Ákos Kónya (born 1974) is a Hungarian

ultramarathon An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are bot ...

runner from

Oceanside, California Oceanside is a city on the South Coast (California), South Coast of California, located in San Diego County, California, San Diego County. The city had a population of 167,086 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The city is a popular ...

Early life

While growing up in Kecskemét, Hungary, Kónya began running at age 12. He ran

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

in high school and ran his first

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

at age 15. He has run a marathon in under 2:30, 11 minutes off qualifying for the Olympic Trials. While attending a teacher's college, Kónya injured his knee playing basketball. He underwent surgery for

Patellar tendinitis Patellar tendinitis, also known as jumper's knee, is an overuse injury of the tendon that straightens the knee. Symptoms include pain in the front of the knee. Typically the pain and tenderness is at the lower part of the kneecap, though the upp ...

in 2001, which forced him to stop running for two years. When he began running again, he could not run as fast. This prompted him to run longer distance races in which speed was not as important as endurance. He has worked on a cruise ship and at hotels. In 2001, he emigrated to the United States as part of a

foreign exchange The foreign exchange market (Forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. It includes all as ...

program at

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

. He later moved to Oceanside, California and now works as a restaurant manager at

Ruby's Diner Ruby's Diner is a restaurant chain aesthetically designed after American diners of the Swing Era. It first opened on December 7, 1982 by Doug Cavanaugh and Ralph Kosmides. Ruby's Diner serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a menu that include ...

Ultrarunning career

Although he began running ultramarathons in 2003, Kónya emerged from complete obscurity in the 2006

Badwater Ultramarathon The Badwater Ultramarathon describes itself as "the world's toughest foot race". It is a course starting at below sea level in the Badwater Basin, in California's Death Valley, and ending at an elevation of 8360 feet (2548 m) at Whitney Portal ...

, one of the world's most difficult races. After leading for much of the race at record pace, his endurance was strained by a lack of sleep and he eventually finished second to

Scott Jurek Scott Gordon Jurek (born October 26, 1973) is an American ultramarathoner, author, and public speaker. Throughout his running career, Jurek was one of the most dominant ultramarathon runners in the world, winning the Hardrock Hundred (2007), t ...

. Although the temperature was above during the race, he claims that the heat did not bother him. He also finished second at Badwater in 2007 and 2008, though his performance was hindered by a

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupeds, ...

injury in 2008. In 2009 he did not compete at Badwater, but instead served on the crew for the youngest ever Badwater finisher. He won the Lean Horse Ultramarathon 100 mile race in 2007 and 2009, setting the course record in 2007. In November 2007 Kónya placed first at the U.S. 24 Hour National Championship race, running . He was not declared the national champion however, because he was not a U.S. Citizen. Kónya runs shorter distances as well, and finished a close second in the Surf City USA Marathon in February 2010.

References

External links

Iniji Running Team
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konya, Akos 1974 births Living people Hungarian male long-distance runners Sportspeople from Oceanside, California Hungarian emigrants to the United States Hungarian ultramarathon runners Male ultramarathon runners