Why Run Ultras

People run ultras for many different reasons, and we are rarely aware of our own motivation. The answers below reflect some of the possible rationales behind this grueling sport. The runners I know are driven by various combinations of these forces, and the specific mix is unique to each individual.

• Health. You might expect people to run ultras for their health, but most ultrarunners do far more than is required for optimum health. While it's common for ultrarunners to have started running for their health, and for health to be a strong motivation to keep running, it's not the reason why we start running the extreme distances of ultramarathons. In fact, for many of us running is the motivation to keep healthy rather than the other way around.
• Fitness. So if not for health, at least Ultrarunning makes you fit, right? Well, it does, but it makes you fit for running ultras, which requires remarkable levels of endurance and stamina. That's not a well-rounded fitness, and many ultrarunners have poor upper body strength. Further, ultrarunning produces a level of fitness that far exceeds anything that could be required outside of actually running an ultra.
• The Runner's High. The runner's high can occur, but it's a rarity and more normally associated with short, fast runs than the Long Slow Distance that most Ultrarunning involves. In fact, most Ultramarathon races actually involve depression and fantasies of self-harm. ("If only my leg would break, I could stop…" type of thoughts.)
• The Difficulty. When JFK announced the mission to the moon, he said "we choose to do these things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." One of the things that drive many high performing individuals is the need to overcome and achieve things that are difficult, and Ultrarunning clearly fulfills that need.
• The Monastery. The training required for Ultrarunning can provide a monastic like structure to life. Everything becomes ordered around training, with food and drink becoming more a part of the training regime than for pleasure or sustenance. This regimen removes the burden of daily decisions and creates a harmonious routine.
• The voices. There are well documented mental health benefits to running, and there are anecdotal comments that suggest many people use Ultrarunning to "keep the voices quiet." It's unclear if there are real problems with schizophrenia, or just the desire for mental peace that drives many to run vast distances.
• Nietzsche. The famous quote "what does not kill us makes us stronger" is particularly appropriate for Ultrarunning. It's not the physical strength that Ultrarunning increases, but the mental and spiritual strength. When you reach the point of such physical exhaustion and pain that you weep out loud and start to wish for death but somehow carry on, it profoundly changes who you are. I've seen the physically strong give up when they had resources left to keep going, having simply lost the will to keep moving. They measured themselves against the distance and came up wanting. But I've seen others who had been torn apart by the distance who simply refused to quit, and they were victorious. The acts of determination and courage I've seen in ultramarathons are both humbling and inspiring.
• The community. Ultrarunning is the most supportive and collaborate individual sport I know of. With the exception of the few who hope to win, everyone is battling the distance, not each other. This makes Ultrarunning a supportive and welcoming group. I don't know how much the sport changes the people who take part, and how much is the way the sport attracts these people, but it is quite different from shorter distance running or even Ironman distance Triathletes.
• The Zen. If you run far enough, you can reach a point of Stillness in Motion. This does not have to be Ultramarathon distances, but it has to be far enough to relax. This Zen like experience is one of quiet peace, with the world moving around you rather than you moving through the world.
• The Spiritual. Someone once said "going for a run clears my head, but running 100 miles distills my soul", and there is a distinct religious aspect to long distance running.
• The Second Dawn. Starting to run in the dark and continuing through the dawn gives a sense of renewal. This feeling is magnified many times when you experience the "second dawn" by running through two dawns. Running all day and into the night is tough, but no matter how mediocre the second dawn is, it's a time of rebirth that cannot adequately be put into words.
• The Shaman. It's rare, but there are some who run ultras to experience the shamanistic visions and hallucinations that can occur at the extremes of exhaustion. I've only come across a tiny number of runners who have mentioned this type of "vision quest" as a motivation, but it does occur.
• The Alternative is worse. However tough Ultrarunning is, for many of us the alternative is worse. Ultrarunning has saved us from something, and without it we would be far worse off. What the specific alternative is varies from runner to runner, but this is a theme you can often find once you scratch below the surface.
• The Kudos. Generally ultrarunners do no seek glory, but there is some cachet to running extreme distances. I doubt if this is a significant motivation for the majority of runners, but it may encourage a few to try out a 50K. I suspect for most of us, this is a nice bonus rather than a motivation per se.
• The Freedom. Simply heading out on a run without constraints gives a delightful sense of freedom, especially into the back country.
• The Solitude. Long distance running offers plenty of time to be alone, and many ultrarunners enjoy this solitude. It offers time to mentally relax, meditate and think freely. I am at my most creative when I'm running, and most of my writing is prepared on the run.
• The Ephemeral Memory of Pain. The memory of suffering has some strange properties, allowing us to recall the outline of the misery but obfuscating the essence.
• No Answer. The best answer is probably the least satisfactory: "for those who have to ask the question, no answer will suffice." The only way to know why we run ultramarathons is to experience it for yourself.