- T.S. Eliot
This is a great quote, whether or not you are a runner. Many long distance runners, especially ultramarathon runners, ascribe to this motto. I am not an ultramarathon runner . . . yet! You can see where I am going with this, so I will save you the suspense . . . yes, I plan on tackling my first ultramarathon in 2014. I just need to figure out what will be my first race. I'm thinking 50K to start, so any suggestions would be appreciated.
Some of you may be asking "what is an ultramarathon?" For those of you who have never heard of ultramarathons, these are race distances that are greater than a marathon (26.2 miles). A 27 mile race = ultramarathon! A 127 mile race = ultramarathon! It's that simple!
What does it take to be an ultramarathon runner? That's a hard question to answer. I have no idea. Since I'm in the process of researching this myself I thought I would share my research with you.
To get started, I've compiled some quotes from ultra runners who have plenty of experience in this arena to gain some insight into what it means to run such extreme distances.
“Unless you're not pushing yourself, you're not living to the fullest. You can't be afraid to fail, but unless you fail, you haven't pushed hard enough.”
- Dean Karnazes
“The longer and farther I ran, the more I realized that what I was often chasing was a state of mind--a place where worries that seemed monumental melted away, where the beauty and timelessness of the universe, of the present moment, came into sharp focus.”
- Scott Jurek
“Think Easy, Light, Smooth, and Fast. You start with easy, because if that’s all you get, that’s not so bad. Then work on light. Make it effortless, like you don’t give a shit how high the hill is or how far you’ve got to go. When you’ve practiced that so long that you forget you’re practicing, you work on making it smooooooth. You won’t have to worry about the last one – you get those three, and you’ll be fast.”
- Micah True (aka Caballo Blanco)
“We've got a motto here-you're tougher than you think you are, and you can do more than you think you can.”
- Christopher McDougall
Coolest Ultramarathon Ever . . . The Western States!
If you want to learn about what it takes to run an ultra marathon, you can read some books, like Ultramarathon Man by Deen Karnezes, Born to Run by Chris McDougall, or Eat and Run by Scott Jurek. All three of these books provide an account of one of the coolest ultramarathon ever . . . The Western States ® 100-Mile Endurance Run. Described as "truly the ultimate challenge for the long distance runner" and "entry in this event should not be taken lightly".
This race starts in Squaw Valley and ascends from the valley floor (elevation 6,200 feet) to Emigrant Pass (elevation 8,750 feet), a climb of 2,550 vertical feet in the first 4 miles. From the pass, following the original trails used by the gold and silver miners of the 1850’s, runners travel west, climbing another 15,540 feet and descending 22,970 feet before reaching Auburn, a small town in the heart of California's historic gold country. Check out the cross section of the race route below (pretty scary)!
Some of you may be asking "what is an ultramarathon?" For those of you who have never heard of ultramarathons, these are race distances that are greater than a marathon (26.2 miles). A 27 mile race = ultramarathon! A 127 mile race = ultramarathon! It's that simple!
What does it take to be an ultramarathon runner? That's a hard question to answer. I have no idea. Since I'm in the process of researching this myself I thought I would share my research with you.
To get started, I've compiled some quotes from ultra runners who have plenty of experience in this arena to gain some insight into what it means to run such extreme distances.
- Dean Karnazes
- Scott Jurek
- Micah True (aka Caballo Blanco)
- Christopher McDougall
Coolest Ultramarathon Ever . . . The Western States!
If you want to learn about what it takes to run an ultra marathon, you can read some books, like Ultramarathon Man by Deen Karnezes, Born to Run by Chris McDougall, or Eat and Run by Scott Jurek. All three of these books provide an account of one of the coolest ultramarathon ever . . . The Western States ® 100-Mile Endurance Run. Described as "truly the ultimate challenge for the long distance runner" and "entry in this event should not be taken lightly".
This race starts in Squaw Valley and ascends from the valley floor (elevation 6,200 feet) to Emigrant Pass (elevation 8,750 feet), a climb of 2,550 vertical feet in the first 4 miles. From the pass, following the original trails used by the gold and silver miners of the 1850’s, runners travel west, climbing another 15,540 feet and descending 22,970 feet before reaching Auburn, a small town in the heart of California's historic gold country. Check out the cross section of the race route below (pretty scary)!
Cross Section of Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run.
It starts a Squaw Valley (right) and ends at Auburn University Track (left)
You can learn more about this race by watching Unbreakable, the documentary film made in 2010 that followed the runners taking part in the race that year. It's amazing! I can only imagine the pain involved with running 100 miles over such terrain, but there is a secret part of me that wants to do this so bad! I just have to work my way up to it slowly, so I don't beak along the way. My journey begins now! Wish me luck!
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