What the Heck is an Ultra runner?
When I first started dating my boyfriend, Nick, he
casually told me that he is an Ultra Runner.
“So you run marathons,” I assumed.
“The runs are a bit longer
than marathons, but yes. Anything over the distance of a marathon is an Ultra.”
Anything OVER 26.2 miles. Who better to train me to run then an Ultra Runner? I
hired Nick to train me for free.
According to Nick, the vast
running population run shorter distances. Ultra Running is comprised of only ~1%
of the running population.
To really truly
understand and appreciate the dedication of an Ultra Runner is to attend a
race, visit the different aid stations to see the runners run through, and
watch them cross the finish line. It requires extreme time, dedication,
passion, endurance, and strength to succeed in a race, particularly 50 milers,
100 km, and 100+ milers.
Ultra Running is a way of
life requiring months/years of training- not just in running but in all aspects
of life including: maintaining a healthy lifestyle with good nutrition, learning
and adjusting fluids and electrolytes to meet increasing training demands, researching
technical skills to improve race time, and volunteering before/during/after
races clearing trails, or whatever their running club requires to qualify for
races.
Not anyone can just sign
up to run 100 mile race. Most of the popular 100 mile races held in
national/state parks only permit a certain amount of runner passes. The race
will hold a lottery for those who have run qualifying races. Some of the passes are given to notable
running clubs who have lottery systems for distribution requiring specific
volunteer requirements for entrants. Runners cross their fingers that their number
will be called in the lottery system for that race. Western States Endurance
Run in Squaw Valley California, for example, is the oldest 100 mile run in the
world. Due to its prestige and popularity, it is very difficult to get selected
for this run. According to their website, the US Forest Service limits them to
369 runners. In 2017, they had 4248 applicants. A runner must successfully run
a qualifier, successfully get a ticket, and pay ~$410 for the entry fee. http://www.wser.org/
My Advisement for possible communication differences
with an Ultra Runner
1) Nick’s
perception of distance is somewhat skewed. And by somewhat, I mean EXTREMELY
skewed.
He took me for a “little hike” three months after
surgery to “strengthen my legs.” At three months, I was fully weight bearing
and still had significant muscle loss.
10 miles later, I found myself huffing
and puffing, glaring at my atrophied leg, sitting in the mud while other Muir
Wood area tourists strolled by sending me sympathetic looks.
One day, four months
post-op, he takes me to his favorite running spot, Quicksilver, which I
lovingly refer to as Nicky’s Playground. Nick is running and I am hiking at
opposite ends of a looped trail. We agree to rendezvous on the path. After
climbing a mountain behind avid stroller moms treading up without any
difficulty, I get a little bit lost. Realizing my one mile uphill detour is
inaccurate, I turn around and head back the same way I had come. Although not
on the agreed path, Nick finds me easily. At this point, it’s mile 4 for me. We
walk down the trail and I am tired. Perhaps it’s from being out of shape or my
muscles not being strong enough, but I am tired! I ask him how much further
along the path is.
“Oh, we’re almost there.
It’s just a couple minutes more.”
By a couple minutes, he means 2 miles.
I have learned the hard
way that Nick’s idea of mileage is not how others would define it.
For example, when he
says, “I went for a little run” this could mean anywhere from 10-20 miles.
While training for MIWOK, he came across a few rangers
on his running trail. One asked him how far he ran, and he responded, “Not too
far. Just a little one today.” The ranger continued inquiring about the trails
and he indicated the distance of the water tower. “That looks very far,” the
ranger had said.
“It’s only about 26 miles.” So a “short” run for Nick is a marathon.
This was our conversation
tonight:
“How far did you run
today?” I asked.
“Oh, just a few miles.”
“7?” I ask.
“10.7…I am out of shape!”
he insists. He ran MIWOK, a 62 mile run, a month ago and since then took a few
weeks off of serious running. Instead, he’s been doing more yoga. Today is his
first serious day running since MIWOK.
“This is on top of the 5
miles we hiked together?” I asked.
“5.3, yes.”
“So that’s what, 15 miles
total?”
“16.”
He’s out of shape? Says
the man who woke up at 3:30 am for work, worked 9 hours, hiked 5.3 miles, ran
10.7 uphill in the mountains, made dinner, and waited up to see me after I finished work at 10:40 pm? I
think not.
So now MY perception of “normal
running” is skewed! To juxtapose the seriousness of this, one day the entire
neighborhood of Willow Glen shut down for the annual 5 km (~3 mile) run,
requiring shutting down whole streets, restrictions on parking, etc. On the
same day, at the same time, Nick’s running club Quicksilver was holding their
50 km/100 km race in the mountains with 13,000+ feet of elevation gain and a 17
hour time limit. I, who have NOT run in
12 years, was thinking, “WOW! 5km? That’s nothing!”
*I'm not one to talk...My perception of temperature is skewed by yoga. My idea of too cold is anything less than 105 degrees.
2)Ultra
Runners train for distance running: only carrying essentials.
Nick is a minimalist…and as an Ultra Runner, he has
trained himself to go for runs with exactly the amount of Gu (secret runner
carb packets that help you run faster), water, and possibly salt tablets he
requires. Nothing more. During races, Ultra Runners can swap out non-essentials
(ex/ headlamp for pre-sunrise running), refill water, etc. at aid stations, so
they only carry what they need.
I am a hiker who was
trained as a Wilderness EMT at some point and also was a child during the Northridge
Earthquake of 1994. I need to feel prepared at all times.
Nick has been trying to
transition me towards the Ultra way of thinking: get rid of all the dead weight
in the bag. Why do I need a large spray of bug repellant? Do I really need two
first aid kits? Why do I have an emergency aluminum blanket when we are going for
a day hike in the summer time when nighttime temperatures don’t reach anywhere
close to freezing?
I won’t let him look in
my backpack. He might find my lucky Daffy Duck figurine I found on my first
ever Geocaching adventure with my friend Scott and question its position in my
backpack.
It’s true…my backpack is
probably heavier than it should be.
How to train a runner?
Start to wean them off of non-essentials in a backpack. And then transition
them away from a backpack altogether. Move them towards a vest or belt.
I’m just not ready to let
go of my backpack.
3) Look
like an Ultra Runner, feel like an Ultra Runner
Nick has approximately 26 boxes of shoes…all different
shoes. Primarily Hoka One One. He has a closet dedicated to storing all the
shoes. After going to MIWOK and acting as his inefficient crew, since I had
never been to race and didn’t know what the role of crew was, I learned that
Ultra Runners have a very distinct look about them. Men and Women of all ages sporting
particular brands. Although I mention brand names here, I by no means am
endorsing them.
Nick, on the other hand
is a Patagonia wearing, Hoka lover.
Nick is an Ultra Runner
and looks like one.
At the
beginning of MIWOK, Nick looks like this. Headlamp, neck Buff
(SPF shield can be used as headband as in photo above, face cover, etc.)arm warmers (not featured here), and jacket. Although it was 46 degrees and had significant windchill, the jacket was given to me before the race. The arm warmers and headlamp were given to me at an aid station.
By the end of MIWOK, Nick is sporting his Patagonia hat, his race vest (mesh
vest with two pockets for water), two water bottles, Quicksilver t-shirt rolled
up, GPS watch, Patagonia shorts, Injinji toe socks, and Hoka shoes.
I may only be walking,
but Nick is training me as a runner. If I visualize myself running, I will run.
But I need a good pair of
shoes. My hiking/walking/every-outdoor-event shoes have been much abused over
the many years I’ve had them. The tread has worn away, there are small holes,
and it’s not waterproof anymore. So why not try Hoka? My mom also surprised me
with Patagonia running shorts.
Am I being indoctrinated,
I wonder?
Every sport requires particular
gear, though, so why not Ultra Running?
