It is good to keep an open mind.
It is good to keep an open mind.
If you cant run fast, run far...or jog or walk or shuffle...take a break and sit in the medical tent , then continue going, with a 1 liter bottle in tote.
if you are so high and mighty and you are going to 'take down' jurek in western states then why don't you tell you your name - let's see your times. put yourself out there, you certainly talk a big game... certainly more than anything you sound jealous of the attention jurek gets.
do i respect back of pack ultrarunners - no, but then again i don't really respect back of pack marathoners (there are a ton of them), back of pack 10k'ers or back of pack 5k'ers.
it's not like you haven't had the chance to beat on jurek, what you've been in hiding for 7 years just waiting for your opportunity... you jack ass
You are kidding? I don't feel like looking it up but I think if you take the world Record for the 5k, 10k and marathon and keep going with the progression, you would see a time much faster than 9:00 per mile for 100 miles. That's my point. Until someone with real credentials steps up to the distance, what's the point of caring about the current records and ultras in general. In fact I am sure the current ultra "record setters" and big race "champions" hope the pros stay right were they are. Ultras are like the Arena Football League compared to the NFL or better yet the WNBA compared to the NBA. I am sure Derek Jeter could hit a softball 3 miles but I don't see him competing in the World Slow Pitch Softball League anytime soon do you?
NEWS RELEASE
FIRST MAN TO COMPLETE A ROUND-THE-WORLD RUN
Jesper Olsen to Run Final Leg Sunday October 23rd
14 October, 2005, London - This Sunday Jesper Olsen, the Danish "ultra-runner", will finish a run that started nearly two years and 26,000 kilometres ago. He will complete the final leg of this punishing journey Sunday at the Greenwich Royal Observatory where his run had started. An around-the-world run is one of the few remaining challenges that, until Sunday, has not been conquered by mankind.
Claims from previous runners to have completed a world run are yet to be substantiated. Jasper was aware of the strict guidelines set out by Guinness World Records before embarking on his epic journey and has chronicled his journey on
using a combination of technology - GPS co-ordinates linked to a central server - and hard copy evidence such as witness journals and a road book. He will be submitting all of his evidence to the Guinness World Records team upon his return.
Jesper, 34, set off on January 1, 2004 from Greenwich, London and followed a path through the Netherlands and Nordics, across Russia, down through Japan, from Sydney to Perth, Los Angeles to Vancouver to Chicago and New York. The final part of the journey has been across Ireland, then from Holyhead, through Birmingham to London, where he is due to finish at 14.00 on Sunday 23 October at the Greenwich Royal Observatory.
"Running the world is the ultimate challenge", said Jesper. "It's been attempted several times, but as yet unconquered, which was part of the drive for me. There is sadly so much conflict in the world, but the support that I have seen from all of the countries that I have run through has been phenomenal. It has been an amazing experience. I have no idea how I'm going to top this!"
At the finish line with Jesper on Sunday will be a team of accomplished runners and ultra-runners, including Computershare senior executive Oliver Niedemaier, who is running the final 85km from Baldock to London. Computershare has sponsored Jesper throughout his journey, and Oliver is delighted that Jesper is so close to his goal.
"We're so proud to have been able to sponsor Jesper along his travels. His determination and spirit have been truly inspiring, and I'm looking forward to being with him through the final stages."
In 1999, Jesper completed his first 100km run and set a new national record in the process, which ignited his enthusiasm for running the seemingly impossible. His progress has been tracked on
, and he accredits part of his success to his sponsors - including sports footwear manufacturer Asics and jogging stroller providers Chariot Carriers, along with Computershare - and fellow runners.
I am not an ultra runner but I think someday I may run one. And the reason why I may run one is for the same reason why some people are opposed to them here. Joker said with enough training anyone could run one (that is debatable in my opinion, but let's go with it) but most will never run a 2:05 marathon.
Okay, so let's say that is true. In fact, I will probably never break 15 for 5K with my life style choices. So I train and I fight for 5-30 seconds between a good 5k and a bad one. I pretty much can wake up any day and say, yeah - I am in such and such shape. I still dig that and the work that goes into it: the training, the sacrifice, etc.
But ultras definitely have something that is alluring - and that is I HAVE NO IDEA IF I CAN DO IT. I don't know if I can run 50 miles in one shot. And the hundred blows my mind. Its not the number 100 that freaks me out - its 65. How the hell do my legs feel at 65 miles? And then 78? And 84?
I would not do ultras to duck competition. I will do an ultra to compete against that thing I have been competing against for 25 years - my head, my body and gravity.
I am past the days where I get worked up about winning. Winning for me is a function of who shows up. If I get lucky and a bunch of people don't show up I might win. So instead of worrying about winning against those other runners, I worry about racing myself. (Don't get me wrong, I have guys who help me race myself and I am damn competitive with). I do this in the mile, 5K, 10K etc ... and I will do it someday on those same principals in the ultra.
George
they are freak
they are always escaping from something
sick minds
I don't hate ultrarunners. I don't even think about them. Ever. Until it was brought up here.
Comparing a flat marathon record to a mountain 100m record is apples to oranges. The world record for a track 100 is 11:30 - a 6:54 mile. What would the marathon record would be if it had 7000ft of elevation gain (hardrock /4) ?
100m Ultra's are to marathons, what marathons are to miles - and to arbitrarily decide that after a certain point the speed is to slow to appreciate, well - its just that, arbitrary. To a 3:50 miler, a 4:50 marathoner is slow, and a 6:50 100miler ...... the distance goes up, the speed goes down.
The current ultra record holders have to worry about "the pros" about as much as Tergat has to worry abour Mo Greene
That's fine, Joker, and probably true, to some extent, but why do you feel the need to devalidate a woman who can run 15:42 for 100 miles? See, the cool thing about many of the long races is that these are very average people doing exceptional things. Paul Tergat, El-G, Bikele, Geb, these are freaks of nature, in the 99.999999% biologically, mechanically, and physiologically. Most of the ultra-runners I know admire the talent in the fast racers and would love to see these guys in action in the long races. Most of the ultra people I know didn't run in high school, never thought of running a 5k PR, or what it would be, and are in it to test their own personal limits. They're generally not in it to be compared to the best runners in the shorter distances. And, if it makes you feel better, USATF treats our ultrarunners with disregard. I know this because 6 or 7 of the 12 who were invited to compete at the 24-hour World Championships this past summer were from the Boulder area, and almost none could go because USATF didn't throw them a dime. Meanwhile, they'd probably give Justin Gatlin a gold toilet if he asked for it.
oldguy wrote:
[quote]mr cripple wrote:
In the early 80's, the ultras were a lot more popular and better runners participated. Park Barner was a 2:13-2:14 marathon. Alex Ratelle(sp) was a top 50+ runner.
Park Barner was nowhere close to being a 2:13-2:14 marathoner. There have been some good American marathoners who have seriously competed in ultras, however. Barney Klecker and, more recently, Dan Held come to mind.
quote]
Oops!! I meant Barney Klecker.
I only hope that one day an ultradistance is added to the Olympics. It will probably never happen because ultrarunners would do everything in their power to keep the sport hidden and supposedly preserve the tradition (which I think is dumb). But if it did, I would only hope that those runners going for the marathon trials would move up. I guarantee that doesn't automatically mean it will a breeze for them to qualify in it. When I finish running in college, I plan on eventually getting up to ultras because i have experience with that whole concept, i know people in the sport, I love trails, and I love pushing my body to run long distances. Trail running is totally different than running on the road, especially some of the tough trails you face in courses such as Western States and HURT in Hawaii. Its not just about being fast. I cal almost guarantee that that a 2:20 marathoner cannot beat a trail runner that can only run 2:45 in the marathon if you put the two in a century race. The terrain makes the race totally different. If marathon guys did move up to that distance, it would really bring out the fast ultrarunners, and it would only be good for the sport. But don't get me wrong, I'm sure several marathoners could compete in the sport.
I just started ultarunning fool.
high boy wrote:
if you are so high and mighty and you are going to 'take down' jurek in western states then why don't you tell you your name - let's see your times. put yourself out there, you certainly talk a big game... certainly more than anything you sound jealous of the attention jurek gets.
do i respect back of pack ultrarunners - no, but then again i don't really respect back of pack marathoners (there are a ton of them), back of pack 10k'ers or back of pack 5k'ers.
it's not like you haven't had the chance to beat on jurek, what you've been in hiding for 7 years just waiting for your opportunity... you jack ass
endurance junkie wrote:
Comparing a flat marathon record to a mountain 100m record is apples to oranges. The world record for a track 100 is 11:30 - a 6:54 mile. What would the marathon record would be if it had 7000ft of elevation gain (hardrock /4) ?
100m Ultra's are to marathons, what marathons are to miles - and to arbitrarily decide that after a certain point the speed is to slow to appreciate, well - its just that, arbitrary. To a 3:50 miler, a 4:50 marathoner is slow, and a 6:50 100miler ...... the distance goes up, the speed goes down.
The current ultra record holders have to worry about "the pros" about as much as Tergat has to worry abour Mo Greene
Your comparisons make no sense...runnin a 4:50 mile is running so is running a 3:45 mile. You have to measure things in a physiological stem. No matter what you say, at one point your heart rate will not be up and that's when you are pretty much walking and you are walking. Ever heard of heart rate zones? There is zone when you are "running" be a 3:45 mile or 16:45 5k or 2:15 marathon...Or even a 12:00 100 miler on the track, now that is moving not 29:59.55 like at Western States.
Let's be realistic, too, about everyone's goals in running. I just ran the Chicago marathon and there seem to be a few handfuls of people trying to really push themselves, the rest of them are out to "enjoy" the experience-whatever that means to them-for the novelty of it. Why do some of you only respect the fastest runners in races? That implies that only those people are putting in hard work. While it is true that a TON of people in road races (especially the marathon these days) are just out for the one-time experience, are vastly undertrained, and aren't concerned with any performance goals, there are people out there who use running as a vehicle for their own development and are not super fast. I'm probably one of those people. I'm not very fast but work pretty hard and get a lot out of it. Does that make me less-respected because I don't hit a certain time?
DoubleJ wrote:
Let's be realistic, too, about everyone's goals in running. I just ran the Chicago marathon and there seem to be a few handfuls of people trying to really push themselves, the rest of them are out to "enjoy" the experience-whatever that means to them-for the novelty of it. Why do some of you only respect the fastest runners in races? That implies that only those people are putting in hard work. While it is true that a TON of people in road races (especially the marathon these days) are just out for the one-time experience, are vastly undertrained, and aren't concerned with any performance goals, there are people out there who use running as a vehicle for their own development and are not super fast. I'm probably one of those people. I'm not very fast but work pretty hard and get a lot out of it. Does that make me less-respected because I don't hit a certain time?
No, but you see, the argument is about people like Jurek who think that western states is a competitive as Boston, L.A. or the Olympics. Come on, that guy need a reality check...He wins badwater with only 87 competitors, most of whom are not acutal runners but adveture racers and what not.
hey dips***, if you thought the times in ultrarunning were so easy to beat why did you wait so long to start... what is your marathon pr? my guess is you'll start doing the much longer hilly, ultras realize what a grind it is and how much different it is from road running and realize that you should've shut your mouth on this message board because you didn't know what you were talking about it until you try it yourself
high boy wrote:
hey dips***, if you thought the times in ultrarunning were so easy to beat why did you wait so long to start... what is your marathon pr? my guess is you'll start doing the much longer hilly, ultras realize what a grind it is and how much different it is from road running and realize that you should've shut your mouth on this message board because you didn't know what you were talking about it until you try it yourself
I've done a few ultras. I have won one and got 3 2nds at 50 milers...So what is your point?
Well, if Jurek is saying stuff like that, then, yeah, he needs to shut his mouth. He is really good at what he does, but not running against the depth that the top road marathons draw. I'd like to see Carpenter, Jurek, and Dave Mackey square off at Western States next summer...
Clapping your hands can also be a strenuous activity. Nonone seems to give that much bother.