I was under the impression that a true ending was required for a speed run (since timer ends when you return to the spaceship, as per the rules). Is that not the case? I see that Rhyfel's run was verified even though he did a suicide ending.

I think the rules should be changed. Either ending should be allowed. The harder ending is the faster one so if you want to go for it, do it and you'll be better off.

I agree. Doing a suicide ending still ends the game, but it certainly takes longer compared to exiting.

-Timing starts on difficulty select -Timing ends when the screen fades to black to start either ending

That would invalidate previous runs because it's a different end condition. It needs to be back to ship or fade to black.

No, it would change the timing, which makes sense in this case. Nothing about the runs have changed. I think I timed my runs in this way to anticipate this anyway.