I've been doing ultras for a couple of years now. I've done eight 50ks and four 50 milers and I'm hoping to finish my first 100k next weekend. I don't really view ultras as extreme. Base jumping is extreme. An ultra is just running.

As to why, I don't have a simple sound bite to give. I've had the most amazing, profound experiences - both good and bad - doing ultras. I've learned the limits we place on ourselves is largely in our heads. I love traveling vast distances in beautiful wide open spaces on my feet. Is it always fun? Absolutely not. And sometimes it's downright miserable. But that's also part of the challenge, learning how to deal with the highs and lows.

I always find it interesting when people find out I do ultras. It's either cool or crazy. There's generally no middle ground.

I completed my first one at the beginning of this year. Was NOT prepared for it at all. If you live in Texas too, you know there aren't many hills to train at. I did the Bandera 50k and it whooooooped my butt. Didn't do enough trail running at all.

I want to go back and do it again, with better prep. I will be doing one at the end of the year. (Rockledge Rumble). It will be a lot easier because I know the course and it's not as hilly as the Hill Country at Bandera.

I didn't respect the distance, and it bit me back.

If you're thinking of doing it, go for it! Such an awesome experience. If you've done a full marathon already you might as well take the extra step and go the extra 5 miles. :-)

I have never run such an event, and cannot say I even know anyone who has. I would like to someday, just to have the bragging rights :happy: even if I had to fake jog most of it LOL.
I do have ultimate respect for those who put in the training, and most of these events do raise a great deal of money for good causes.

I have done the Bandera (25K) a few times. In fact did the very first one. Plan on doing this years again in Jan. It's not the distance at Bandera, as you know its the hills and the rocks. Killers!

I completed my first one at the beginning of this year. Was NOT prepared for it at all. If you live in Texas too, you know there aren't many hills to train at. I did the Bandera 50k and it whooooooped my butt. Didn't do enough trail running at all.

I want to go back and do it again, with better prep. I will be doing one at the end of the year. (Rockledge Rumble). It will be a lot easier because I know the course and it's not as hilly as the Hill Country at Bandera.

I didn't respect the distance, and it bit me back.

If you're thinking of doing it, go for it! Such an awesome experience. If you've done a full marathon already you might as well take the extra step and go the extra 5 miles. :-)

I've done three marathons and several halves. I'm doing a challenging marathon in April (Big Sur) and then after that, I'm considering attempting a trail 50k. All the trail races around me (SF Bay Area) are pretty darn hilly, so I know it's not going to just be an extra 5 miles to contend with - it'll also be a significant amount of additional time spent on my feet. I did a trail half this last summer and I was more sore from that half than from the first full marathon I did. I think I've already figured out which one I want to do ~ it's offered in June and October, so it'll just be a matter of figuring out what ends up working best for me. When it comes to an ultra, I really think I'll be a "one and done" kind of person, but who knows... I never thought I'd run a single marathon, let alone three of them!

All the trail races around me (SF Bay Area) are pretty darn hilly, so I know it's not going to just be an extra 5 miles to contend with - it'll also be a significant amount of additional time spent on my feet.

Yes, they are! I am a 4 hour road marathoner and just cracked the sub 6:30 mark on what I consider an "easy" 50k (~4,800 feet of gain). Most of the 50ks in our area are 6-7000+ feet of gain. I think Big Sur has about 1000 feet of gain.

The 50k I'm considering has 3,190' of elevation gain, which is about the same that I encountered on the trail half I did... I figure spread out over 31 miles instead of 13 should hopefully make it feel a little less extreme? I think my bigger concern is that so little of the course is flat - you're either going up or down and both are challenging in their own ways.

I'm not an Ultra runner yet, but...

Ever since I started running with people who had done Ultra's, it didn't seem quite so crazy to me. They're just like any other runner. In all honesty, the ones I've met (which are all just recreational) don't do much more training that you would for a marathon. It's just training on trails vs. roads. Most of them are still only doing 20-25 milers for their long runs.

Another thing that made it less crazy is when you realize that a lot of it is walking. For the most part, only the elite runners are running the whole thing (this is on mountain trails btw - which is pretty much all of the ultra's in Colorado, so I can't really speak for flat ultras). A 15 minute/mile is considered a good time for a 100 mile race (in the mountains).

I honestly think this is why I'm so excited to do my first in March (just a 50K, not a 100 or anything). I hate all of the pressure regarding times that you have in road racing. Ultra's (and just trail runs in general) are so much more relaxed, and because of that, in my opinion, more fun.

After my 50K, I hope I like it enough to work my way up to a 50 miler, and then MAYBE someday a 100...but the 100 is definitely still a BIG maybe. I definitely think that if you plan on doing 100's, having a pacer during the night is pretty crucial. Running in the dark (as I found out while helping pace a runner last year) is tough stuff. I don't think I would ever be able to get through it without one.