From awesome to cray cray :-)
Zekela
Posts: 634 Member
I was just wondering, what is the longest running distance for a person before you would move them out of the 'awesome category' into the 'crazy category' to the 'is this person a machine??' category. For me awesome is anything over a full marathon, crazy is 100 milers and 'that's not a person but a machine' is anyone who runs over a continual 24 hour period.
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I would love to go along with you . . . but, some of those ultra-run routes are gorgeous ! I live right near the Western States 100 course, and those trails are beautiful. We go up and run parts of it, and it is fun.
I mean, actually, the marathon distance is crazy. Studies looking at cardiac enzymes after a marathon suggest some people may be straining their heart too much with that distance. People get stress injuries with all the training.
I remember, there was an article in our local paper where they interviewed a bunch of local, elite runners, many of whom are nationally ranked, and they asked what their favorite distance was. Almost without exception, they said the half-marathon. Maybe we shouldn't be running any further than that.0 -
Personally, I think _not_ running (or exercising in general) is crazy (or can make you crazy). I love running 5 miles. I love running 50 miles. It's not awesome or crazy. It's just something that I love!0
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If 24 hours is crazy, what about 48 and 72 hours?
http://www.aravaiparunning.com/acrosstheyears/
My running friend Sarah does the 24 or 48 pretty much every year.0 -
Yeah I agree that it can put strain on your muscles especially if you are increasing too fast. I also enjoy halves hate 5ks and am about to do my first competitive full in January... I have been preparing for my first competitive full for about 10 years now.
I checked out the page David and this looks awesome! This stuff fascinates me...0 -
None of those categories exist for me. They are all just runners with different goals.0
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If 24 hours is crazy, what about 48 and 72 hours?
http://www.aravaiparunning.com/acrosstheyears/
My running friend Sarah does the 24 or 48 pretty much every year.
That is fascinating!!! I didn't even know stuff like this existed!0 -
Just to be clear I have never run anything like that nor do I desire to run a 24 (or greater) timed event. I did 1 6 hour race and stopped after 50K; I could have kept walking but I don't see the point of doing that and not running. I have several friends who love doing 100 mile races but this kid is not one of them.0
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Carson: Different goals, I agree but I still think these are adventures that when one sets out on, they deserve to be put in the awesome category. Not many people are able to accomplish this.
I know that a longer distance person is different from a shorter distance person. My sister is more of a sprinter and she has trashed me in open shoe slippers while I'm in sneakers in 100m. However, the last 5k we entered together, I started close to the back with her and she was just 1/4 way into the course when I was ending it... I think I'm better at halves though since I do not feel comfortable after 7 miles into a run (my top 5k speeds are reached after that distance)...0 -
I think every man, woman and child on this earth has a bit of awesome in them. Some are just more successful at extracting that from the mundane drudgery of their daily existence. Far too many people fail to realize that they have this awesome in them and allow it to atrophy while they let the blessing of their life go by unnoticed.0
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I think every man, woman and child on this earth has a bit of awesome in them. Some are just more successful at extracting that from the mundane drudgery of their daily existence. Far too many people fail to realize that they have this awesome in them and allow it to atrophy while they let the blessing of their life go by unnoticed.
I totally agree and I think it also helps to encourage everyone to reach their full potential. I also teach martial arts where if someone says, "they can't"... I'd say "of course you can!"... I think everything in life is accomplish-able, it just takes dedication and a desire to do it. With this mindset, I have accomplished everything I have set out to get (with a PhD, black belt in martial arts along with over 100 trophies in different sporting events) and I'm planning to accomplish much more. Some of us, when we fall we fail to get back up. Most successful people in life fail to give up. Everyone will go through obstacles in life, and those that fight against all the negativity and overcome these obstacles are considered awesome in my books.0 -
I have friends right now doing the Pigtails Challenge in Washington. There are 100, 150 and 200 mile events for that one. There's a running joke with that one. Those that do the hundo say they did the half, which is quite funny. I don't consider any of those folks crazy.
Across the Years is a timed run. Most timed runs are on small loop course. Running in one mile loops for hours on end isn't my particular cup of tea. I prefer courses that don't have too much repetition in them. But I try to keep an open mind and did a 12 hour once that was on a 5k trail loop. It wasn't that bad actually and dare I say I even quite enjoyed it. Totally surprised me. It posed a different kind of challenge than an equivalent trail run at the same distance. So while timed runs aren't something I'd do very often they do have a unique appeal.0 -
I did check out the timed ultra event that David posted too. I'm not sure if I'd want to run an ultra (or any race over 5 miles) on a 1 mile loop. A lot of full marathons, are the half marathon course done twice (I don't want to even do those). I think doing an ultra on a 1 mile course not only require physical fitness but also mental fitness... But then there are some of us that don't mind running on a treadmill either :-/0
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one of the my club members is just about to finish his 145 miler today! that is crazy!!!!!!0
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. But I try to keep an open mind and did a 12 hour once that was on a 5k trail loop. It wasn't that bad actually and dare I say I even quite enjoyed it.
Almost all of the loop courses I have run ultra's on have been from 3-4 miles in length. It is nice because you can set up one aid station that you get to visit every 30 minute or so which saves on you having to carry lots of stuff with you. I can not speak for the timed races on the one mile loops but I imagine they are much easier on the RD from a logistical standpoint and you don't have to worry about trying to squeeze in one last 5 mile loop toward the end (miles are counted by completed loops; don't complete it = doesn't count).0 -
I did check out the timed ultra event that David posted too. I'm not sure if I'd want to run an ultra (or any race over 5 miles) on a 1 mile loop. A lot of full marathons, are the half marathon course done twice (I don't want to even do those). I think doing an ultra on a 1 mile course not only require physical fitness but also mental fitness... But then there are some of us that don't mind running on a treadmill either :-/
I have done a 12-hour circuit race on a 1 kilometre loop.
You get to know every single little bump and rock on that path!0 -
A 1k loop might do my head in. lol The 5k loop I was on was long enough so that at least you had some different views. One thing I did notice that was pretty cool was though the scenery didn't change much the light did, from morning to afternoon to evening, and it made things look subtly different. I was also more in tune to the changes in temperature going up and down and the wind picking up or dying down and changing in direction. I thought I would disassociate more because of the repetition but I actually ended up becoming a lot more aware of what I was doing and what was going on in my environment.
The mental component plays a huge part in these timed events. You pass the start/finish area a billion times and it would be so easy to bail (you have to try really, really, really hard to DNF one of these things - basically don't finish a single loop) and yet if you keep going you'll get one more loop done. Next thing you know you've strung a whole bunch of them together.0 -
A 1k loop might do my head in. lol The 5k loop I was on was long enough so that at least you had some different views. One thing I did notice that was pretty cool was though the scenery didn't change much the light did, from morning to afternoon to evening, and it made things look subtly different. I was also more in tune to the changes in temperature going up and down and the wind picking up or dying down and changing in direction. I thought I would disassociate more because of the repetition but I actually ended up becoming a lot more aware of what I was doing and what was going on in my environment.
The mental component plays a huge part in these timed events. You pass the start/finish area a billion times and it would be so easy to bail (you have to try really, really, really hard to DNF one of these things - basically don't finish a single loop) and yet if you keep going you'll get one more loop done. Next thing you know you've strung a whole bunch of them together.
I agree about the light and temperature changes. You actually become more aware of the scenery as you filter out everything you have already seen. And I ended up running the loop in a very strategic manner, you know exactly when to start running stronger for the hill that is coming, where to start backing down for the downhill.
What I really loved about the 1 kilometre loop is that we had crowd support the whole way round. People pitched their gazebos and parked there for the day. You get the to know the spectators during the day and I enjoyed the crowd's chirps and comments. Also, the mix of professional and back-of-the-packers running together was a nice change as oppose to a route where the prof's are off and you never see them again.
So I would do it again any day!0 -
So I did that 12 hour again. I am coming off a 100k that I did five weeks ago which turned out to be one of the hardest things I've ever done in one of the most beautiful settings imaginable. Anyway, this 12 hour came rolling around this past weekend, the same one I did last year. I decided to sign up 3 days beforehand. I know I'm not fully recovered from the 100k but I thought, heck, I'll go see what happens. I can stop at any time.
A ton of my friends were there. It was awesome and fun. If the clock had stopped at the 50k point I would have gotten a PR and I wasn't even trying. Now I wanted to get to 50 miles. So I kept going until I reached that point. I still had time left on the clock but I pulled the plug. Not my fastest 50 miles but considering how brutal that 100k was on me I'm please with how it turned out.0 -
I was just wondering, what is the longest running distance for a person before you would move them out of the 'awesome category' into the 'crazy category' to the 'is this person a machine??' category. For me awesome is anything over a full marathon, crazy is 100 milers and 'that's not a person but a machine' is anyone who runs over a continual 24 hour period.
If one can run 100 within 24 hours, that definitely qualifies as a machine. Most 100s take longer than that!
@jturnerx congratulations on the 50 miler such a short time after the 100k. Definitely a machine. :flowerforyou:0 -
I don't have a cutoff where the person moves to being cray-cray.
Silly? Yes. That cutoff exists somewhere around the 50km distance.0
