Devin’s take on Ultramarathons
Ultramarathons are the fringe fringe of the sport of running, only 1% of all runners ever attempt them. The distance as well as the terrain set these races apart from every other. The utter absurdity of the distance and the camaraderie are what draw me to the sport.
The first ultras were in the early 1900s. They were 6 and 10 day races, were participants ran around a track, and whoever covered the most distance, won. Typically now most races are 50 kilometers, or 50 and 100 miles.
Overall, I like that I don’t know if I am going to finish or not. Its not a given….and I like that.
A lot of orienteering friends in Seattle run in ultra-marathons. There are a lot more ultras in the Seattle area than I thought.
These guys usually beat me in orienteering because they run so much. One guy even ran in a short one (25K) and then ran in an orienteering meet a few hours later.