A 50k “ultra” isn’t an “ultra”—it is a safe space for hobby joggers to feel good about thems

Disagree, a ultra is anything longer than a marathon. Also, what about some of these 50k ultras that are over mountains with huge amounts of vertical gain. Making them equal to running 40+ miles over flat terrain?

Hilarious.

Intermediate goals help people.

I ran one during a long run once just for the sense of accomplishment. I'm still pretty happy about it today.

Are you jealous your distance PR is shorter than mine?

TempoTom wrote:

I don’t count 50ks as an ultra event since it is less than 5 miles longer than a marathon. 31 vs 26.2. I do respect ultra runners who run 50 miles, 100k, 100 miles, 24 hour challenge, backyard ultras.

Why even sign up for a 50k? I know I sound like an elitist, but I would rather these hobby joggers focus on getting better at running in general and seriously train for a marathon rather than just crawl their way to a 50k and brag to their co-workers about how they are an ultra runner who probably trains less than a marathon runner trying to BQ. Maybe it is cool to finish 12th out of 100 instead of 4000th out of 10,000.

Thoughts?

I run them because prize money is alot easier to win than in road marathons. But yeah Ill keep working on that BQ /s

Good point about mountain 50k races. I respect that. I will also admit that there is skill involved in running on technical trails. It reminds of me of parkour.

And no—I’m not jealous someone has a longer distance PR than me because I know I could run that distance as well but just don’t feel like it because there is no point. It is harder to run a fast marathon than slog your way through an ultra.

TempoTom wrote:

Good point about mountain 50k races. I respect that. I will also admit that there is skill involved in running on technical trails. It reminds of me of parkour.

And no—I’m not jealous someone has a longer distance PR than me because I know I could run that distance as well but just don’t feel like it because there is no point. It is harder to run a fast marathon than slog your way through an ultra.

You do know you can run fast 50ks right?

shootpost wrote:

TempoTom wrote:

Good point about mountain 50k races. I respect that. I will also admit that there is skill involved in running on technical trails. It reminds of me of parkour.

And no—I’m not jealous someone has a longer distance PR than me because I know I could run that distance as well but just don’t feel like it because there is no point. It is harder to run a fast marathon than slog your way through an ultra.

You do know you can run fast 50ks right?

And you know you can slog your way through a marathon right?

shootpost wrote:It is harder to run a fast marathon than slog your way through an ultra.

You do know you can run fast 50ks right?[/quote]

No kidding.

Here's my take: 50ks are the best ultras because competitors are actually running. Beyond 50k, even the best ultrarunners are mostly just jogging. Jim Walmsley's Lake Sonoma 50-mile course record is over 7-minute pace!

Yes, but to me it is avoiding true competition. Are there any true rivalries in the ultra world? I would imagine an ultra race is pretty spread out among the top finishers.

What kind of prize pools are at local, regional, and national ultra events? I honestly don’t know.

It doesn't really matter what your opinion is, does it. "Ultra-" is a generally accepted objective definition.

50k's are almost always off-road races and typically involve more elevation gain than a road race.

26.2 miles is pretty darn far for a person to run. I don't think that people signing up for 50k's are just doing it for attention like a lot of people signing up for marathons.

TempoTom wrote:

I don’t count 50ks as an ultra event since it is less than 5 miles longer than a marathon. 31 vs 26.2. I do respect ultra runners who run 50 miles, 100k, 100 miles, 24 hour challenge, backyard ultras.

Why even sign up for a 50k? I know I sound like an elitist, but I would rather these hobby joggers focus on getting better at running in general and seriously train for a marathon rather than just crawl their way to a 50k and brag to their co-workers about how they are an ultra runner who probably trains less than a marathon runner trying to BQ. Maybe it is cool to finish 12th out of 100 instead of 4000th out of 10,000.

Thoughts?

2/10 as troll posts aimed at ultra runners is low hanging fruit.

However, I hope the thread gets hijacked with the argument about the ridiculousness of the marathon distance which needs to end and be replaced by the 50k.

TempoTom wrote:

I don’t count 50ks as an ultra event since it is less than 5 miles longer than a marathon.

Thoughts?

An ultra is, by definition, a race that is longer than a marathon. So it doesn’t really matter to anyone what you count or don’t count because that doesn’t change the facts, bro.

800 dude wrote:

shootpost wrote:It is harder to run a fast marathon than slog your way through an ultra.

You do know you can run fast 50ks right?

No kidding.

Here's my take: 50ks are the best ultras because competitors are actually running. Beyond 50k, even the best ultrarunners are mostly just jogging. Jim Walmsley's Lake Sonoma 50-mile course record is over 7-minute pace![/quote]

Yeah, because 7 minute average pace over this is a jog.

DueBroMan wrote:

TempoTom wrote:

I don’t count 50ks as an ultra event since it is less than 5 miles longer than a marathon.

Thoughts?

An ultra is, by definition, a race that is longer than a marathon. So it doesn’t really matter to anyone what you count or don’t count because that doesn’t change the facts, bro.

Okay you got me with the facts. A 50k is an ultra. A 50k is also a joke. Not a fact, but an opinion shared by the majority of serious runners.

TempoTom wrote:

I don’t count 50ks as an ultra event

Crap. The only reason I did a 50k was to get TempoTom's approval. Now I find out he doesn't count it as an ultra. How can I go on with life?

ultramight wrote:

[quote]TempoTom wrote:

I don’t count 50ks as an ultra event

Crap. The only reason I did a 50k was to get TempoTom's approval. Now I find out he doesn't count it as an ultra. How can I go on with life?[/quo

It will all be okay. I’ll make you a runner in no time. We need to take baby steps. The first thing you need to do is stop wearing that silly 50k ultra jacket to carry breakfast/lunch/dinner.

Ultrarunning is technically anything longer than Marathon distance.

In the early 90ies ultrarunners started organizing 60k races as a warm up for the 100k and 24 hour race season. In the last 90ies the IAU made an official 50k distance out of it.

For the most part 50k races are now a great beginner distance to get into ultrarunning. It's a great distance for a fun trail ultra without getting too long and a great preparation distance for the first 50 miler.

You have to start somewhere, so now you can start with 50k.

My mile pr is 4:13. That was 32 years ago. I quit after high school and started back 8 years ago. My current mile pr is 8:04. I can not get any faster, so I've decided to go further. So far I've completed 6 50ks. Though I'm slow, I take great pride in it. It keeps me going. I buy tons of stuff from my local running store. The 50ks I do are low key. Not many competitors. Very few spectators. I honestly wish that I could run "fast " again, but after 8 years of doing this, I don't think that it's ever going to happen again and in ok with that.

I bet I could beat you at either distance

Who.

Cares.

Just let people enjoy the things they enjoy and SHUT UP.

So you don't like the Star Wars movies because you consider them too unsophisticated. Who gives a crap? Fine, you are right and we are wrong, now please go away.