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* '''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. Somehow we lack the ability to empathize with our prior selves, and so tend to discount the anguish.
* '''The Indulgence'''. For those that enjoy your running, the opportunity to run all day can be a wonderful intelligence. I don't believe this is a motivation for people to run ultras, as most races involve pushing well beyond the point where running is enjoyable, and in to the territory of torment. (Just look at [[The Ivan Scale Of Perceived Suffering| The Ivan Scale]] or [[Fixing problems in Ultramarathons]] to get a sense of how tough things get.) However, it may be the reason why some of us do shorter races that are not so challenging. If you're trained to race 100 milers, then running a 50 miler without pushing the pace can be remarkably pleasant.
* '''The Comparison'''. I think that people tend to judge their current mood based on comparison to the emotional highs and lows they've experienced. Therefore the distress of ultra makes ordinary life seem remarkably good. Even the stress of day to day training can make the remainder of life seem quite blissful. I have had many days where things have gone poorly, but that morning's training run where I experienced exhaustion, pain, extremes of temperature, and pangs of self-doubt, puts all of the days problems into a fresh perspective.
* '''Parabellum. '''For a subset of ultrarunners, the endurance and toughness of ultrarunning is a survival ability. These men and women put themselves in harm's way to protect their country, and ultrarunning is part of "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Si_vis_pacem,_para_bellum Si vis pacem, para bellum]". I have no way of knowing to what extent this is a core motivation for these runners, or if both ultrarunning and their service both stem from other underlying motivations.
* '''Inspiration.''' Ultrarunners tended to inspire those around them, and for some like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iv%C3%A1n_Castro Ivan Castro] this is a key motivation. (My [[The Ivan Scale Of Perceived Suffering| Ivan Scale]] was named after Ivan Castro.)
* '''Charity'''. While supporting charities is not as common in ultrarunning as one might expect, it is a part of the sport. Sometimes people directly raise money, and sometimes their focus is on raising awareness, or some combination of the two. I had the honor of pacing [http://www.chrismoon.co.uk/ Chris Moon] at [[2013 Pacing Badwater 135| Badwater]], and Chris works to promote [http://www.exceed-worldwide.org/ Exceed], a charity focused on helping amputees and victims of landmines.
* '''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.
* '''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.