6 Great Reasons to Run an Ultramarathon

“100 kilometers? That is further than I drive!”

This is usually the most common response when people find out that I run ultramarathons.

And honestly, I completely get it. Running for 31, 62, or 100 miles certainly seems like it is a little bit crazy. Why do runners subject themselves to the pain and discomfort of running such incredible distances? We even pay to run these events.

As my brother-in-law told me, he’d be happy just to drop me off 100 miles from my house if I paid him $100 first.

So why do we do it? Why do we spend months training just so we can go for an ultra run?

Even though it doesn’t seem logical, there are actually a lot of great reasons to run an ultramarathon. Let’s take a look at a few of these reasons and see if they can convince you to run your first (or your next) ultramarathon.

Reason #1: You’ll belong to a community

I absolutely love running marathons. For a distance runner, the 26.2 mile distance is just “short” enough that you can run at a pretty fast pace. However, if you go too fast, then you can hit the “wall” and end up slowly jogging or walking many miles to the finish.

Although I love marathons, they are often big, impersonal events where people are uber-focused on their own paces. I know this is usually how I am during a marathon. I have a goal pace that I work hard to hit and sometimes I miss a lot of the camaraderie along the course.

Ultramarathons are different. First, they are often are smaller races. Sometimes there might be 100 runners or even less in a race. Although this sounds like it would make the race difficult, the size of the race leads to a sense of community and togetherness.

When running for 5 or 10 miles with someone, you will inevitably start to talk with them. You will hear about some of their other races and get to share some of your race and life experiences with them.

Instead of racing against someone, you will feel like you are running with them and you will begin to celebrate their accomplishments just like your own.

Reason #2: They are epic adventures

Imagine climbing 3 mountains, running past dozens of lakes, and splashing through countless streams.

Now imagine that you are doing all of this at one time during an intense 24 or 36 hour period. During this short time period, you will experience the highest of highs, the lowest of lows, and many other intense emotions in between.

Throughout this entire time, you will be moving through a forest or meadow under your own power. You will be returned to an ancient time when Homo Sapiens had to run or walk dozens of miles each day, just to survive.

In other words, running an ultramarathon will be an epic adventure.

Reason #3: You get to run at night

Before I started running ultramarathons, I would only run on the streets if it was dark out. I never ran on a trail in the middle of the night and I didn’t even own a good headlamp. However, ultramarathons are different because they are usually  designed to force you onto trails in the middle of the night.

Sure, you will experience sleep deprivation. You will be forced to stay up for incredibly long amounts of time. Or you may even find yourself sleeping for 20 minutes alongside the trail.

But you will also experience the sheer joy of moving through a quiet wilderness in the dead of night. You will find yourself tracking down other runners for miles as you slowly follow their headlamps through the forest. You may even find yourself stopping, turning off your headlamp, and just marveling at the stars and stillness of 3 am.

Running at night is pretty awesome.

Reason #4: Running on trails keeps you healthy

It seems counterintuitive, but trail running can often keep you healthier than just running on the road.

We all know countless runners who get injured from doing the same thing over and over. The repetitive pounding on the pavement can lead to overuse injuries in your knee, foot, or IT band.

When we run on trails, we often vary the way that we run. We constantly have to account for changes in the terrain as we leap over rocks and race downhill. As we continually adjust our running on the uneven trails, we will find that we end up building muscles and strengthening tendons as we run.

I found this to be true when I ran a 100k trail ultra and a 26.2 mile road marathon this fall. After the considerably longer trail ultra, I noticed that I didn´t have any pain in my Achilles tendon. However, after the road marathon, I noticed that the pain in my Achilles tendon had returned.

Continuous pounding on the road caused the overuse injury.

Reason #5: You redefine your comfort zone

I write a lot about how we should always do some hard s*** in our lives. Having a life that is devoid of difficulty does not serve to make us better. Instead, it ends up making us into softer and unhappier people.

Many people have talked about doing simple stuff everyday to introduce our lives to a bit of difficulty. Stuff like taking a cold shower, biking to work, or even parking a bit farther away from the entrance to a store all serve to make our lives a bit more difficult.

Running an ultramarathon is a great way to add some hard stuff to our lives and expand our comfort zone. As we train for an ultra, we continually get stronger. Then, when we finally run the race, we will find that we smash through the barriers of our comfort zone.

Adding some hard stuff to our lives ends up making us happier.

Reason #6: Hopelessness leads to incredible satisfaction

When we run an ultramarathon, there will often be a point in the race where we are incredibly dejected. Maybe we are so tired that we can barely stay awake. Perhaps our injuries, blisters, or chafing are making it so difficult that we can barely move, much less run.

We may be completely hopeless.

However, sometimes during these lowest of points we will get a spark. This may come from seeing a friend or family member. Perhaps this spark will come from cresting the top of a mountain or running on the shores of a lake. Or maybe it will be as simple getting a bit of food and drink at an aid station.

But eventually, we will get a spark and our dejection and misery will change into deep and profound satisfaction. No longer will we be hopeless. Instead, we will have the sheer joy of knowing that we are pushing our bodies to the limit, expanding our comfort zones, and completing something that most people think is impossible.

We will be running an ultramarathon. And the feeling will be priceless.

Have you run an ultramarathon or are you thinking of signing up for one? Let us know what your next race is in the comments below.

And thanks for reading!

Let’s keep living a great life … with the help of money. So what’s next?

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