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Ultramarathons: Are you game?
The house I grew up in marked the last mile of an annual marathon that began in Kennebunkport, Maine (best known as home to You-Know-Who), and ended at the University of New England in Biddeford.
As a young child I passed cups of water to the runners. When I was older, I ran through the forest adjoining the road, following the leading pack. Hopping from rock to rock, I would peep out from behind the trees like a mountain lion apprising a herd of nimble deer. The last mile was an arduous one for many of the runners, and I kept up neatly until the finish, watching the most exhausted collapse into their reflective blankets. Thus began my fascination for the extremes of what people do with their feet.
Austin is well-known as a home to marathons, triathlons, and biathlons, as well as some competitive trail running, and seems naturally to breed the dedication to running I witnessed as a youth.
Even more dedication is required to participate in an ultramarathon, even if the sport’s reigning poster boy, Dean Karnazes, seems to have entered into it on a lark. “I just started running,” he reports to one of the many magazines bearing his face on the cover, “and I didn’t stop.”
For those of you unfamiliar with this bizarre underbelly, this multiple facial piercing of the running world, an ultramarathon is any of several types of long distance runs, usually 100 miles. Ultras can start at 50 miles, and the current longest ultra is 1,300 miles! Just like the regular sort of marathon, an ultra does come to an end eventually — but it may not feel like it does. One of the most famous ultras, and the one I first heard about, is the Leadville 100. The Leadville 100 is a particularly grueling slog through the high altitude and occasionally nasty weather of the Colorado Rockies.
An ultramarathon requires immense stamina and a willingness to patch up one’s blistered feet with SuperGlue. It’s a combination that seems ideal for Austin runners, and although no long-distance endurance run is scheduled for the immediate Austin area (mile 98: Sixth Street?), a handful of Central Texas residents will be competing in the Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile Trail Run in Huntsville on Feb. 2.
The Rocky Raccoon began in 1993 and follows, for 100 miles, the flat but wooded dirt terrain of Huntsville State Park. Aid stations are provided every few miles along the trail. The list of Rocky Raccoon entrants has grown steadily over the past 15 years, with close to 200 already registered for the February run. An additional 73 entrants plan to complete the abridged version: a 50-mile run. One imagines many prayers to Pheidippides for healthy feet.
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By Brian
January 6, 2008 10:45 AM | Link to this
Actually many ultras start at a mere 50 kilometers - 31 miles.
Still a formidable distance. An ultra is anything longer than standard marathon distance of 26.2.
By Sam
January 7, 2008 12:41 AM | Link to this
In fact, the Quad Dipsea, an ultramarathon which held its 25th anniversary in 2007, is only 28.4 miles, not to mention the over 1500 steps, Muir Woods and 9,000 ft of ascent and descent. And since we’re fact-checking, the Sri Chinmoy races in NY City is 3,100 miles.
Lastly, ultramarathons don’t require a “willingness to patch up one�s blistered feet with SuperGlue.” While that’s a cute visual, and someone may have done it once, many people just deal with potential blisters like normal people. Heck, many don’t even get blisters!! Yes, imagine that.
Thanks for the hyperbole, though. Ultras are simply ordinary people doing something challenging and extraordinary. It’s not as otherworldly as people can make it seem.
By Kalapu
January 10, 2008 1:01 AM | Link to this
Don’t know if it is incredible stamina or just mental focus that gets you there. You have to believe it is important even at 3:00 am, 22 hours into the run.
Blisters are not required and to be avoided if possible. Planning and prep are key. I ran 5 100 milers last year and my feet never looked like the poached eggs that get so much attention. My rule is that if you are facing serious physical harm you must stop. Run another day. The is no need or reason to cripple one’s self.
Ultra Runners tend to be a bit older than Marathoners with the average age often above 45-50. Life experience seems to play a part in one’s ability to believe and face the endless problems of such a venture. Younger runners in general find less pleasure in such perseverance.
The sport is growing. Most 100 mile runs fill up months before the start date. I believe that 100 miler top place finishers are among the best, but most unknown and underrated, athletes in sport today. If anyone doubts it you can go out and drive 100 miles and just imagine what it is like to do it in 18-24 hours over trails and mountains.