Are ultrarunners proof high mileage doesn't make you faster?

No, because you don't know how fast the same runner would be if they ran less mileage.

Trouble making the 25 percent at a local 5k? What a stupid generalization. There are a ton of people like me that run a lot of varied distances that also include ultras. Anyone that just runs ultras and nothing else is missing out on a lot of cool races. Same goes for the shorter distance elitists a like yourself.

An ultrarunner beat 650 other runners in the Baldy to the Top race last week. It is a 7 mile race. He won by 5 minutes.

All top 3 guys have run ultras.

And who cares about Baldy to the Top? Does anyone even know what city or state that is in? Is it a serious race? 650 runners? Sounds like a charity stunt. There is a race in Alexandria, VA, on Nov. 16th he can line up and see where he ranks or some other 30,000+ participant races.

Its in Angeles National Forest I think in SoCal. I live like 75-100 miles away and dont run trail races and still know what it is

What big names have won it? Matt Carpenter? Ben Bruce? Any other great Cali guys? Marc Davis?

Many ultra runners don't actually run very high mileage. It's a different game.

Mr. Davis had a smash with Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me.

I always liked that one.

Ultra runners don't usually do big mileage. They just log big 20/30mi Sat/Sun combos and take it easy the other days. They also don't run workouts...seriously, nobody "just runs mileage" anymore, right?

The Ultra guys I know don't run high weekly mileage. They do put in some high weekend mileage though (sat+sun combined). The week is fairly ordinary otherwise.

From what I've seen they keep track of total elevation gain just as much as normal mileage.

Just to be clear - ultra runners rarely ever run 50 or 100 miles non-stop. There are stops at aid stations where they do sit down, even if it's for a short period. They walk up hills (at times). There's also portions where they straight up just walk because they're exhausted. They also have people that help them as 'pacers.'

So if you're idea of an ultrarunner is of some madman running 100 miles somewhere in the wilderness...it's not entirely true. They require quite a bit of support in races and there's also plenty of walking.

A glorified fast-hike, really, with spectators at the finish and aid stations.

Steve Way.. "Don''t be shit"

It just proves lazy runners become ultra runners.. then a guy like SW steps up and its bullshit.. but not too much and add quality..

"Average ultra runner is slow and has trouble making the top 25% at the local 5000m."

By the way the average 5k runner will come in around the mean time for a 5k.. amazingly this rule holds from 100m to 30000km...

I mountain bike a lot and have observed many ultras just by accidentally riding the same trails where a "race" is going on (in fact today I had a chance to watch the ultra race of champions at copper mountain while riding).

Aside from the top men and women, pretty much all of the ultra runners I see in Colorado are just fast hiking and the pace they average in events over 50k aren't even much faster than an avid backpacker with gear. Some of them even use trekking poles. A few of my friends are what I would call average ultra runners, and it's rare for them to run more than 70 mpw.

That said, those at the top end of the sport who actually can run/jog the ultra distance over mountain terrain are damn impressive and put in a ton of effort to be able to do so.

I'm surprised how people are confused about high mileage. I thought it is a general consensus that high mileage doesn't make you faster per se, rather it allows you to tolerate better higher volumes of race specific paces, intervals, faster tempo runs etc. which is what actually makes you faster.

No. Many people actually do get faster just by running more and doing no specific speedwork.

In fact likely just as many people improve dramatically with just high mileage as those who do high mileage "properly" as a launching pad to more speed volume.

Most Ultra guys aren't fast to begin with. Many of the top Ultra guys have marathon PR's in the 2:25 - 2:35 range. Quality marathon times, but far from marathon elite. Very few ultra guys have ever gone under 2:20. The ones that have dominate ultra running (Max, Sage, etc...)

After years of not getting faster at the 10k-marathon distance( probably due to age as I am now 46) I started training for ultras at the beginning of the year. I was running 60-80 miles per week prior to ultra training and have continued to run that same volume. The difference being how I distribute the runs(more on the weekend now) and I now run A LOT more hills(10-15k feet of elevation gain a week) and don't do much speedwork. I still do tempos but they are longer and on hilly trails. Most of my tempos are in the 8-10 mile range. Since I am running up and down big hills all the time, I now spend more time running than when I was putting in the same mileage on the roads. I also don't obsess about my paces and just run by feel since the terrain varies so frequently.

I ran an over 35 age half marathon PR a couple months ago with no specific half training. I ran a 7 mile tempo run earlier this week at the same pace as my over 35 age 10k pr...So, for me ultra training seems to have made me faster. I attribute this to all the strength I've built from running up big hills and mountains and to doing something different training wise. I obviously respond to strenght work. Ultra training doesn't make everyone slower.

Just by you posting this shows the lack of knowledge you have about the sport of running and ultrarunning. Do some research about it and decide for yourself. I bet if Tony Krupicka put in some workouts in his training he could beat majority of people at shorter distances. But ultrarunning is completely different so it is impossible to tell. Just look at Lindgren or Levins or Lydiard. Mileage works for some and not for others, but you won't know till you try it yourself.

Ultra runners are proof that some people will still wear a trucker hat.