelly
Kelly began his six-month US racing trip in Alaska, where the race was held in near-continuous summer daylight.

Kelly said his running streak had reached 2,277 days and, despite being sore after the Buckeye 200, he later joined children he met in an Ohio park for a three-mile (5km) run.

He also said he had not drunk alcohol for almost seven years and aims to lift weights three times a week.

Kelly added that he planned to compete about every two weeks, with several races of more than 100 miles lined up across the US before his trip ends in December.

"Running changed my life," he said. "It can change everybody's life if you're willing to sign up to a few races and lace up your running shoes."

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