Tiberiu Useriu of Romania wins ultra-marathon

Such an accomplishment requires determination and sacrifice, and Tiberiu Useriu once again proved he is a fighter, President Klaus Iohannis said after the Romanian ultra-marathon runner once again won 6633 Arctic Ultra

Roxana Vasile, 16.03.2018, 13:43

The national anthem of Romania was heard on Thursday at the Artic Circle, after Tiberiu Useriu won the 6633 Arctic Ultra marathon, the world’s most extreme race of its kind. This was the third consecutive year Useriu achieves this feat. At the end of 7 days and five hours, Useriu crossed the finish line, after covering 617 kilometers, 60 km more than last year’s edition.

The race kicked off on March 8, with 23 experienced runners at the start line, including four Romanians. Three of them, Levente Polgar, Florentina Iofcea and Avram Iancu had to withdraw from the race due to extreme weather conditions.

Heavy snowfalls were reported throughout the entire race, with low temperatures reaching minus 50 degrees Celsius. And yet Tiberiu Useriu decided to continue, enjoying a good early lead over the other runners, a lead he held onto until the very end.

Energy-drained and starving, hobbling his way forward and numb with cold, coping with unbearable back pain and hardly moving his feet, Useriu crossed the finish line carrying the flag of Romania, cheered on by the organizers, who were quick to congratulate him. A medical team immediately came to examine him.

Fortunately, his overall condition was good: no frostbite, just swelling in his feet. He is ok, the doctors concluded. Paul Deasy of Ireland came in second, after tagging 80 kilometers behind Useriu throughout the entire marathon. Aged 44, Tiberiu is already considered an accomplished athlete. His life resembles a Hollywood movie. We find an unabashed outline of his life in his autobiographical book, “27 Steps”, where he talks about receiving a twenty-year prison sentence for armed robbery and attempted murder, and about running, which brought him fame and helped turned his life around.

For a few years now, Tiberiu Useriu and his brother have been running Tasuleasa Social, one of the most important NGOs in Romania devoted to environment protection. Over the years the NGOs has rallied the efforts of 25,000 people as part of very challenging volunteering activities. One of their projects was the rehabilitation of Via Maria Theresia, an ancient mountain trail in the Eastern Carpathians, built under Austro-Hungarian rule.

Every year, the area hosts one of most prestigious ultra-marathons in Eastern Europe. Moreover, in 2012, Tiberiu took up running, and his success in the Artic Ultra marathon is all the more spectacular considering the relatively short time devoted to training. Tiberiu is known among his friends as a man who goes against the grain, bending the rules to match his own nature. A rebel who’s lived a very though and adventurous life, Tiberiu Useriu turned running into his own way of facing and chasing away his personal demons. Tiberiu Useriu will get back home on March 22.