Any runner who sets the new overall course record. This requires besting Jim O’Brien’s stout 17:35:48 run in 1989, a record that has stood for 28 years! The closest anyone has come to this record is within 56 minutes, and only three other runners have ever broken the 19-hour mark. Both men and women are eligible for this award – any person who breaks the time, wins the gold buckle. Jim O’Brien’s 1989 AC100 finish is one of the longest standing records in ultrarunning.