Home What is an Ultramarathon? By: David Blaikie An ultramarathon is any organized footrace extending beyond the standard marathon running distance of 42 kilometers, 195 meters (26 miles, 385 yards). Ultra races typically begin at 50 kilometers and can extend to enormous distances. There is no limit. The longest certified ultramarathon in the world is The Ultimate Ultra, the annual Sri Chinmoy 1300-Miler (2092 kilometers) which is held each fall in New York. There is also the annual Trans America Footrace, which is run in 64 consecutive daily stages from Los Angeles to New York. Runners cover almost 3,000 miles (more than 4800 kilometers) at a rate of about 45 miles (72 kilometers) a day. Ultramarathons are run on roads, trails and tracks. They can be point-to-point, like the Comrades Marathon in South Africa; out and back, like the Niagara 100K in Canada; or held on loop courses, like the famous one-mile loop that Sri Chinmoy runners circle 1300 times in New York. Rules allow runners to "go as you please." This means they may take walking breaks, pause to drink or eat and even sleep if the events are especially long, such as multi-day races. No penalty results from any such interruption, except for the time or distance a runner loses from his or her performance. Men and women compete in ultramarathons at all levels. They always have. In modern times, they usually compete together in the same race. One hundred years ago, when the sport flourished as "pedestrianism," men and women competed in separate events. | |
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