About Ultramarathons

Ultras are runs exceeding 42.195km

An ultramarathon is any run exceeding the standard distance of a marathon, 42.195km. Competition in ultras differs for other sports as your mind and body can be your ally or opposition. It is the outcome of the struggle within that determines the success of an ultra.

An ultramarathoner is,

"a person who derives great personal satisfaction from experiences that include, but are not limited to: oxygen deprivation, motion sickness, dehydration, chafing, blistering, vomiting, cramping, toenail loss, heat stroke and hypothermia.... And preferably all at once." or

"If you can see the light coming out of the other ear, you're an Ultra runner"

Australian ultramarathon running owes much to 62 year-old potato farmer, Cliff Young. Shuffling to victory in the 1983 Westfield Sydney to Melbourne he created interest for a generally unknown sport.

The world's greatest ultramarathon runner, Yiannis Kouros, maintained this enthusiasm with his many record-breaking runs in this and other events in ensuing years.

Westfield withdrew sponsorship in 1991, and the race died. Since then, numerous trans-America races and one trans-Australia race have been held. Solo runs around Australia by the likes of Gary Parsons and Pat Farmer have lifted the profile of the sport and raised money for admirable causes.

The beauty of ultramarathons is that anyone can enter and run with the 'greats' - from 82 year old Drew Kettle who has run all over Australia, to the 'gods' including Kouros whose 24hr world mark of 303km is apparently untouchable and Anatoliy Kruglikov, the Russian who ran 100km in 7 hours and 28 minutes for one of the middle stages of the Race of Fire in over 40 degree heat!
Enter an ultra and you can talk with and learn from people who are living science.

On the whole, the assumptions are well founded. You have to be 'mad' to do an ultra. But what is 'madness'? It's a term assigned by society to all people who attempt to push themselves and life's apparent boundaries. The 'mad' chance life to discover themselves and prove limits exist only in the confines of the mind.

Ultramarathon running in Australia isn't big in and it probably never will be but as the trend towards extreme sports increases, and people search for greater challenges, this sport will receive a higher profile as the public come to terms with the motivation behind running a long, long... long way.

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