Are most ultra “runners” just walking?

I think Kipchoge would definitely beat Jornet or Walmsley in a 100 mile flat road race, if he trained specifically for it.

I do not think he would be able to beat them at UTMB, any more than Jonas Vingegaard would be able to beat them, it's just a different sport.

A part of the advantage faster road runners have over slower ones is their running economy. Running economy is of no use whatsoever going up a 20% grade climb.

Also, those guys have trained for years to get the technique, and leg strength, they have for the descents.

FWIW I have run a large European 100 mile mountain race and finished top 25%. I ran (call it jogged if you want, it's the same mechanics, only slower) the downhills, the flats, and the not-so-steep uphills. I walked the steep uphills. I also spent a LOT of time in the aid stations.

But we all agree the hollywood star who "runs" a marathon in 6 hours is kind of not really running a marathon, but we also know some run it in 2 or 3 hours. If someone can travel 100m by foot in a day, respect. If they can do it much much faster than a day, more respect. It's all good.

Always felt that ultrarunning is a misnomer for nearly everyone that runs them. It's like ultra-adventure power walk-jogging.

Who made you the language police. I call it what ever I want. That you are bothered by that tells a lot..

And what, pray tell, is wrong with walking?

Nothing - it's arguably a better motion for humans (especially modern humans).

This is really fascinating. Someone starts the obligatory weekly trolling thread about ultra running, and there is always a ton of responses. I thought people would see through this nonsense by now...

We will see through it when some ultra marathoner can run a sub 210 marathon. You think a 202 guy can’t beat these people? Put him on the roads, mountains, race track, whatever. He will dominate the race. He will dominate so bad that Walmsley would burn himself out like he did vs Kilian. This time it would be way worse. Once Kipchoge wins he’ll go buy him a croissant to have ready for Walmsley for when he finishes 2 hours later.

That's the fun of being on letsrun.

Listen to Des talk about trail running in this interview

thx for sharing - love her take on the trails. basically "it's a different sport" and to do well at utmb she'd have to move somewhere else & completely alter her training. but im sure the haters will call her a hobby jogger who got lucky in boston and the "real" marathoners could do it easily

I doubt that actually. Ran with Des a bit at Hansons and she is naturally very good at hills. For ultras you certainly don't have to be the very fastest flat road marathoner....but you still want to be be relatively fast (flat road marathon PRs correlate very well to ultra performances...even at 100-milers in the mountains).

It's not like the Courtney Dauwalters of the world had to move to France and train in the Alps to dominate a course like UTMB (and that was after she dominated WS100 and Hardrock!). Sure, maybe Des couldn't stay in Michigan to train for UTMB 100% but I'd be willing to bet she'd smash a lot of trail-ultras. Most ultra-trail races in the US aren't like UTMB at all...so starting off on a course like WS100 is much much more "runnable" and for sure an easier transition from road marathons.

Being an ultra-trail runner one can easily be a "big fish in a small pond"

ah i was just paraphrasing what she said in the video - not making a judgment on her ability. she's great (for a hobby jogger 🤣)

And what, pray tell, is wrong with walking? Walking at a 15:00 pace for 24 hours is something the vast majority of people could never do. I beat up my body for many years running a lot of miles, and now in my mid-60's I am THRILLED to be able to get out and walk/hike as hard as I can.

Why do you care? You're not any of them, and you couldn't touch what they are able to do. You sound like an insecure wannabe who desperately needs to justify his existence by degrading others who are far better than he'll ever be. Not only do we all see thru the ridiculous, infantile ultra-bashing, we see thru guys like YOU.

Which is a fantastic thing to do!

Read the whole thread. At no point did anyone bash walking.

They only said call it walking, because it’s walking.

Get back to us when you're in your mid-60's, sonny-boy. You might have a little more respect for 15:00/mile.

Yeah? Well MORE POWER TO THEM! They're doing a helluva a lot more than you are, sitting here posting your ignorant, derogatory crap.