When Army 1st Lt. Madison Faust’s unit began testing advanced new bomb suits several months ago, her soldiers were so impressed by how much more mobility the gear offered that they encouraged her to try to set a new world record for running a mile in an explosive ordnance disposal suit, she said.
Faust agreed, and her leadership quickly backed her, said Faust, who is assigned to the 55th Ordnance Company, which conducts bomb disposal missions for senior leaders in the Washington, D.C. area, known as the National Capital Region.
“At that point, once I said that, my leadership got all excited and kind of told everyone that I was going to go for it,” Faust told Task & Purpose on Tuesday. “And so, at that point I was kind of locked in. It felt like I needed to do it.”
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“I’m a platoon leader at my company,” Faust added. “I had just done my initial counseling with all my soldiers and told them that it’s important to do hard things and push ourselves. So, I felt like that was a good lead-by-example opportunity.”
On Nov.14, after training for months, Faust succeeded in running a mile in 10 minutes, 19 seconds in the bomb suit, a time 4 seconds faster than the one recorded by Maj. Kaitlyn Hernandez in April 2021.
However, Faust said it is unclear whether Guinness World Records will certify her time as a record because her bomb suit and helmet weighed a total of 58 pounds, while Hernandez wore 84 pounds of gear.
Months of training
Faust spent months practicing sprinting in the bomb suit, she said. Her training routine included running in the bomb suit three times a week at distances ranging from 300 to 800 meters.
Even though the new bomb suit was much more advanced than past versions of the gear, it was still cumbersome to run in, she said.
“I think the worst part is the helmet,” Faust said. “It’s just very heavy. It limits your ability to move your neck and see the next turn. It’s really clunky on your shoulders and arms, so it’s hard to pump your arms while you’re running.”
Faust also initially wore the chest plates in the newer bomb suits too tightly, but she learned to leave some extra space so she could take full, deep breaths while running.
Just as Rocky would drink raw eggs prior to his runs, Faust found that GoGo squeeZ apple sauces helped her power through workouts, she said.
Throughout her training, Faust said her company commander ran with her three times a week, and a staff sergeant who competed in track and field in college helped coach her and design her workouts.
On the day of the race, Faust was both excited and nervous. She had difficulty sleeping the night before. Now her family and unit would be there to see if she could set a new record.
“It had just been a weight on my shoulders ever since the day that I told people I think I could break the record,” Faust said. “So, I was sort of anxious to get it over with.”
She felt nervous before the time trial. But when she finished, she learned she had beat the record by 4 seconds.
Faust felt her success was tempered by the fact that she had run even faster while practicing two weeks prior to the event. But she said, “I took a giant breath of relief that I had finally done it.”
UPDATE: 11/25/2025; this story was updated to reflect the total weight of Army 1st Lt. Madison Faust’s bomb suit and helmet.
