Tomorrow I will attempt to run my first ultramarathon. An ultramarathon is defined as any race longer than marathon-distance; in other words, any race longer than 26.2 miles. Some of the most common distances are 50 kilometers, 50 miles, 100 miles, and more. I’m signed up for a local 50k race – Hell Hath No Hurry.
My history with distance running is one of fits and starts. Inconsistency is probably the word I’d use to describe my historical approach to training. I’ve now run three marathons, but I’ve signed up for probably a dozen or more. Most of the time my marathon signs ups have resulted in me switching to running a half-marathon instead. See above for my approach to training if you’re interested.
That said, I’ve found myself this year able to hold to a consistent level of training and I think it’s because I committed myself to something of a ludicrous plan. Here’s my race calendar for 2019:
May – Pittsburgh Marathon (completed in 3:56, 45 minutes off my PR but a good day for me right now. This was used as a training run.).
June – Hell Hath No Hurry 50k. This is tomorrow. I’m feeling pretty good about this right now. It will be a challenge, no doubt. But I’m decently fit, have been running consistently, and am looking forward to it.
August – Baker Trail UltraChallenge. This is a 50 mile ultramarathon in Western PA. Fun fact: this year’s race is ending about 15 minutes from where I grew up in the middle of nowhere. I’m feeling cautiously optimistic about this race. Not that I can win or anything, but that I can actually finish and beat the cut off time, which is 14 hours. This is my true goal race for the year.
November – NYC Marathon. I’m super excited to run this marathon. I entered the race lottery on a whim, never expecting to have my name pulled. Well, lo and behold, they drew my name. So I’ll be running New York in the fall. I love New York and it will be a blast to run around the boroughs. My feeling is that after all my training this year and preparation for ultramarathons, this might feel a bit easier and will be a nice way to cap my official race calendar for 2019.
If you’re thinking that looks like a lot of racing this year, you’d be right. It is a lot, at least for me. I’m more of a “one marathon or half-marathon per year” kind of guy. But here we are. My body feels good and is holding up pretty well. I think I’m ready for it.
A reasonable question to ask right now would be “Why?”. Why run ultramarathons? Lots of words have been written on this topic and the answer is different for everyone. For me, it’s about wanting to see if I can do it. Setting a goal and making it happen. Ultramarathons seem to be about mostly being stubborn, not stopping, and making sure you keep putting one foot in front of the other. I can do that. Can I do it for 50 miles? I think so, but we’ll find out.
