Richard Paul Burgunder III (born 14 November 1979) is an American extreme sports athlete, adventurer, and mountaineer. Burgunder is a five-time XTERRA Trail Run Series Regional Champion and is the only runner in XTERRA Trail Run Series history to earn titles in four different regions.[1][2][3] Burgunder has regional championship titles in New England (2009), northern Ohio (2011), Pocono (2011 and 2012), and Utah (2013).[4] Burgunder made history in 2011 by winning XTERRA regional championships in two different regions.[5]
 Burgunder competing at the XTERRA Trail Running World Championship on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008, at Kualoa Ranch on Oahu, HI. | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Richard Paul Burgunder III |
| Born | November 14, 1979 Pittsburgh, PA |
| Education | Pennsylvania State University University of Cambridge ITMO University Singidunum University |
| Height | 6 ft (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Website | burgunder |
| Sport | |
| Country | United States |
| Sport | Alpine climbing, mountaineering, tower running, trail running, ultrarunning |
Burgunder finished 33rd at the 2008 XTERRA Trail Running World Championship, 67th at the 2009 XTERRA Trail Running World Championship,[6] and 66th at the 2012 XTERRA Trail Running World Championship.
In addition to being a 5-time elite invitational heat competitor at the Empire State Building Run-Up (2007–2011),[6] Burgunder won national titles for the men's 20-29 age group at the 2008 USA Trail Marathon and 50 Mile Road National Championships. Burgunder is also a two-time top ten medalist at the USA Track & Field National Championships, as he finished 6th at the 2008 USA Trail Marathon National Championships and 9th at the 2009 50 Mile Road National Championships. Burgunder finished 12th at the 2008 50 Mile Road National Championships. Burgunder was featured as one of "The Dirty Half Dozen" by Competitor magazine.
Burgunder was invited and sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank to represent the inaugural Team USA in leg one of The Greatest Race on Earth (GROE) 2007/08 held in Nairobi, Kenya. Team USA finished 28th.[7]
Burgunder ran a 3:43:20 in his ultramarathon debut to set the record for the fastest 50k time by a 20-year-old resident of Pennsylvania at the GNC 50k in Pittsburgh on March 25, 2000.[8]
Burgunder has summited eight of the highest peaks in the contiguous United States, Japan's Mount Fuji and Mount Shirane, Colorado's Longs Peak and Pike's Peak, New Hampshire's Mount Washington, and Yosemite National Park's Half Dome.[9] Burgunder was one of two Americans who competed in the skyrace and vertical kilometer at the 2023 International Festival RedFox Elbrus Race at Mount Elbrus, Russia.[10][11]
Personal life
editBurgunder is a Pittsburgh native who received a bachelor's degree in economics from the Pennsylvania State University and is a graduate of the Cambridge Security Initiative and the Department of War Studies, King's College London 2018 International Security and Intelligence Programme and Conference at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge. Additionally, Burgunder is a graduate of the Summer School in the Russian Language and Culture 2019 at ITMO University[12][13] and the 2020 International Summer School in Comparative Conflict Studies at Singidunum University.
References
edit- ^ "Burgunder Adds Utah to his list of XTERRA Regional Championships". Running USA. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
- ^ "Shaler native setting records in world of XTERRA racing". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
- ^ "RunnersWeb Athletics: Burgunder adds Utah to his list of regional championships". Runnersweb.com.
- ^ "Extremely Challenging: Adventure racing is way more than a jog through the park". Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
- ^ "Athletics: Burgunder has a growing list of XTERRA championships". Runner's and Triathlete's. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ a b "Recreation: Naples' Burgunder tackles Empire State Building". Naples Daily News.
- ^ "The Greatest Race on Earth 2007 - 2008 Kicks Off - Free access for all broadcasters". Associated Press. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
- ^ "Ultramarathon Records for Pennsylvania Residents, By Age". Lehigh University.
- ^ Rizzo, Josh. "Shaler grad Burgunder beats odds, summits Mt. Whitney". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ Rizzo, Josh (21 May 2023). "Shaler notebook: Extreme sports athlete competes in Russian sky running event". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- ^ "How an American conquered Russia's (and Europe's!) tallest peak". Russia Beyond. 1 June 2023.
- ^ "Russian Language and Culture Summer School: Leading the Way to Better Career Prospects". Itmo.ru (in Russian).
- ^ "Why this U.S. entrepreneur came to Russia and converted to Orthodoxy". Russia Beyond. 13 June 2022.