Its no secret that ultra distance is my favourite running distance. Unlike the marathon where 42.195km is the benchmark for someone to call themselves a marathoner, no clear definition exists for what should be an ultra marathon distance. Most would say “anything beyond 42.195km is an ultramarathon”.  But you can’t really pit someone who ran 43km and 100 miles in the same league although they would both be called ultramarathoners.

And even running ultra marathon distances defy the logical convention of exercising to be healthy. Muscle damage, injuries, heat stroke, dehydration, vomiting, excessive lost of fluid or body weight and too many others to name are common in an ultra marathon. Doctors advise for us to exercise in moderation to stay healthy, but ultra marathoners always push for the extremes to the point of risking their lives.

What motivates someone to voluntarily run in ungodly hours (while the entire population is sleeping), pushing through pain miles after miles just to achieve that distance? Most done through the harshest of weather: blistering heat, freezing cold, heavy thunderstorms. No one can explain really. The book Born to Run by Chris McDougall puts forth the idea that it is in our primal nature to run long distances. That our ancestors practice this as a form of hunting, hence improving our chance for survival.  That seems the most plausible because I can think of no reason we’re so attracted to punishing ourselves and yet after going through it all we always go back time and again.

And the motivation for ultra marathons is not the money either. Prize money for ultras pales in comparison to marathons. The winner of the 2014 Boston Marathon nets USD $150,000. The winner of the prestigious Comrades ultra marathon … ZAR 350,000 (or USD $33,115) . What about other ultras? The Ultra Trail Mont Blanc (UTMB), Western States 100 and Leadville 100 doesn’t even offer any prize money to the winners of the race. Don’t make the mistake of asking how much prize money is being offered for an ultra. You’ll probably be scorned by the runners at the event because they could care less about the prize money and would be happier toeing the starting line.

I think what really draws the ‘nutjobs’ into ultra running is that sense of self discovery. To know what you are really capable of when put in an impossible and hopeless situation. Every ultra runner must’ve experienced what I call the ‘pit’. A dark gloomy phase of the race when your mind is asking you to give up. That it is not worth it to continue. That there is no point in all this pain and suffering. But what makes or break an ultra runner is often the mind. You will never know how mentally strong you are until you have challenge an ultra marathon. And through ultras you will discover that your mind is the strongest part of your body.

The camaraderie in an ultra is also unlike any other running event. Ultras put runners in a survival mode all the time. The person running beside you, is not competing to put you behind him/her as quickly as possible (such in the case of a marathon). Rather they’re running beside you with the hopes of also reaching the finish line. Friendships are often built in an ultra because you spend so much time running together with the same person. The most common sight in an ultra are group of runners running together, supporting each other to the finish. I remember my own case of running Titi 100 when I ran with a Singaporean from 20km point to 60km. We didn’t always run together, but we passed each other many times and often motivate the other to continue on and don’t give up. Ultra marathon is so much an individual event, but also a team sport with the other runners.

I believe most ultra runners are risk takers. And they love that uncertainty that comes with the game. You can train as well as you like for an ultra, but no one can very confidently say they are prepared for one. Because it is impossible to train for a 100km race or 100miles. Your body reacts differently each time you run that distance. The risk, akin to a sky diver not knowing if the parachute will open or fail, is what fuels the adrenaline of every ultra runner. Going into the unknown and pulling through whatever challenges thrown at them.

There is a sense of nirvana while you’re running an ultra when you transcend that initial pain and is at peace with it. The long hours running, free from the busy world of technology and chaos. A peaceful world is an elusive place that only ultra runners can find.  Your mind is completely free from your worries and troubles. And the best part of it all, you are not doing this because you’re motivated by worldly possessions or money. You’re doing it because you want to do it. To prove it to yourself. Hence why many who don’t run ultras think that we’re weird, because we seem to embrace and gravitate towards pain. The more painful or physically challenging ultra is more desirable. I can tell you its not the pain we’re seeking, but what comes after that. Peace.

There is so much I can talk about ultra running and why I love it. But I think describing them in words are pointless. You have to experience it to appreciate it. Do try an ultra sometime. I assure you, it will be a life changing experience, like it did to me 🙂

**all photos are taken from the Internet and they’re not mine. Credits to the owners.