At what point is an “Ultramarathon” just a glorified hike?

David Joggins wrote:

It’s time someone said it. Some of these slower ultramarathon “runners” are shuffling at so egregiously slow of a pace that they may as well be hiking. If you’re carrying walking poles to get you across the terrain while logging 30 minute miles you’re on an endurance hike, not “running an ultramarathon”.

These influencer types are even worse, lugging essentially a ruck sack stocked full of Instagram sponsored gels and electrolyte mixes while walk-jogging 24+ hours to complete a 50 miler. This is a far cry from jogging a race at a steady pace while wearing a hydration vest and an accessory belt for sustenance.

The Bandera 50k has a cutoff time of 24.5 hours. Meaning you could complete this “race” going just over 2km per hour. If you’re going that slow you’re hiking. The term “running” in ultramarathons is stretched to an extreme. Very few outside of the elite upper echelon of ultramarathoners are actually running them. Most are jogging. But this bottom tier of ultra “runners” are slogging through the miles at so slow of a pace that it’s comical to even hear them say they “ran an ultramarathon”. If you’re not moving any faster than the average Stepford wife out pushing the stroller around the subdivision you’re on an endurance hike.

David Joggins wrote:

It’s time someone said it. Some of these slower ultramarathon “runners” are shuffling at so egregiously slow of a pace that they may as well be hiking. If you’re carrying walking poles to get you across the terrain while logging 30 minute miles you’re on an endurance hike, not “running an ultramarathon”.

These influencer types are even worse, lugging essentially a ruck sack stocked full of Instagram sponsored gels and electrolyte mixes while walk-jogging 24+ hours to complete a 50 miler. This is a far cry from jogging a race at a steady pace while wearing a hydration vest and an accessory belt for sustenance.

The Bandera 50k has a cutoff time of 24.5 hours. Meaning you could complete this “race” going just over 2km per hour. If you’re going that slow you’re hiking. The term “running” in ultramarathons is stretched to an extreme. Very few outside of the elite upper echelon of ultramarathoners are actually running them. Most are jogging. But this bottom tier of ultra “runners” are slogging through the miles at so slow of a pace that it’s comical to even hear them say they “ran an ultramarathon”. If you’re not moving any faster than the average Stepford wife out pushing the stroller around the subdivision you’re on an endurance hike.

David Joggins wrote:

It’s time someone said it. Some of these slower ultramarathon “runners” are shuffling at so egregiously slow of a pace that they may as well be hiking. If you’re carrying walking poles to get you across the terrain while logging 30 minute miles you’re on an endurance hike, not “running an ultramarathon”.

These influencer types are even worse, lugging essentially a ruck sack stocked full of Instagram sponsored gels and electrolyte mixes while walk-jogging 24+ hours to complete a 50 miler. This is a far cry from jogging a race at a steady pace while wearing a hydration vest and an accessory belt for sustenance.

The Bandera 50k has a cutoff time of 24.5 hours. Meaning you could complete this “race” going just over 2km per hour. If you’re going that slow you’re hiking. The term “running” in ultramarathons is stretched to an extreme. Very few outside of the elite upper echelon of ultramarathoners are actually running them. Most are jogging. But this bottom tier of ultra “runners” are slogging through the miles at so slow of a pace that it’s comical to even hear them say they “ran an ultramarathon”. If you’re not moving any faster than the average Stepford wife out pushing the stroller around the subdivision you’re on an endurance hike.