

Run an Ultramarathon - edw519
http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Run_an_Ultramarathon?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo

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julius_geezer
I did 36-miler as I recall four times, found it to be essentially an extended
marathon. I did a 50-miler once and did not feel the urge to go back for more
--just too long. I did meet a friend in the last hundred or so yards, a woman
for whom I later served as handler at the Old Dominion 100; however, she was
an unusual type, one who came into her own out past about 40 miles.

I will say that one would be reckless to do a road race out beyond 40 miles
with a support crew of at least one person to bring dry clothing & fluids,
perhaps snacks. At the Old Dominion 100, the runner could have a companion
starting at mile 75 one year and 66 another--people were crossing Massanutten
Mountain in the dark and exhausted, and the organizers were aware of the
hazards that presented.

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whatusername
So for those who haven't seen it - have a look at Cliff Young: [http://www.my-
inspirational-quotes.com/inspirational-stories...](http://www.my-
inspirational-quotes.com/inspirational-stories/cliff-young/)

At age 61 he showed up at the start of an ultramarathon (from Sydney to
Melbourne - 544 miles/875km) in overalls and gumboots. He then goes on and
smashes the old record and wins. His secret - everyone else stopped and had
naps - he just kept on going and going.

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runningskull
Ultras rock. There is no better experience than running as the sun goes down
knowing you've been running since it came up. And all your friends have
awakened, watched reruns, eaten pizza, and gone back to sleep while you've
been running ;)

That and they give out awesome t-shirts :D

But, aside from the "masochistic" part of it, the community is unbelievable
and the atmosphere at races is what got me into them to begin with. It's like
one big family in a way. One big family that gathers at the most beautiful
places in the country before sunrise so the

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fxdgear
Man, I'm addicted to the buckles!! All those "short" races have puny medals!!
100's have belt buckles, some times the size of dinner plates!!!

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bmj
If you're interested in such ultra-endurance events, but you aren't sure if
your body can handle such pounding, try out randonneuring--essentially, ultra-
long distance (200+km) cycling. You can achieve the same sorts of mental and
physical suffering without jarring your joints so much.

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spectre
Or another alternative is multi-sport, you can get a good mixture of
activities so you can spread out the physical punishment.

A good example: <http://www.coasttocoast.co.nz>

3km beach run, 55km cycle, 33km run over a mountain pass, 15km cycle, 67km
kayak, 70km cycle

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fxdgear
Wow leave it to a post about ultas to pull me outta my lurking shell. :)

I love running ultras, IMHO it is the single most self inspiring act you can
do without having to spend a thousands of dollars(like say climbing Everest).

My goal is to complete the "Grand Slam" which is 4 100's in 4 months. I'm
aiming for next year, pending I get in to western states again next year.

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ahi
"Most importantly: Drink continuously."

This seems like bad advice. Many of the recent deaths in marathons have been
due to water intoxication rather than dehydration.

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rmobin
run an ultramarathon? maybe don't: [http://www.paleonu.com/panu-
weblog/2010/3/21/still-not-born-...](http://www.paleonu.com/panu-
weblog/2010/3/21/still-not-born-to-run.html)

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chipsy
This is some really interesting stuff. I've been experimenting around a
baseline paleo diet(which has been pretty amazing), and I started doing short
15-30min morning runs as a way to induce a mild "wake up" stress, but I might
switch over to doing some body-weight resistance(push-ups, situps, squats)
instead.

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lena
The article is about a small group of elite long distance runners. I don't
think you can draw any meaningful conclusions about your short morning runs
here.

And it is worth noting that this is a blog post about an article about a
study. The author of the blog post has not even read the abstract of the
study, let alone the study itself. The article on which the blog post is based
says _Note that this study was published as an abstract and presented at a
conference. These data and conclusions should be considered preliminary until
published in a peer-reviewed journal._

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hairsupply
My good friend's dad did one of these when we was in his fifties.

You are typically allowed to have people pace you (run along with you), so my
friend ran with his dad from the 60 mile point to the 80 mile point. I
remember my friend making a comment that sounded to me as the most ludicrous
thing ever. His dad was really struggling around the 75 mile mark. His comment
was this:

"Dad, I know this is tough, but there is really only 5 more miles of hard
terrain. After that its just 20 easy miles."

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balding_n_tired
"It's all downhill from here!" is a very common encouragement called out by
spectators at road races. I've heard it said by persons who could have looked
back and seen that they were at the foot of a long uphill grade.

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wmat
Most ultrarunners who can do 2-3 100-milers in a year are considered
superheroes. Until now. Monica Scholz, an ultrarunner from Canada is
attempting to run 30x100 milers in 2010. She's already a few races in:
<http://www.monumentaleffort.com/monica’s-3000-mile-odyssey>

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wallflower
And then you have the Marathon Monks:

<http://www.howtobefit.com/tendai-marathon-monks.htm>

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wmat
Wow. Thanks for the link, I may have to read the book mentioned in that
article.

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bprater
Hmm... hadn't ever thought about runners needing to pee. How do they go about
dealing with this during extended marathons?

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wallflower
Ironman triathletes train themselves to pee during the race. For instance,
part of their training is to pee while cycling at 20mph+ in aero position.

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dpatru
So if I'm ever in an ironman race, I shouldn't follow another cyclist too
closely...

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davidw
There are always a few funny clips during long stages of the Tour de France,
Giro d'Italia, etc... where they show riders going to the back of the group to
have a whiz. In some races, they all agree to stop and line up along the side
of the road.

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rmorrison
I'm neither a doctor nor an athlete, but these things cannot be good for your
body.

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Locke1689
I wouldn't worry about it -- the human body is made for long distance running.
As long as you keep your limits in mind I'm sure it's fine. That said, I've
never really tried running more than 10 miles.

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jpr
Or maybe don't: <http://arthurdevany.com/articles/20091028>

