This first sentence tells a lot about your hiking experience in difficult terrain.
The second one tells a lot about your experience with both hiking and being overweight. Also about your honnesty. The reason you let the football team bully you is not because that would be cruel to their insecurities to reply, it's because you are affraid.
that's what I'm on about. Hiking in difficult terrain proves only the hiker is an idiot.
If you want to get from point A to point B on foot, pick the good terrain, not the craggy cliffs.
Something I think a lot of people who haven't spent much time on trails realize is how difficult they can be. Most of these people have seemingly only been to some county park or something, maybe they've run the bridal paths of Acadia once. They've probably never been backpacking in a true wilderness.
In a LOT of the northeast, there's no such thing as a smooth, gentle trail. It's either up 800ft/mile or down 800ft/mile. Rocks and roots everywhere. Can't forget mud and bugs too. The trail systems are old, so no such thing as switchbacks. Simply walking 20 min/mile on such a trail is a very honest pace that will have anyone except world class athletes somewhat winded.
2 km/h isnt even hiking, its just being bad at life.
Everyone knows that these +100 kg "ultrarunners" arent running (or even jogging) any significant portion of the cource, but we dont say it to their face because that would be crule.
Posting like this^ isn't even trolling; it's just being bad at life.
And you don't talk shet to 220-pounders because they would kick your azz.
Let's be generous and say like Sisay Lemma, you ran a 2:04.59 marathon in 2024, for a very respectable 28th-place rank in the world. This is faster than the American record. Everyone on this board is a pretender.
To be considered world-class in this super shoe era, you need at least sub 2:03, which be good for a top-5 rank in the world.
Let's say it takes you almost 30-hours to run a 100-miles. Even if you arent 80-years-old, like Nick Bassett when he finished Western States this year, you are still a badass.
If you put on running shoes and you make it out the door and want to call yourself a runner. Go right ahead. Let's run.
I like fixed-timed Ultras. 12 hour is my game but there’s almost always a 24 hour or more. A good number of people in the 24 hour+ are old, of course they are shuffling. I’ve also seen Ultra runners, especially in 2020 when you were hiding, that would crush you OP.
As someone who has ran under 29 in the 10k and now getting into mountain ultras - it’s literally a different sport. Can’t even compare in many ways. You basically have to change up your whole mindset, your form, training, and add in a bunch of other logistical factors.
sure those at the back of the back are hiking a lot. I’m fit and I hike the steep climbs - it’s physically beneficial to do so even for elites in long races.
So do back of the pack in any marathon or road race - they are walking/jogging.
OP is honestly an idiot looking to troll. Just have fun and respect other people and touch some grass.
OP is honestly an idiot looking to troll. Just have fun and respect other people and touch some grass.
Good call about OP. This site was founded and is focused on elite track so the user base will have that slant.
Most ultra runners openly talk about hiking most or all of the event and only running small portions. Mid and front pack run more of it but they all walk at some point. It's part of the sport. Even Kipchoge would have walked part of Western States in his prime.
If you are looking to make fun of ultramarathoners there is plenty to find. For the most part, though, they don't care. The events are about having fun and overcoming challenges, not impressing a message board poster who is solely focused on top-level elite track.
I do agree that ultra participants can be one of the more annoying flavors of "runners," though. Most average (non-running, or even runners who aren't serious) people don't realize that running a 32 min 10k is much much harder than slogging through 100k in 20 hours. Normies tend to think more distance = more effort = more talent. There's also a weird culture in ultras where a lot of people don't want to actually train properly, so they just "embrace the suck" and think gutting out stupid distances is some sort of accomplishment worth celebrating.
Anybody that doesn't understand the nuances of short, track and road races, or ultras can be annoying. Even serious runners can be annoying and wildly overestimate what it takes to run longer. For instance, imagine you're a world class 1500 and 5000 meter runner that thinks he can just cook a half marathon. Think of all the runners on here that think because they ran a fast road marathon, they'll be able to clean up in a 100 mile trail ultra because that pace looks so easy.
2 km/h isnt even hiking, its just being bad at life.
Everyone knows that these +100 kg "ultrarunners" arent running (or even jogging) any significant portion of the cource, but we dont say it to their face because that would be crule.
This first sentence tells a lot about your hiking experience in difficult terrain.
The second one tells a lot about your experience with both hiking and being overweight. Also about your honnesty. The reason you let the football team bully you is not because that would be cruel to their insecurities to reply, it's because you are affraid.
I went back and looked at the only time I did anything ultramarathon-y, aka a glorified hike myself, just out for fun (in Colorado). My average pace was 3km per hour. My excuse is I just arrived at altitude (9500ft+/3000m) and jogged when the incline was up to 70m per km, but had to hike when it was over 300m per km (aka over 30%). The altitude got to me.
So yeah 2kmph is pretty darn terrible. A few days later I could run at least at a 5:00km on the moderate hills and 6-7:00 on the heavier stuff. But again it was very casual.
I've also done things like the grouse grind which is about almost 800m over 2.5km. I was fitter then and did it under 40min without much effort but that too was a casual hike (and no altitude).
In both instances I never took jugs of water (aka big backpacks) or worse anything other than pegasus. Most of what ultrarunners do is overcompensation.
This first sentence tells a lot about your hiking experience in difficult terrain.
The second one tells a lot about your experience with both hiking and being overweight. Also about your honnesty. The reason you let the football team bully you is not because that would be cruel to their insecurities to reply, it's because you are affraid.
I went back and looked at the only time I did anything ultramarathon-y, aka a glorified hike myself, just out for fun (in Colorado). My average pace was 3km per hour. My excuse is I just arrived at altitude (9500ft+/3000m) and jogged when the incline was up to 70m per km, but had to hike when it was over 300m per km (aka over 30%). The altitude got to me.
So yeah 2kmph is pretty darn terrible. A few days later I could run at least at a 5:00km on the moderate hills and 6-7:00 on the heavier stuff. But again it was very casual.
I've also done things like the grouse grind which is about almost 800m over 2.5km. I was fitter then and did it under 40min without much effort but that too was a casual hike (and no altitude).
In both instances I never took jugs of water (aka big backpacks) or worse anything other than pegasus. Most of what ultrarunners do is overcompensation.
To clarify it was 3kmph on the 300-350m per km part, not the 6-7% grade stuff.
This first sentence tells a lot about your hiking experience in difficult terrain.
The second one tells a lot about your experience with both hiking and being overweight. Also about your honnesty. The reason you let the football team bully you is not because that would be cruel to their insecurities to reply, it's because you are affraid.
I was fitter then and did it under 40min without much effort but that too was a casual hike (and no altitude).
In both instances I never took jugs of water (aka big backpacks) or worse anything other than pegasus. Most of what ultrarunners do is overcompensation.
You're saying that ultrarunners are overcompensating because you can do a 40 min "casual hike" without water?
Who cares? I mean, really, who cares? How does it affect you that others are slow? I see some really bad golfers on the course but I would never think to say they aren't golfers because they can't shoot par or even bogey golf. Doesn't affect me in any way that others aren't elite at something they love doing.
My god someone finally said it. Thank you. Let people enjoy their hobbies my goodness. Not everyone’s goal is to be the fastest, or the best, or a record setter. Some people thrive in all areas of their life when they have a hobby that gives them purpose. Ultrarunning is one that for a lot of people provides training, discipline, time outdoors, and a really good crowd of people who are some of the kindest, best, most encouraging people you can meet. And that goes for people competing in the race with you as well as the people volunteering and giving aid. Some of us still give a massive amount of effort and time to it, even though we know we will never be “elite”. I have seen things other people will never see all because my feet have taken me there running in the mountains. I’m blessed beyond belief with what I get to do because I have feet and legs that can carry me there. So yeah it does strike a nerve because some of us have zero expectations of any sort of “return” from the sport but we do it because we love it so for the love of god stop shaming people for doing that.
This post was edited 39 seconds after it was posted.
Reason provided:
Was responding to OP in most of my comments; this quoted comment just resonated
I did a couple of them for fun. It's been a good ten years since I ran one so I don't know how things are now and I pay no attention to influencers. Must be my age of 53 in that I have no interest at all in any influencer.
What I noticed back then was only a handful are actually trying to win. 90%+ of those in these events do not care at all who wins or even if people are cutting the course. It's a completely different mindset and a community. They are there to feel the pain together or something, I don't know. I just know it really wasn't for me. I like to compete or if I am just going to run aimlessly in the woods I don't need to pay for it.
The last one I ran in was a 50 miler and I was running with someone, We were in the lead and then we both found out a few cut the course and we were now in 5th and 6th place. I was annoyed. He literally didn't care at all. I stopped and walked back to my car and drove home.
I am sure there are some more serious ones but it just didn't seem to be my thing. The community is fun and there definitely is a lot of comradery amongst them and I understand and respect that but I never got the feeling it was very competitive the way other races were. It was more experience based and just wasn't for me. I would rather climb a mountain on my own or with friends.
So, I would say yes, at least from my observations it was a hike for most.
Who cares? I mean, really, who cares? How does it affect you that others are slow? I see some really bad golfers on the course but I would never think to say they aren't golfers because they can't shoot par or even bogey golf. Doesn't affect me in any way that others aren't elite at something they love doing.
It degrades the sport and dishonors the memory of Philippides.