Ultrarunning--sport or stunt?

stunt

sport. why keep bringing this up? Why is 26.2 respectable and 31 a freek show? It's a different sport needing different training and different talents. Like the diff btwn 5k and half. Walking with a purpose doesn't negate the effort, training and talents needed to compete well.

its a sport but since there isnt' much depth with the competition, it doesn't take as much talent or training to be good.

26.2 (well actually 26) has a deep past and meaningful race. If Pheidippides never ran from marathon to athens than we would never be considering anything over a 20k an actual race

Take a look at Ultra runner David Goggins and tell him

it's a stunt!!!

ask taco if ultra running is a sport, 13:30's for 100 miles you do the math. uli steidel has run 14:20 indoor 5k, sub 2:15 marathon, and low 3:00 hr 50k in the same year.

true there can be some walking involved in ultra running, but when was the last time you had to climb over 5,000 feet in 7 miles at your local road race? ultra running is about challenging the body and mind on a level that can not be done at shorter distances. so to answer your question ultra running is a sport. if you do not feel as though it is, sign up for a 50 miler and report back to us.

Look at me, I post on letsrun, I fear and hate what I don't understand.

What's wrong with walking?

in high school I got tired of getting my ass handed to me in the 300 hurdles, long jump, etc.

so after watching a bunch of skinny punks do well at disatnce races becasue it was the only thing they could be good at, I moved up & ran distance; I kicked the crap out of those no-talent ass-clowns with minimal effort

now I am a distance runner and see all these ultra guys running...

you get my point

come in a Vneck? wrote:

you get my point

You are a slow, skinny, punk, loser, distance runner too?

no, I just beat them (though I am a bit lighter then I used to be)

this is the problem with HS distance running in the US; it's what u do if you aren't any good at anything else. Meanwhile, the kids that are mediocre at the jumps/400 stuff keep doing it cause they get to wear cool spikes. have to please football/bball coach, etc.

come in a Vneck? wrote:

this is the problem with HS distance running in the US; it's what u do if you aren't any good at anything else.

You are wrong. Most of the distance runners I know are very good in the school band.

This is stupid, of course it is a sport. My father competed in the Marathon / Ultra events and no walking was involved. For those of you who don't think it was a sport, try running this time:

50 Mile: 5:12:40, 6:15 pace, hit the marathon in 2:44 and hold it. Oh, and it was the American Record. He trained harder then any of you!!!! :)

Thanks, Joel

Ultras will follow the same course as marathoning - there were races (NY, Boston etc) that were run on irregular courses that attracted only the dedicated, who had few choices for races.

Now that marathon courses are standardized (properly measured, FLAT, fast, organized etc) there is more interest from more elite runners, and therefore more prize money, faster times. Courses like NY and Boston are now anachronistic thorwbacks that have little to offer the elite athlete.

In essence, marathoning became professional.

Races such as WS, Leadville, Badwater are stunts. The world 100km championships are not. As more professionally managed, hosted and promoted ultras are held, the profile will increase, and these stunt "How tough *ARE* you?!?" courses will go the way of NY/Boston - limited interest from the truly elite, and a bemoaning of their demise from the old school competitors.

Sport without question.

I used to work for and train with former Western States 100 winner Doug Latimer. I was in my early-mid 20s at the time, and he was in his early-mid 50s. That guy was a freaking beast as a runner. He never went for a run that was less than 13 miles during the time I worked for him, and even though I was running 10ks at the time in 32:something, he would kill me on longer runs.

He participated in a study of distance runners at Stanford when he was 52 or 53. They tested the diameter of his aorta, muscle fibers, VO2 max, etc. Initial results said he was in the 99% of people between the ages of 40-45. They mistakenly thought he was in that age group. When he told them he was 52 (or 53 -- I don't remember which), they told him he was the most fit person over age 50 ever tested. Granted, not every one gets tested like that, but that guy was insanely gifted, and he worked very hard at it too. He'd run 50 miles right on 5 hours -- ~6 minute miles for 50 miles.

Insane.

Ultrarunning is a stunt for idiots who can't run a conventional distance in a respectable time.

Dean Karnazes--greatest runner? Please. . .