Imagining Mountain Ultra Trail Running In The Olympics

I actually think you could do a "glorified" mountain race in an obstacle course like to stadium (again more like "extreme cross country"). Of course the natural scenery component (of actual mountains and big cliffs) would not be there though. On the world stage (with teams and international comp) you already have events like IAU World 100km (road champs), Comrades etc which are generally the most competitive world events outside of 10-12km WMRA Mountain Running Champs and something like UTMB and Sierre-Zinal/Golden Trail Series kinds of MUT Running races. But I agree with you that it shouldn't be like Barkely at all. Barkley's is more of a glorified scavenger hunt/hike (there is more powerhiking than actual running involved) and it is super niche and small and not very people do it [ I mean I'm sure it's really hard and someone like me would probably freeze, get lost and quit early...but I don't like powerhiking and having to read clues and use a map off-trail in the mud and brambles]. However, races like Barkely and even Hard Rock to some extent attract the most attention to the general public. Films are made about those types of races. People like to watch and talk about "Extreme" things..

I'd personally really enjoy it, but I'll watch any running event. I could see a short and a long distance event similar to the World Mountain Running Championships, maybe even a chance for a few guys to double. Maybe Sage could medal if he ate some burgers.

I can't imagine it would be less popular than yachting or equestrian.

It would have to be laps of at most 30min otherwise its unwatchable

...and Sage, what's with this "Founder of VO2 Max Productions" thing, what do you produce that is original content?

the error of trail and ultra running is that they are mixed together.

There is no need to run a trail run more than a marathon. Yes they can be a 5k! Or vertical K!

There is no need for race distance longer than marathon distance to be hilly or off road.

It would be nice if this disassociation starts soon..

The Outdoor hipster demographic would love it. You could stream the whole event if you wanted and on tv they can just show it in like a one hour segment. Like how they used to show the Hawaii Ironman on network TV (idk if they still do). I used to watch those when I was a kid on like a weekend afternoon and be like 'that's pretty cool'.

I'd rather they added mountain running (like the type of stuff they do for the WMRA races) than 100 mile races. It's more competitive and has higher international interest than 100 milers.

The more running events the merrier. But I’d like to see the half added before an ultra. I’m sure the #4,5,6 Kenyan, Ethiopian, and Ugandan marathoners would agree with me ?. But admittedly the ultra pulls in athletes who wouldn’t have a chance of being there otherwise.

I really think the last man standing type of event would be the best ultra running event for the Olympics the more I think about it. It has a lot of really good elements to it, easy to host, performances from year to year can be compared (cannot do that so much with mountain ultras), plenty of opportunity to spectate, is extreme and will generate interest and best of all any country can participate.

I know some people in ultras dont care for the format but Bigs this year seem to generate a lot of interest, and it is one of the most pure ultra distance events you can get. It removes a lot of non-running type variables that other ultras feature. Also, it is similar to the 24 hour or 48 type track events.

Yeah, let’s add another short distance event dominated by the Ugandans and East Africans (yawn). Ultras and obstacle course events are interesting cause they’re not just about running. More time for drama and the media to hype it up. Sports is about entertainment.

Last man standing events are too new and lack competition. If there was an Olympic event it would be something that’s already an established World Championship like 50 mile trail, 100k, or 24hrs.

Idk, it seems like those events while established are actually where the competition is lacking, at least with regards to road 100k events which used to be more of a thing but have almost disappeared. While last man standing events are a newer format anyone who competes at ultra distances should have no issues, its not like its somehow entirely different. Its more spectator friendly and would be much easier to host.

Personally, I would rather see some type of trail ultra event but just seems like for the Olympics there are enough variables there to make it less feasible.

Anyway, all of this is 'imagining' since none of it will ever happen anyway. Its just like when I believed all of the hype that Thai boxing was going to make it into the Olympics, but all the bureaucracy got in the way and it never happened. A lot of Olympic sports are laughable especially if you compare them to professional level such as boxing in the Olympics. The sporting world will move on and the Olympics will just become further and further outdated.

100k lacks competition? It’s short enough to draw top marathoners while being different enough they don’t always dominate. Last man standing events are so small, new, and the least competitive. If it’s going to happen it will be an already established World Championship.

I guess I was just thinking in terms of the US. The 100k races here are only ever really competitive when they are golden ticket series races for WSER. My thought was more along the lines of drawing in the pure ultra athletes. But you have a point. Either way, like I said, I doubt it will ever happen so doesn't really matter anyway.

sports is show business wrote:

100k lacks competition? It’s short enough to draw top marathoners while being different enough they don’t always dominate. Last man standing events are so small, new, and the least competitive. If it’s going to happen it will be an already established World Championship.

The issue with a road 100k is that from a spectator standpoint it's not really different from a marathon. Just longer. While a trail 100k has issues with venues and spectators it would allow guys like Kilian and Walmsley to compete against faster marathoners on more equal footing and in a more interesting setting.

I agree that last man standing events are not competitive and would not be likely to attract the fastest athletes.

Actually (like I said earlier) the IAU Road 100km World Road Champs is one of the most competitive MUT events ever. It's not like Comrades quite, but at least its probably a bit more regulated with some PED testing and you get more countries (and lots of road marathoner types) involved. Events like "last man standing" and Bigs Backyard are super niche (like 20-40 people) and while you get some really good runners like Courtney, the competitive depth is very small (relative to say a Comrades or even UTMB). This is also true for races/events like Barkleys and Hardrock. The field size is very limited (i.e. 80 people) because these events are exclusive. Generally the most competitive MUT events (on trails) on have been the WMRA World Mountain Champs at 10-12km and races like Sierre-Zinal and Zegama and UTMB.

How many of the top ultra runners compete in world champs 100k events though? Maybe its just my ignorance but it seems like some of the events while more competitive from the standpoint of attracting faster marathoners etc... is not the same as drawing the top athletes in ultra running in particular. Bigs is small yes, though the international format this year allowed some really great runners from other countries to compete, but it does attract some of the top talent in the the ultra distance category. So that would be my clarification. I am thinking more in terms of what type of ultra event could draw in the top athletes in ultra running. This would differentiate it more from other running events. But I suppose if the goal is to make it the most competitive you can, making it road or making it a short trail race, while it may be more competitive will likely not draw in as many of the pure ultra distance athletes.