Athlo Blog

For most people, running 100 miles sounds like as much fun as a bare knuckle fight with Mike Tyson. But for those looking to put their bodies and mind to the ultimate test, an ultramarathon is probably on their list of things to do before they die. It’s definitely on mine. An ultramarathon is by definition any distance greater than the normal 26.2 mile marathon.  A large number of ultramarathons today seem to be at or close to 100 miles. A race this long and challenging requires some serious training and lessons learned from those who have gone the distance before.

I recently came across a blog called The Run Down maintained by Charlie Nickell and Greg Hardesty that is about, you guessed it, ultramarathons. One post in particular, entitled So, You Want To Run 100 Miles, was a collection of tips and advice from people who have completed multiple races at that distance to those of us considering it. As I expected, not one of them said it was easier than they thought it would be. The general consensus was that at some point you will feel terrible and consider quitting. But it is those who are able to overcome and push through the pain, even if you just keep walking, that will discover a sense of satisfaction that I can only imagine.

Check out The Run Down and hopefully they will continue to post more great articles on their site. Active.com has a large list of ultramarathons you can register for but there are some, like the Western States 100 and Badwater Ultra 135, which require you to qualify in other races before you are allowed to enter.  If anyone has done an ultra and can think of big mistakes to avoid on a first attempt, drop a comment and share it with us.