If you are a ultra trail runner there are a lot more trail 50ks than trail marathons. And 50ks are ideal tuneups for longer ultras because you can in time-on--feet and work on fueling strategy but they don't require as much recovery time as longer distances.
When I was running ultras I would always try to do a few 50ks early in the season as prep for a 100 later in the year.
This 54 years young hobbyjogger already qualyfied for Boston with a 3:12:and a few seconds marathon (benefit of being somewhat older ;-) )
So tried a longer distance for, yeah, for what?
Not for being an ultra runner but trying if i could manage that distance, that's all.
No trail, but 176 laps of 286m, been there, done that
The 50k is what the marathon always should have been, and could be.
No better time for the elites to switch to the distance, than when the very best will be pushing the 2:30 barrier.
Bad Wigins wrote:
The 50k is what the marathon always should have been, and could be.
No better time for the elites to switch to the distance, than when the very best will be pushing the 2:30 barrier.
Stick with your horrible covid predictions bro.
this take is horrible.
A 50k is like I took a wrong turn during a marathon. If you can run a marathon,you can 100% run a 50K doing the same exact training. It blows my mind when people talking about nutrition for a 50K. If you ran a marathon,it's pretty much the same thing unless you are running up/down trails or mountains. I read about people stuffing themselves with snacks at aid stations and I wonder why.
Meh - TempoTim (or is it Tom?) isn't really wrong. Hell anyone can run a 50k...doesn't take much to just do some moderate training, mix in a trail training run here or there, and just jump in one and win it. In fact I've heart it referred to as the "fun run" when it's paired with a 50 miler.
Bad Wigins wrote:
The 50k is what the marathon always should have been, and could be.
No better time for the elites to switch to the distance, than when the very best will be pushing the 2:30 barrier.
When you guys cannot even understand a simple metric system....?
Every elite marathoner understands metric. They get their splits per kilometer. Only Dwight Stones and NBC are confused by it. Their viewers are expendable nobodies.
The switch will be easy - Berlin sets up a "2:30" event, London copies them, the rest fall like dominoes.
SeriouslyTho wrote:
I mean, when you really think about, TempoTom has a pretty good point. The majority of folks that do 50k "ultras" are just people who could never break 19 in the 5k and think they are "elite" by doing a distance just barely longer than a marathon. It would be a much better use of their time to try and get the Boston qualifier, it is much more rewarding and valued in the running community. I can't help but think these 50k "ultras" are a waste of money too.....why pay that kind of money to run with 2 other people for 31 miles when you can just do it on your own? Save the money, invest in the market, and make some real money instead of blowing it on some weird distance race.
Sure but aren't people running 100k in the same boat? Why pay money to run with 2 other people for 62 miles when you can just do it own your own. It isn't like anyone in the world cares. Heck most of them don't have a clue about the difference between a half marathon and a full one.
TempoTom wrote:
I don’t count 50ks as an ultra event since it is less than 5 miles longer than a marathon. 31 vs 26.2. I do respect ultra runners who run 50 miles, 100k, 100 miles, 24 hour challenge, backyard ultras.
Why even sign up for a 50k? I know I sound like an elitist, but I would rather these hobby joggers focus on getting better at running in general and seriously train for a marathon rather than just crawl their way to a 50k and brag to their co-workers about how they are an ultra runner who probably trains less than a marathon runner trying to BQ. Maybe it is cool to finish 12th out of 100 instead of 4000th out of 10,000.
Thoughts?
You are so right ,sir. These are some really important points you are making about life too. Wow.