Relentess Forward Progress

What is an Ultra Marathon?
An ultra marathon (also called ultra distance) is any sporting event involving running longer than the traditional marathon length of 26.2 miles (42 km).  However,  most people would regard 50km as being the shortest standard distance to be considered an ultra.  There are two types of ultra marathon events: those that cover a specified distance, and events that take place during specified time (with the winner covering the most distance in that time). The most common distances are 50 kilometres (31 miles), 100 kilometres (62 miles), 50 miles (80 km) and 100 miles (161 km), although you can find races that cover pretty much every distance in-between.  Depending on the distances involved, some ultras are held on the one day, others can be multi-day events.  Most ultras are off-road with terrain ranging, in the UK alone, from flat to mountainous.  There are many foreign events of course, probably the most famous being the Marathon De Sables, a 6 day / 151 mile (243km) endurance race across the Sahara Desert in Morocco.  However, all races have one thing in common; they are designed to test the runner, both mentally and physically.
So why have I decided that my running future lies with ultra marathons?  Well, when I first joined Calne Running Club way back in February 2012, the first few people I met were in training for the Thames Path 100, a 100 mile trail race along the Thames Path from London to Oxford.  At the time my mind was completed boggled that anybody could run that far non-stop in less than 24 hours.  Remember at this point I had only been running a matter of a few weeks, the giddy heights of being able to run 3 miles in under 30 minutes was my short term goal. In fact I remember being asked what my ultimate goal was to which I proudly declared "run a 10k race".  In my first year of running I have run that 10k race and a 10 mile race and a half-marathon but none of them have given me as much pleasure as heading out on a weekend morning, just me and the dog, with 20 miles of off-road trails in front of me.  The sheer pleasure of running for running's sake is what I love.  I am never going to be a fast runner, regardless of how much training effort I put in, and as much as I get a great feeling from collecting my finisher's medal at the end of a race, the 'just taking part' is not providing the level of satisfaction I seek.  If speed is not my thing, then I am hoping my stamina is where it's at.  Again, I know that I will never be in contention for winning prizes, the bigger ultra events attract a high calibre of runner who can maintain amazing speed for hour upon hour.  However, I think once you get to 30+ miles, the competition almost becomes a personal one, can I actually keep running (although you are allowed to power walk uphills!) for hour after hour just for the satisfaction of having got to the finish line?  Huge reserves of mental as well as physical strength will be required, have I got what it takes?  We shall see.  I have my first few races booked and paid for and my racing calendar for the start of the year is:

27 January - Stonehenge Stomp - 25 miles
24 February - The Terminator - 12 miles
7 April - Pewsey Downsaround - 35 miles
4 May - Oxon 40/20 - 40 miles
2 June - Mercury Mendip Challenge - 30 miles

So my first true ultra will be in April around the Pewsey Downs.  Both this race and the Oxon 40/20 are organised by the Long Distance Walker's Association and are 'challenge' events hence why they allow runners.  They are more low key than your truly dedicated runner's ultra marathon (and an awful lot cheaper to enter - most ultra marathon entry fees average £1+ per mile of race distance) but I am hoping they will prove a good introduction to ultra running competitively.  I now need to learn how to fuel and hydrate during the longer runs especially once the warmer weather is here.  So far, for any distance up to 15 miles, I don't actually bother with any water / gels / food or the like and my body seems to cope quite happily but I'm sure as the miles rack up I am going to face 'the wall' if I don't do something about hydration.  On my longer 15+ mile training runs I do now use my Camelbak but only hydrate with water as I can't bear the thought of having to clean the bladder out if I were to use electrolytes or additives along those lines.  I have also experimented with a jelly baby or two and raw jelly, these did seem to help keep me going but I'm sure it was just a placebo effect!  So my plan for tomorrow is a 20 mile trail run in preparation for the Stonehenge Stomp at the end of the month. 

More on my training plans later.