This comment may be totally irrelevant but I'm going to post it anyway.

In my opinion, there are way too many people "running" ultras that really have no business doing it. These distances have become popularized, largely due to social media, and people that don't have the conditioning, preparation, or basic understanding of the sport are suddenly eager to become an ultra runner.

Race directors know this too and they're capitalizing on it.

Even a flat 100 miler will almost certainly have a 30 hour cut off. That allows a "runner" to finish the race with an 18 minute pace. I walk at a 15 minute pace (unless it's straight UP). As a result, more people are willing to enter races, more races are popping up all over, more people are blogging and posting on Facebook and all of this generates an unavoidable BUZZ around the sport which draws even more people to it.

I support anything that gets people off the couch and active, but there is a noticeable "watering down" of the sport.

Here's my actual point...

I hope every runner that wants to get into ultras will take the time to evaluate their reasons and make sure they make sense. Once they've satisfied that, I would hope they would become a student of the sport (more than reading Born to Run) and immerse themselves in the reality of running these RACES. I would go even further and hope they would volunteer at an ultra and get their hands in the mix before trying to enter the sport.

Once these things are done, they'll know when they're ready to run their first ultra.

RIght.

And my statement (opinion. I have to say opinion or some assholes will try to say I'm stating fact or some nonsense) is not a criticism of any individual. It's a criticism of the evolution of our culture. We've become a society that has no patience and demands immediate satisfaction of every whim. Young people in our society want to drive new cars, have big flat screen TV's, the latest iPhone...and they have to have it now! Who stands in from of the Apple Store every time some new gadget comes out? Camping out for days? It's not the over 30 crowd.

When did I become an old man complaining about young people? I never saw that coming.

But you're exactly right. You have a lot of time. You have another 30 or 40 years to run and to master it. So enjoy that and be grateful for it.

I stumbled into ultra running 3 years ago, before I ran a marathon and only 6 months after finishing my first 5k. I didn't really plan on being an ultra runner. Things just happened and I ran long. I did it well, avoided injury, recovered fast and did it again. It was never planned, it just happened. So I'm probably the wrong guy to get advice from anyway and that's why I rarely give it.

This comment may be totally irrelevant but I'm going to post it anyway.

 

In my opinion, there are way too many people "running" ultras that really have no business doing it. These distances have become popularized, largely due to social media, and people that don't have the conditioning, preparation, or basic understanding of the sport are suddenly eager to become an ultra runner.

 

Race directors know this too and they're capitalizing on it.

 

Even a flat 100 miler will almost certainly have a 30 hour cut off. That allows a "runner" to finish the race with an 18 minute pace. I walk at a 15 minute pace (unless it's straight UP). As a result, more people are willing to enter races, more races are popping up all over, more people are blogging and posting on Facebook and all of this generates an unavoidable BUZZ around the sport which draws even more people to it.

 

I support anything that gets people off the couch and active, but there is a noticeable "watering down" of the sport.

 

Here's my actual point...

 

I hope every runner that wants to get into ultras will take the time to evaluate their reasons and make sure they make sense. Once they've satisfied that, I would hope they would become a student of the sport (more than reading Born to Run) and immerse themselves in the reality of running these RACES. I would go even further and hope they would volunteer at an ultra and get their hands in the mix before trying to enter the sport.

 

Once these things are done, they'll know when they're ready to run their first ultra.

Your comments make me a little uneasy about my reasons for deciding to run ultras, mostly because I'm old and slow and would need those 30 hours if I ever decided to run a 100M race. We have these discussions on other forums about the marathon and how people want to jump immediately to that, sometimes without running any other races in preparation. I'm attracted to ultras more because they remind me of the small, close-knit community road racing was when I first got involved back in the late 60s. With the exception of one, maybe two races a year, I'd be running ultras more for the experience than for performance reasons. I was probably under prepared for my one and only ultra so far even though I spent 6 months training specifically for it with a coach. Maybe my reasons aren't what you would look for, but they aren't bucket list reasons either. I'm looking for a new challenge after 45 years of running, preferably one not so dependent on the speed I've lost, and ultras seem to fit that desire.

 

I hope I don't ever get lost, but I do have a great sense of direction so... as long as I know the area around me (city, roads, houses, water sources) I should be fine.

 

Yeah - that's exactly what I thought, too.

Before I got lost.

Someday there will come a DNF.

Someday you will get lost.

Someday all the batteries you depend on will fail.

Someday you will find yourself standing on the trail and your mind will not recall why you stopped.

Someday you will run home only to notice the car is not in the garage and you will run back to the trailhead.

Someday you will run a three-bottle run while cursing having only two bottles.

...

bbbyyy

Which do you feel is worse, having all those things happen to you at once while at night or during the day?

Someday there will come a DNF.

Someday you will get lost.

Someday all the batteries you depend on will fail.

Someday you will find yourself standing on the trail and your mind will not recall why you stopped.

Someday you will run home only to notice the car is not in the garage and you will run back to the trailhead.

Someday you will run a three-bottle run while cursing having only two bottles.

...

bbbyyy

So true.

I've experienced some of these things, and I'm sure I'll come across some more over time.

Someday there will come a DNF.

Someday you will get lost.

Someday all the batteries you depend on will fail.

Someday you will find yourself standing on the trail and your mind will not recall why you stopped.

Someday you will run home only to notice the car is not in the garage and you will run back to the trailhead.

Someday you will run a three-bottle run while cursing having only two bottles.

...

bbbyyy

I had all these on one day... more than once.