As of May 1, 2010, only 31 runners have ever completed a 10km race in less than 27 minutes–that translates to a 4:20-pace-per-mile.

The latest entrant, Chris Solinsky (25), is the first and only member of this exclusive 27-minute club who hails from outside Africa. So far, 20 Kenyans, 6 Ethiopians, 2 Moroccan’s, 1 each from Uganda, Eritrea, and the United States. Solinsky’s winning time was 26:59.6.

It should be noted that no one has died trying to beat this record, which is a major difference to The 27s this site typically covers. To put the 27 runner’s club in perspective, more than 3,000 people have summitted Mt. Everest, the world tallest mountain.

Our congratulations go out to Chris Solinsky.