now that we have events like 100k and 100m plus fat ass 24h, some runners are quickly joining the bandwagon and start coining themselves as ultra-runner. i am not an exception to this. all along, i thought running something beyond marathon (42K) gives you the right to be an ultra-runner. this great sport is still very young in our country and i am are already giving it a big disgrace.
let’s say i ran 50k and i still feel good and strong, am i an ultra-runner already? duh. do we have such low standards? full of pride and excitement to be tagged or recognized as ultra-runner. well, it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee.
to enlighten me about the terminology ‘ultra-running’ and ‘ultra-runner’ as a result, the best resource would be no other than the greek god of ultrarunning himself ‘yannis kuoros’ according to his presentation: (excerpts only… read the whole thing at ‘http://www.yianniskouros.com/what_is_ultrarunning.doc’)
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(Real) Ultra-running, in its precise description, is a competitive, but continuous (when the race clock does not stop during the same and entire race) running sport, organized officially under internationally set regulations where judges control the entire event and its scoring development, and takes place on the track (indoors or outdoors) or on the road –touching the ground and not an apparatus, like a treadmill, moving mechanically or electronically or by any other artificial means- for a period of time beyond 24 hours –as a runner has to face the whole spectrum of the daytime and nighttime and be able to continue.
Doing so, he/she will prove that he/she can run beyond the effectiveness of genetic gifts and fitness level, as these elements will have gone from the duration of time and the muscular exhaustion. However, because an Ultra-runner –in the true sense of Ultra-running- should be a unique person with mental endurance, going beyond common expectation and achieving high performances, the result of the spiritual abilities should be effectively proven: If the runner stays back in order to avoid surpassing his/her limits with many stops and rests, which leads to a low performance, this also means that the runner lacks the characteristics and the attitude of the true sense of Ultra-runner.
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50 to 100 km or miles and 6 to 12h event are long distance running activities
These events are of course longer than a marathon but, due to the fact that in this field we see runners who can be distinguished by great performances (and we should acknowledge that) through their genes and training fitness, their approach is similar to the marathon and their physical abilities could be measured with ergophysiological methods, as they belong to and obey physical laws. Therefore, the metaphysical characteristics of these runners cannot be proven here (but it can be hidden or, a runner could be a “potential Ultra-runner” as I call it), because the period of the time is not long enough for their genes and training form to disappear. Thus, the state of the mind and the metaphysical abilities could not take over and continue. An exception should be considered the case when a 50-100km/mile runner does well in races beyond 24 hours and in multi-day races. Consequently, this category of races is meant for specialists and they have special terms as 50km, 50m, 100km, 100m and 6-hour and 12-hour race on the track or road, but since the duration is not enough, they do not meet the criteria of the true sense of Ultra-running.
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ultra-running is running beyond your fitness level…short of saying ‘chasing death’ :P
after finishing your 100k, can you go for 100 more?
runners let us humble ourselves…let’s us be a running community of good character not just of strong legs and big mouth. we are all ‘potential-ultra-runners’ with lots of practice and patience ( a sprinkle of craziness and a pinch of salt,) we will earn our way to becoming a “real ultrarunner!”
may you have a good one at BDM160!
run2dmoon 