Why do people on here hate ultra runners?

Naperville Runner wrote:

How about a "new rule" to add civility towards Ultra Runners on this website

"If you have never run a race further than the full marathon you really have absolutely no business whatsoever being critical of those runners who do or have. The negativity simply detracts from what is otherwise a useful forum for exchanging information. Sign up for a 50 mile or longer race with 5,000 feet or more of vertical, complete it and then you can post whatever you want"

My guess is that very few ultra runners really care whether the broader running audience is impressed by what they do. I think it is safe to assume that people who run (however slowly) for 6, 8, 12 or 24 or more hours derive their motivation from within

But how much fun would that be?

This is letsrun, where 17 min 5k runners in there teens tell us why Kipchoge would beat all ultra running records.

I find that very entertaining.

Jenny C,

Just a remark that Alexander Sorokin is a man, not a woman :-)

Sania is a diminutive in Russian of the name Alexander (or Aleksandr) which can be see on his t-shirt -

https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a36289767/sania-sorokin-100-mile-world-record/

1. Lots of virtue signaling among ultrarunners, especially this vegan "plant-based" nonsense.

2. It's difficult for people with lives outside of running and real jobs to get into ultrarunning at a good level based on the shear amount of training required to be competitive. Who tf has time for multiple 20+ runs a week that's working 40-50 hours a week and raising kids?

3. The elitism seen among ultrarunners. STFU about "OMG I ran (hiked) 100 miles" when you're marathon PR is 3:25

ClaytonHammer wrote:

3. The elitism seen among ultrarunners. STFU about "OMG I ran (hiked) 100 miles" when you're marathon PR is 3:25

You complain of elitism, but imply that a 3:25 marathon is laughable? Your couch potato co-worker will be more impressed by a 30-hour finisher at Leadville than your 16-minute 5k PR, but are you really that insecure?

Dude I couldn't care less about my lardfat co-workers. And yeah a 3:25 marathon is laughable for someone that brags about completing 100k+ "races" which are basically glorified hikes. It's a great time for a hobby runner who sneaks in 3-4 training runs a week while the kids are asleep or doing homework, but many ultra "runners" are putting in 60+ mpw for weeks and weeks on end of mindless long runs. So this basically proves my point that (a) ultra "running" sucks and (b) you need to eat meat.

Ultra running, the hot dog eating contest of the running world.

Yeah it's low quality, but there's so much of it!!!

Thanks for letting me know that I'm doing my hobby wrong. If only I could get all that time back that I wasted in nature on beautiful trails, and spend it on a track/treadmill/road and be able to run a road marathon 15 minutes quicker... Will you be my life and nutrition coach?

Do whatever you want in life , you don't need to feel so hurt and offended. Notice how I don't get offended at you disparaging road marathons and treadmill work. Please return the favor and remember to eat your meat. Thanks, and have a blessed day.

Well, you're the one calling 3:25 marathoners and ultra runners laughable, but nice try.

LOL at this sh!t

How many folks on here run 70+mpw? I would say probably plenty, that raise kids and have a job. Pretty much all it takes for training wise to be quite successful in ultras. Honestly the training requirement is basically the same as running marathons, you just change the specificity (run more hills, more trails/terrain similar to your race etc) and sure maybe it takes an extra hour or so longer because you have to go slower for the same distance on trails vs roads but this is not a good argument against ultra running.

Elitism? Really? IDK about that, most people in the ultra community are super accepting and far less 'elitist' than traditional running crows. I mean just look at this board. There is literally no online running community more elitist than here, certainly NOT any ultra specific ones.

Just LOL at your troll post.

The goal is to do the best with the passion, talent, and available time that one has.

The race distance is irrelevant.

It is pointless to seek acknowledgement from others.

Especially those that have little understanding of what you have achieved.

It does seem that ultrarunning is often about chasing the respect of sedentary people- "Well 100 miles IS further than 6. Those guys in the Olympics have nothing on you."

On the other hand youth and talent can make pretty insignificant personal achievements seem much better than they are.

I think there are definitely some people who get into ultras because they think it is going to earn them respect from others. And while there are some people who are really impressed by it I have found lots of people just think I am crazy, weird etc... or think its just dumb and worthless. But I don't know that its really much different in that sense than road running. Plenty of people run road races and plaster their cars with distance stickers and never shut up about their running. Plenty of ultra folks like me on the other hand avoid the topic of running with non runners as much as possible.

Personally, I love running and love running trails even more. Running on the road often takes away from my enjoyment, dealing with traffic, pedestrians, cyclists etc... the solitude and peace on the trails cant be beat. I also dont really enjoy running in crowds of people so large road races are not appealing to me at all. Long a$$ runs in the woods are adventure, so ultras just work for me.

Could the negativity towards ultra runners be because some runners base their self-esteem upon being faster than someone else? And that if it is not recognized how fast they are people will love them less, and ultrarunners could distract from that attention?

70+ mpw? Plenty? No, sorry. Unless they want to underperform at work and have a bad relationship with your wife and kids because OMG DADDY NEEDS TO RUN while the kids want to play and wifey wants to snuggle and/or go nuts in bed.

Most guys I know with lives/jobs/kids do 35-50mpw, and a few I know in this group have even cracked low 3:xx marathon time. Those guys are true heroes. There's a reason the ultra-"running" pool is so small, it's because nobody ain't got time for that nonsense. It's a reason why guys like Sage Canaday can flourish, because they are limiting competition to "runners" with 30+ hours available to train each week.

I suggest you knock off the trolling. We are here to spread love and Jesus's teachings. Your elitism just confirms why ultra-"runners" are so scrutinized. Have a blessed day, and remember to eat your meat. God bless you.

70mpw to be successful aka competitive. I usually only peak around 60-70 even for 100 mile races. Run 40mpw average for a year. Do just fine but I am not winning larger races. If you cannot find an hour a day to train for races you probably should not sign up for any races beyond doing some turkey trots and probably suck at time management in general. Sure, if you have really little kids thats one thing, but having kids is not an excuse to be lazy, sorry.

5k to 100 mile runner wrote:

Could the negativity towards ultra runners be because some runners base their self-esteem upon being faster than someone else? And that if it is not recognized how fast they are people will love them less, and ultrarunners could distract from that attention?

Likely. Regardless of speed an ultra is a challenge. Most people dismiss faster 5K runners as not working any harder, just born with speed. Most people can do a 5K so not necessarily impressed that someone does it faster. Same thing happens in triathlons. Ironman gets all the attention.

Too many people care what others who don’t care about them think.

Ultrarunning takes some of the worst things about life and combines it into one:

1. SJW social justice warriors

2. flaming liberals

3. veganism ("plant based" diets)

4. non-alcoholic beers

also training takes up an enormous amount of time and is difficult for guys with young kids and real jobs. The "talent" pool at the ultra-level is so small because of this reason so ultramarathon winners are basically kings of the idiots.

Ultra-"runners" are often very arrogant about their "abilities", wait until there's serious money involved at the ultra level and races will be flooded with elite runners.

crusty_crack wrote:

Ultrarunning takes some of the worst things about life and combines it into one:

1. SJW social justice warriors

2. flaming liberals

3. veganism ("plant based" diets)

4. non-alcoholic beers

also training takes up an enormous amount of time and is difficult for guys with young kids and real jobs. The "talent" pool at the ultra-level is so small because of this reason so ultramarathon winners are basically kings of the idiots.

Ultra-"runners" are often very arrogant about their "abilities", wait until there's serious money involved at the ultra level and races will be flooded with elite runners.

crusty_crack wrote:

Ultrarunning takes some of the worst things about life and combines it into one:

1. SJW social justice warriors

2. flaming liberals

3. veganism ("plant based" diets)

4. non-alcoholic beers

also training takes up an enormous amount of time and is difficult for guys with young kids and real jobs. The "talent" pool at the ultra-level is so small because of this reason so ultramarathon winners are basically kings of the idiots.

Ultra-"runners" are often very arrogant about their "abilities", wait until there's serious money involved at the ultra level and races will be flooded with elite runners.

Sounds about right.

But I do like real beer as well.