Ultras: When a Marathon
is Just Too Short
by Craig Lore

An ultramarathon is any run longer than a marathon (26.2 miles); standard distances include 50km (31 miles), 50 miles, 100km (62 miles) and 100 miles. For 2008, Ultrarunning magazine reported that of 503 ultras they covered, there were 30,789 finishes by 17,139 individuals, up 20 percent from 2007 – 73.5% men and 26.5% women. Compare this to marathons – in 2007, 407,000 finishers in 340 races.

Ultrarunners say that ultras are easier than a marathon – less damaging, easier recovery. Honest, they really say that. Surprisingly, it’s true. Of course, you still need to train, but if you can run a marathon, you can run an ultra. Since most ultras are run on trails, the slower pace and softer surfaces aren’t as hard on you, even though you run farther.

I ran my first ultra, The American River 50 (miles) in 2006, and said, no more; then I did two more—in 2008, the Way Too Cool 50K and AR50 again. And I loved them. After Way Too Cool, I had a runner’s high that lasted a week.

This February 28, Julianne Whitelaw, of Morgan Hill, ran the Sequoia 50K – “The reason I think I enjoy these is I just like spending all day running on trails. It is as simple as that. We lead such full lives that to be quiet and just run for hours upon hours is as good as it gets in my book. I was ready to do my next one about four days after Sequoia.” Well, it actually took a whole five weeks before she finished, the American River 50 on April 4.

Carrie Dent, of San Martin, ran Way Too Cool 50K, her first ultra, on March 14 – “At the halfway point after stocking up on Payday candy bars I started trucking along again and met two guys, Tommy and G-Dawg. We formed our own little ‘train’ and I ended up running the whole rest of the race with G-Dawg, who seemed like he’d been sent to be my own personal motivator! The people were definitely quite awesome! Everyone I met was friendly and encouraging, and I still say the best part of the race was all the food! I can’t wait to do it again.”

Barbi Ceballos of Gilroy also ran her first ultra – “I just have to say that the Way too Cool 50K was grueling, mind and body challenging, and totally AWESOME!  It was the toughest thing I’ve ever had to accomplish. Absolutely beautiful country to have the privilege of running through. I’m proud of myself for just finishing at this point, but plan on working on my speed and mileage for my next one. YES, my next one. I’m hooked.”

This past April 20, I ran the Boston Marathon for the second time, finishing in 3:53:49. And on April 26, I ran Big Sur International Marathon in 4:15:34. My ultramarathon friends said, “Six days between marathons, what a lucky break.” Ya gotta love ‘em.

Gotta run, Craig

	~ Craig Lore is co-founder of the South Valley Running Club and a certified running coach through Road Runners Club of America. Write to craig@svrchome.org.