No one that could run a WC mile, would instead chose to run a marathon.
It is the essence of the sport, you move up. It's true in HS, college, etc.. It's not a criticism. The guy is making money doing ultras, he wouldn't make any money running shorter races. Just like Galen Rupp is making money running 5ks & 10ks, but would be dead @ss broke if he were trying to get paid as a 200m runner.[/quote]
I don't get why it's so hard for you to accept that some people may be inherently different to you. You are basing your assumptions on an unwritten rule that might be written out as "I want to be as successful as possible (preferably financially successful) at a sport. Any sport will do, but my guiding principle in selecting that sport will be which one I have to invest the least time and effort in to achieve success".
Kind of like the Tarahumara tribe. They go around running hundreds of miles because they suck at the 100m?
And what does this mean: "It is the essence of the sport, you move up"? I would say the essence of the sport of running is finding a challenge and applying yourself to it, exploring your ability to push yourself, enjoying the camaraderie of like-minded people, etc. Not "moving up".
OK, I accept the basic premise that a track athlete will gravitate towards the event they are best suited for physiologically. But when it comes to something as radically different as travelling around the world doing challenging trail races in beautiful mountain environments, it's hard to make the claim that Killian Jornet would drop it all if he found out he could beat Usain Bolt in the 100m.