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Tesla Model 3 Goes Up Against Ultra-Marathon Runner, Runner Wins

What range anxiety? Robbie Balenger is a stranger to the concept but, then again, Robbie Ballenger is not your regular dude and his only interest in an EV’s range concerns his ability to top it. He’s the man who just outran a Tesla Model 3 and, perhaps more spectacularly, he did it in under 77 hours.
Plant-based ultra-athlete Robbie Balenger was able to outrun a Tesla Model 3 in under 77 hours 7 photos
Photo: Ten Thousand
Plant-based ultra-athlete Robbie Balenger was able to outrun a Tesla Model 3 in under 77 hoursPlant-based ultra-athlete Robbie Balenger was able to outrun a Tesla Model 3 in under 77 hoursPlant-based ultra-athlete Robbie Balenger was able to outrun a Tesla Model 3 in under 77 hoursPlant-based ultra-athlete Robbie Balenger was able to outrun a Tesla Model 3 in under 77 hoursPlant-based ultra-athlete Robbie Balenger was able to outrun a Tesla Model 3 in under 77 hoursPlant-based ultra-athlete Robbie Balenger was able to outrun a Tesla Model 3 in under 77 hours
Last week, one of the most unexpected “races” kicked off outside of Austin, Texas. We dubbed it a real man vs machine race, but it wasn’t as much a competition as it was a test of strength, an endurance feat to see whether a man could outrun what industry players consider the best electric vehicle on the market right now: a Tesla.

That man is ultra-athlete Robbie Balenger, who has made a name for himself for doing this kind of mammoth challenges in order to push himself and, at the same time, spread awareness on the benefits of a plant-based diet. He chose a Tesla out of respect for what the company has done so far in terms of pushing for a wider adoption of EVs. As he says in a new statement, this was a tribute, not exactly a race – and it was inspired by the old tradition of man vs horse endurance marathons.

“For many, myself included, Tesla is the most disruptive and exciting thing to happen to transportation since the first horse was broken – so what better opponent for a modern take on the man vs. horse race?” Balenger explains. Indeed.

For the first of its kind event, both the Model 3 and Balenger started out from the same point, 250 miles (402 km) outside of Austin, Texas, the Tesla with a fully charged battery, and Balenger with his usual determination to see this through. The Tesla was driven at 65 mph (104.6 kph) until it ran out of battery, for 242 miles (349 km). Balenger set out second and followed the same route, and was able to beat Tesla’s distance by 100 feet, in nearly 77 hours – 76 hours and 54 minutes, to be more precise.

Balenger and his team, along with organizer Ten Thousand, were hoping the feat could be achieved in 72 hours, but the extreme heat was a factor that derailed the initial plan. Just to be clear, Balenger spent most of the 77 hours running, taking very short breaks for sleeping and rest, and changing clothes. All breaks totaled 8.5 hours.

“It was absolutely brutal, but we got it done,” Balenger says. “Brutal” feels like an understatement.

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
Elena Gorgan profile photo

Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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