These people are - to put it mildly - stark, raving fucking bonkers.
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http://www.news.com....8-1227196299028
Ultra-marathons: What drives people do to the world’s toughest events
7 HOURS AGO JANUARY 25, 2015 2:34PM
YOU’VE got no toenails. It’s the middle of the night. You’re surviving on McDonald’s and No Doz and you’ve got to just. Keep. Going.
Welcome to the world of ultra running — an extreme sport that regards regular marathons as a jog around the block, where competitors put themselves through gruelling races that can last from 48 hours to six days, designed to push your body to the absolute limit.
“You’re always hurting,” said president of Australia’s Ultra Runners Association, Robert Boyce.
“Some of the good runners will be in pain for hours upon hours but they just block it out. That’s what makes a good ultra marathon runner.”
Mr Boyce has completed more than 100 ultra-marathons since taking up running 13 years ago, aged 40, including two of the world’s most iconic; the Western States and Marathon des Sables in the Sahara desert.
The general manager of a vegetation management company said the sport has exploded in popularity with the number of events and competitors doubling in Australia in the last five years.
“People are looking for a little bit more than just the marathon, even though marathons are going through the roof, once you’ve done a marathon, it’s like ‘what’s next?’”
“You want to test yourself, it’s a personal thing about ‘where’s my limit? How fast can I go?’ Once upon a time 100 miles (160km) used to be the ultimate race, now they want 200 miles (320km). Once you conquer one you go to the next.”
Now 53, Mr Boyce said he averages seven minutes per kilometre and does 100 mile runs in 24 hours, compared to elite athletes who might run five minutes per kilometre. He said nothing compares to the feeling of having run overnight through mosquitos and leeches to finish the race.
“You’re always hurting, it’s never like ‘this is a walk in the park’. You’re fatigued midway through and you battle on ... but it’s exhilarating, your body adapts because of the challenge.”
During the event runners will slather their feet in vaseline to prevent blisters, tape their nipples to stop chafe and guzzle caffeine for a last quarter advantage.
Mr Boyce also said “most ultrarunners don’t have any toenails” and competitors need to eat every 20-30 minutes to maintain their energy levels.
“Running a marathon is easy, gels will give you the carbohydrates.
“When you’re out there for 24 hours plus, you’ve got to put so many calories in.
“Everyone is different [but] ordering a pizza at a stop is common. We’ve done that, sit there in a race and you get your crew to order pizza or get them to order McDonald’s … you don’t want the burger but you want their chips, the salty chips.”
“I’m a salty pumpkin soup fan, that’s my favourite to get me through. That and Coke and chocolate in the last quarter.“
And forget blisters, the toughest battle by far is sleep deprivation.
“The hours between 2am to 5am are the hours the body wants to shut down. [That’s when you have] the No Doz, the loud music and the cups of coffee,” he said.
After the race, complete mental and physical exhaustion means runners need to completely stop training for at least two weeks.
Despite the intensity, Mr Boyce said the sport has an amazing sense of camaraderie that kept people coming back.
“It’s part of the race rules if someone is down you stay with them and when the next person comes you go and you will be given back your time,” he said.
“You can be in a race where the best in Australia are telling you how to run better …. You get friends for life.
“There’s no other sport that friendly — it’s because of the time you spend together.”
Inspired? Take a look at some of the most extreme events around the world below.
MARATHON DES SABLES
This 250 kilometre ultra-marathon through Morocco’s Sahara desert is one of the most iconic in the world where runners are dropped in, laden with supplies including food and cooking gear, and left to fend for themselves.
If the heat doesn’t get you the dust storms will, and one year organisers were forced to undergo “low pressure cleansing” of their eyeballs at the rest stops.
A long file of competitors take the start of the 24th Marathon des Sables in the Sahara desert, on March 30, 2009 climbing t...
Chris Moon, who lost one leg and an arm clearing landmines in Mozambique, took part in th
Chris Moon, who lost one leg and an arm clearing landmines in Mozambique, took part in the event to raise money for the Red Cross. Picture: Narelle Autio. Source: News Corp Australia
Runners are advised to eat 4000 calories a day and bring clothes for both extreme heat and cold desert nights, with no lotion to grease up the body, as this, mixed with sand will make for an unpleasant week of chafe.
Three people have died during the event, but Mr Boyce said the length of time given means it’s actually possible for a fit person with the right mindset to complete.
“The conditions are hard but the race is not hard. The average fit person can probably walk it …. You don’t have to be an elite athlete to do it,” he said.
BADWATER 135
The revered Badwater 135 mile (217 kilometre) race held in Furnace Creek, California starts in searing July heat in Death Valley and covers three mountain ranges with nearly 4000 metres of vertical ascent and 1400 metres of descent, to finish at Mt Whitney.
It’s an invitational race with a course limit of 48 hours and a record time of 22 hours 51 minutes held by Brazilian Valmir Nunes for the men and 26 hours 16 minutes by American Jamie Donaldson for the women.
SPARTATHLON
This historic 246 kilometre race retraces the steps of Athenian runner Pheidippides, who was sent to Sparta to ask for help before the battle of Marathon.
Legend has it he ran the route in 36 hours one night — something a British RAF Commander and three friends put to the test and achieved, which became the start of the modern-day event.
In 1983 the first annual Spartathlon was held and the mythical status and difficulty of the race mean it’s internationally sought after.
The invitation-only run covers olive groves, steep hillsides and rolling hills and takes runners up a mountain in the dead of night.
WESTERN STATES 100 MILE
This iconic run follows a historic trail from California’s Squaw Valley to Auburn across gold fields, rivers and mountains. It began in 1974 and is staffed by around 1500 volunteers with those that finish in less than 30 hours getting a covered bronze belt buckle.
Runners are warned to carry flashlights and “watch out for horsemen” on the official website. Entry is via a qualifying time and a ballot.
ANTARCTIC 100K
If running in heat doesn’t take your fancy the Antarctic 100 kilometre run is the only one held on the icy continent, where participants run four loops over the Union Glacier.
Training is made difficult by the fact the flights and date are subject to change due to weather. Runners have to wear at least three layers of clothing including one to absorb sweat, one to warm them and one to protect themlseves from wind, plus a face mask, goggles, hat and gloves.
This year’s run was taken out by Ireland’s Keith Whyte in 9 hours 26 minutes, just two months after he won another race in the searing Doha desert and all while recovering from injury.
“It’s challenges like this that I love. Testing your bodies limits in an extreme unforgiving environment and hopefully coming out on top,” he wrote on his blog
ANTARCTIC MARATHON
JUNGLE MARATHON
This race held in the Brazilian Amazon has everything from dangerous animals to extreme humidity, river crossings, brutal climbs and sandy beaches. It covers 127 kilometres in six stages in heat that can reach 40 degrees.
While training for the distance is possible, little prepares competitors for the humidity with some even opting to put a treadmill in the sauna or run in a glasshouse in the lead up to the event.
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