Jwalmsey wrote:
The fact of the matter Sage is that ultras are harder to run faster than road races. If one is running a sub 7min mile for 50 miles on trail it is much more difficult than a Boston for 26.2 miles at 5:20 min a mile on road. Trail ultra running requires more skill and athleticism.
Ignorance is bliss. If you think trailrunning is tough, try road ultras.
barfomarte wrote:
None of the people who don't train for ultras could win ultras, and there's a huge barrier to entry. There are no Andy Wheatings in ultrarunning (not hating, just saying he was fast from the start). You will break your feet in the first race if you don't make significant lifestyle changes and put them under stress.
You need to move to a place with better opportunities for hilly terrain.
You need to clear out your schedule for 150+ mile weeks.
You need to accept that your old running buddies' bones won't be able to handle the stress. Good luck convincing them to start training for ultras.
You need to gain knowledge of injuries that aren't as commonplace for normal distances. In my opinion for mileage that high and on such challenging terrain if you don't have a poor man's orthopedic surgeon's knowledge of foot and ankle anatomy you're an idiot. Sure, sure, we didn't have that knowledge in Paleolithic times, but we do now. I consider myself lucky that I got away with 70 mile weeks in high school without it. Ultrarunning is like the circus. You think anyone does aerial hoops without knowing what a rotator cuff is? You could tear one in a second if you're not careful, just like you could feel something 15 miles in that will ruin your career in another 15 if you have no idea what it is.
I don't know whether it's true or not, but I think there's an assumption that people get into ultrarunning from a completely uneducated perspective. Part of this is probably because there are no real ultra coaches. You figure things out yourself. This is the coolest thing to me, and I hope I get to do it one day.
It's not that the haters couldn't do it -- it's that they simply don't want to. They don't see the value in it, or they think it's too weird. These are fine things to think, and they're probably true to a degree. They say, "Damn, I'd like to run trails, and I think I'd even be good at it, but I'd have to recede from society, move to a new city, learn all this stuff that normal people don't care about, and give up all of my old running buddies". They don't want to try to figure out how they can make it work.
Yup
Ultra running is better...
I want to get into ultra running eventually, but first I have to complete a half marathon and marathon lol..
I'm sure there's a lot of ultra runners that give ultra running a bad name, but that's the same with anything in life.. Anyone who hates on all ultra runners are just very closed minded people who probably hate on all kinds of things/people in life because they are bitter losers. I'm certainly not going to NOT giving ultra running a try just because a bunch of people on a running forum think ultrarunning is "douchey", I want to try it so you better dang believe I am going to.
Good cause ultras are harder
My theory: people around here love the model of running XC track in HS, running in college, and then doing road marathons...
Any deviation from that path is viewed as weird and not normal.
I think this is what makes ultra running so cool.
Speaking personally, I decided I wanted to start running at age 26 and 3 months later I completed a 50K. I grabbed a BQ in my first road marathon and I did a mountainous 100 miler in under 24 hours.
Did I take a conventional path? Not at all.. but I've enjoyed the heck out of it and I think I would have never got into running if I had a coach barking orders at me or if I was forced to conform to a strict schedule
Because it's like that Uncle who you see once a year who is super cool and gives you the coolest gifts.
Yeah each distance shares it's own merit of conviction, commitment, and dedication.
Can't compare apples to oranges. Run what you like but run with your heart.
Mytheory1 wrote:
Speaking personally, I decided I wanted to start running at age 26 and 3 months later I completed a 50K. I grabbed a BQ in my first road marathon and I did a mountainous 100 miler in under 24 hours.
This is why people hate ultra joggers.
The marathon is already a sufficiently stupid distance to run...
well actually wrote:
Mytheory1 wrote:
Speaking personally, I decided I wanted to start running at age 26 and 3 months later I completed a 50K. I grabbed a BQ in my first road marathon and I did a mountainous 100 miler in under 24 hours.
This is why people hate ultra joggers.
Youre just a fag gott
well actually wrote:
Mytheory1 wrote:
Speaking personally, I decided I wanted to start running at age 26 and 3 months later I completed a 50K. I grabbed a BQ in my first road marathon and I did a mountainous 100 miler in under 24 hours.
This is why people hate ultra joggers.
Getting mad about other peoples accomplishments is very productive.. I am sure it will serve you well! Keep on doing what you're doing
I'm just picking one to reply to...there's so much going on here...
If you play any sport from recreational to semi-elite to elite you're going to find head cases. Go to any super gym with a basketball court and play in a pick up game. There's probably someone that is wearing a king James jersey, $400 Jordans, and throwing air whilst yelling at their teammate to pass to them more often. I would argue that the same exists in the ultra world. There's always going to be some person decked out in expensive run gear with a go pro, mouth breathing at 10 minute miles, and slobbering on gu. Perhaps the best solution is to follow Mr. Canaday's lead and try to teach said people how to be real bad ass runners.
Because people don’t know how important it was until relatively recently to cover long distances, on foot, carrying a few things. Even pack animals are relatively new.
Once it was quite handy that if you were at sea level & needed something from a mountaintop (cooler weather, forage, medicine, materials to make tools & weapons {a piece of volcanic glass can be shattered into a thousand sharp points}, precious gems for that special someone; humans can get there.
You may have to offer the locals something after the long journey. Dried fish, carbohydrates, seashells, salt, your own native gems & herbs, etc.
We call it shopping.
The real reason why, is that the average letsrunner is sexually challenged by them.
the real reason why wrote:
The real reason why, is that the average letsrunner is sexually challenged by them.
The average letsrunnner is a virgin living in his moms basement.
For me anyway, it's something I don't know a great deal about and have had little to no exposure to, and also is something that's perceived as for rich people due to the locations of the events and how accessible they are.
For example, in high school in terms of running, we all tried 60m, 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m, 800m, 1500m and there was the option to do 3000m. And then there were local fun runs (2 miles), XC (about 5K). There was never anything longer. So you get used to running shorter things. Also there are age restrictions which are a lot stricter here (13 & 14 - 6k
15 - 10k
16 - 16.1k
17 - 25k
18 & 19 - marathon).
There are no ultras near me, apart from one that is 145 miles that looks insane.
It just doesn't seem like running, it seems like a different sport. For example it says that "Competitors may enter vehicles for warmth, rest and nourishment, but will be disqualified if the vehicle moves". I can't imagine getting into a vehicle during an 800m! So then it feels like maybe it has more in common with hiking or something similar.
So I guess it feels like it's outside of my frame of reference. A bit like these adventure races where you get in a canoe for part of it.
That doesn't mean I'd look down on an ultra runner, I just see it as a different sport in a way. Just like I see sprinting as very different to fell running.
I also think the confusion/non standardisation of the times doesn't help, it's very course specific. Runners are absolutely obsessed with time and PBs and the thought of the time not meaning anything is foreign. So one time on one course could be slower but actually a better performance than a faster time on another course. So unless you have insider knowledge you're not going to relate to that.
There is also the view that if any 'serious runner' tried an ultra they would smash all of the records. I don't think this is true as it has a different skillset. But maybe some runners view it as not competitive and get annoyed about that, which is a bit daft. I'd love to see a competitive marathon runner do a track ultra though. It would be interesting to see if their talent for the marathon translated into e.g. 50k, 50 miles etc.
Good practice if you're a shoplifter.
Not sure why, trail-running long distances and ultrarunning should be respected! I was inspired to write this post about the best ultramarathon shoes right now. If you're interested please give it a read. As a D1 collegiate athlete who only runs up to 10k, I still think that ultrarunning will grow in the future as a sport (especially in the current state of the world). My trail run this weekend inspired me to write this post.
You need a girlfriend to continue your “humble bragging “ and boasting too . And for “elite” you are slow in the marathon and 5000.
I know many ultra runners who have the utmost respect for shorter distance runners. Also, many of them do ultra running as a challenge to themselves -- at a competitive pace, ultra running is one of the hardest running forms, not just because of a physical toll, but because of the mental toll of running for over 15 hours at a time. Let's also not just think about the distance as what makes it difficult - Sania Sorokin ran 100 miles at a 6:45 pace, which would, at marathon distance, put her in the top 2% of runners.