Karel Sabbe

Karel Sabbe, born in Waregem in 1989, is a Belgian dentist and ultrarunner. He is not a professional athlete but has repeatedly set speed records on prominent trails and completed elite races such as the Barkley Marathons. He finished the 4,300 km Pacific Crest Trail in 52 days in 2016, beating the previous record, and in 2018 took more than four days off the Appalachian Trail record with a time of 41 days; both are listed in the Guinness Book of Records. In 2020 he became the Alta Via 2 record holder in the Italian Dolomites and world champion at Big's Backyard Ultra with 75 laps, 502 km in 75 hours, and in 2021 he set the speed record on the red trail of the Via Alpina in 30 days, 8 hours and 40 minutes.