“To be a great ultrarunner, you need to have 3 things. First, a high threshold for pain. Second, a short memory. And the third…I forgot.” – Unknown.
I could barely move when I woke up. My body ached, and my feet were swollen. I lay in bed, mentally preparing for what I knew would be coming. With stiff, barely cooperating legs, I slowly made my way to the bathroom.
I was in my third year of ultrarunning and had just completed (and won) my first 24-hour trail race (on a motocross track). And even though my body ached, my coordination was slow, and my mind was foggy, I knew I would recover in a couple of days, the pain would be forgotten, and I would start researching a new challenge to complete.
Ultrarunning has become my passion. It has taught me about life, love, and how our minds shape reality. I’ve learned that these races are as much about mental fortitude as physical capability.
After the 24-hour race, my body protested, but my mind was already planning the next adventure. Mental resilience, a key component of ultrarunning, is what sets it apart from other sports. It’s a sport that begins where the marathon ends, at 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometers), and your mental strength will carry you through the extra miles.
The Ultra Landscape: Race Formats and Distances
The simplest definition of an ultramarathon is “any race that is longer than 26.2 miles.” And the race formats are seemingly endless. You can choose between fixed-distance events, where you run until you have completed a certain distance, and fixed-time events, where you try to collect as many miles as you can over a certain time period.
The most famous fixed distance events are the 50K, 50 miles, 100K, and 100 miles, but many variations exist. The standard formats for fixed-time events are 6h, 12h, 24h, 48h, and 6-day events.
I have explored various race formats and continue to enter races of different types, lengths, and elevation gain.
My first Ultramarathon was a flat 61km trail race, and I finished a road 50K in the same year. The year after, I completed my first 100-miler at 22:07h and my first 24-hour road race. I also ran a Backyard Ultra event, a 24-hour trail race (on a motocross track), 6-hour races, and various fixed-distance trail races, including mountainous ones with significant elevation change.
But not everyone is as excited about exploring the various formats as I am.
Many ultrarunners limit themselves to a certain race format or even certain events. You will find people who run only fixed-time events on the road or track and athletes who only run mountainous fixed-distance events.
If you’re new to ultras, try as many different races and formats as possible and not limit yourself to only one type of event. The beauty of this approach is that you will continue to challenge yourself and keep progressing in other ways than simply increasing the distance or vertical of your races.
But don’t be fooled. You can’t gauge the difficulty of a race by its distance or elevation gain alone. I learned this when I raced the Kullamannen BY UTMB Sprint Ultra – a 104km trail race that has only 1043m of elevation gain – significantly less than the two shorter mountain ultras I had run a few months before and shorter than the 100-miler or the 24-hour races I have completed. Yet, out of all the races I have done, this race was one of the hardest for me to finish. The late start at 10 pm, the harsh weather conditions, and the rugged terrain made this race extremely challenging.
Considering the various formats and difficulty levels, deciding on your first Ultramarathon is not as straightforward as deciding on your first road marathon.
So, how do you decide on your first race?
Making Your First Ultra Choice: Smart Decision Steps
Which event you choose as your first ultra depends on various factors, most importantly your athletic background, whether and how far you want to travel for your first race, and how much time you can dedicate to your weekly training.
I hadn’t run in over 9 years when I signed up for my first Ultramarathon. However, I didn’t want to wait another year to finally run my first Ultramarathon. I had already lost too much time and almost abandoned this old dream of mine.
While researching races, I found a 61km trail race in a comparatively flat area. The date was 8 months into the future. I signed up and started training. I knew people were successfully doing “Couch-to-Marathon in 6 Months” plans. I figured I had 2 months more for the remaining 20 kilometers.
I don’t recommend anyone jumping into ultras the way I did, but this approach worked for me (and I placed 3rd female in that race) for several reasons.
First, I already knew a lot about the theory. I had been a runner before and read many books and science papers on the subject.
Second, I pursued various fitness certifications. The last one was an ultrarunning coach certification created by one of the most highly regarded ultrarunning coaches (and the only ultrarunning coach certification I know of).
I created my training plan based on my thorough theoretical knowledge and wasn’t making every “rookie mistake” (like running too fast on my easy days or running the same pace for all my runs).
Thirdly, while I took a nine-year break from running, I never stopped working out. Those nine years away from the sport were filled with kettlebell training, which made my body strong and enduring and helped keep me injury-free throughout the training.
If you’re a new runner or have been running sporadically, it’s essential to be realistic about your training timeline. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t dream big. In fact, I encourage you to dream big if you want to truly experience the life-changing magic of running farther than you ever thought possible. Set ambitious goals, and with the right training and preparation, you can achieve them.
From Dream to Start Line: Key Questions to Answer
Fitness First: Where Are You Now?
Before you get overzealous and sign up for your first Ultramarathon just 3 months out, you need to assess your current fitness level. How much time you will need to prepare for your first Ultramarathon will largely be determined by how fit you are. When I talk about your current fitness level, I mean your current running fitness, but your overall health and fitness.
A 52-year-old woman who has been sedentary since she left college will need to build up running mileage more cautiously than a 23-year-old male who has just completed his first Triathlon.
Similarly, someone who has been strength training for several years will likely be less prone to injuries than someone who has never progressed beyond doing push-ups in school.
Other factors to consider are your current weight, lifestyle habits (such as smoking), and any chronic illness you might be dealing with. Assess your current fitness level honestly and thoroughly if you want to spare yourself overuse injuries because you did increase your running volume too much, too soon.
How Much Time Can You Truly Commit to Training?
If you want to prepare for an ultramarathon and keep your body in good health along the way, you can’t underestimate how much time you need to dedicate to achieving your goal of finishing the race.
While you don’t need to run 100-mile weeks to successfully finish your Ultramarathon, you need to be realistic about the time you can invest in pursuing your goal. Training does encompass more than just the hours spent on the roads, trail, or treadmill. You also need to consider any commutes to the trail or gym, additional time for recovery, stretching, foam rolling, and other measures that keep your body in good shape.
While there is never a perfect time to start your ultrarunning journey, and putting it off until you are “less busy” is probably the best way to never get started, you need to honestly assess your life circumstances and create a schedule you can follow without burning out to ensure you can fit your ultrarunning training into your life.
Think also about the people in your life affected by your new pursuit. Training for an ultra will likely mean you will spend more time away from them, and you must have emotional support from your loved ones to avoid conflict and resentment during your ultra journey.
What Does the Race Require From You?
Long-term planning is crucial in ultramarathons. The distances are so long that they require many months of preparation, and many races have prerequisites to fulfill if you want to sign up. Long-term planning is crucial in ultramarathons. This is because the distances are so long that it requires many months of preparation and because many races have prerequisites to fulfill if you want to sign up.
Some races, such as the prestigious Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), require you to complete various trail ultras beforehand. For others, you must have a certain number of ITRA points to enter. The International Trail Running Association (ITRA) is the governing body for trail running that evaluates races and assigns points based on distance and difficulty. You can collect these points by finishing trail races, with longer and more challenging races earning you more points.
If you dream of running one of the UTMB races (like many ultrarunners do), you’ll need to understand their unique qualification system. UTMB has its own currency called ‘Running Stones’ that you can earn by completing races that are part of the UTMB World Series. These races are organized into three categories: 20K, 50K, and 100K, offering different numbers of Running Stones based on their difficulty.
But don’t let this intimidate you!
Many excellent ultramarathons, especially those perfect for beginners, have no such prerequisites. However, even these more accessible races might require a medical certificate confirming that you are healthy enough to participate. This is particularly common in European races, where you’ll need a doctor to sign off on your fitness to complete the distance.
How Far Are You Willing To Travel?
When you sign up for your first Ultramarathon, you leap into the unknown. For most newbie ultrarunners, the distance they have to complete is anxiety-inducing, and if you have signed up for a mountain trail ultra, the elevation gain and technical terrain may further increase your pre-race nervousness.
On top of that, running an ultramarathon can be costly when you factor in gear, nutrition, and possible visits to your favorite sports masseuse. Adding a long trip on top of that with added stress and financial investment can seem impossible for many runners.
Choosing a race closer to your home can ease that stress. The advantages of picking a race closer to home include seeing the course beforehand (and perhaps running a few training runs on it) and potentially having friends and family members come out and cheer you on during the race.
However, for those of us who don’t live close to a race location or who have our eyes set on more prominent (national and international) races, traveling to a race is a must. And maybe you even prefer to travel far and use your first race as a good reason to visit an area you’ve always wanted to see.
For my first Ultramarathon, I chose a race that was a 4-hour train ride away from where I lived. Traveling is not something I particularly enjoy, and as it was my first ultra, I wanted to have the least amount of additional stress possible. In my 4th year of ultrarunning, I was finally ready to tackle my first international race and had one of the most amazing trips of my life so far.
Are You Ready To Be Self-Sufficient?
Ultramarathons are hard. And the difficulty increases when you need to be self-sufficient for most of the race. Before you sign up for your adventure, you must be clear on the level of support you want and need.
Some ultramarathons are more beginner-friendly, with aid stations every 5-10 miles and aid stations resembling a high-class hotel’s holiday buffet. Meanwhile, some races embrace a more rugged philosophy, challenging runners with widely spaced aid stations and a “bare essentials” approach to race nutrition. The discrepancies in aid station quality are not necessarily due to the differences in distance.
This is a lesson I learned when I raced the Kullamannen BY UTMB – a 104 km ultramarathon in Sweden that starts at 10 pm. That race had only 2 aid stations with food and minimal food options. There were also no hot drinks or sparkling beverages (except Coke).
The ultras I completed in Germany had more aid stations with food closer together, and the variety was outstanding compared to what I had experienced in Sweden.
Another factor to consider regarding self-sufficiency is the option to have pacers and crew. While pacers (someone who runs with you on the course for some time or specific sections) are the standard in many races in the US, in Germany (where I reside), pacers are not allowed in many races.
Similar discrepancies exist regarding the ability to have a crew on the course. Make sure to familiarize yourself with the race regulations concerning pacers and crew. And if you plan to rely on them, try to find out as much as possible about the aid stations.
For fixed-time events, the self-sufficiency factor should be a non-issue in most cases, as you can easily store everything you need on the race course and access it after every loop.
What drives you to cross that finish line?
Throughout your ultramarathon journey, you will encounter self-doubt, anxiety, lack of motivation, exhaustion, and pain. Whether it is in training or during the actual race – when you face the mental and physical challenges you will encounter, you need a strong “why” to continue. This is especially true for your first race, where you will face many “firsts” simply because your long runs weren’t long enough to encounter certain issues.
Your “why” doesn’t need to be grandiose or world-changing, but it must be meaningful to you. If you simply want to finish that race so you can show off and prove to your buddies how much of a tough cookie you are, your chances of quitting when you are tired, cold, and alone in the dark with a stomach that turned against you are much higher than if your why was more meaningful.
Your “why” might surprise you – it could be deeply personal like mine, related to mental health and overcoming years of being bullied as the “unathletic kid.”
Or it might be about finding peace in nature, away from the chaos of everyday life. Maybe you’re running to honor someone special, mark a significant birthday, or celebrate beating an illness. Some runners I know discovered their “why” in the ultra community—that incredible feeling of belonging among people who think running 100 miles is a perfectly reasonable weekend activity.
For me, ultras are about proving to myself that I can do hard things, that I am the kind of person who achieves her goals, and that I am strong physically and mentally.
Every race is a celebration of how running transformed my life.
But here’s the thing—your “why” can be general (why you run ultras) or specific to each race. For example, I dream of running Comrades one day because my running journey started in South Africa. I’ll forever be grateful for that connection.
The beauty of your “why” is that it shows up exactly when you need it most – at 5 am during training when no one else is watching, at mile 60 when your feet are screaming, or when you’re standing on the start line again after having overcome a nasty injury. It’s that voice in your head that whispers, “Keep going,” when everything else is shouting, “Quit.” Your “why” might even evolve as you grow in the sport.
My first ultras were about proving something to myself. Later, races became about inspiring others and exploring the limits of what’s possible.
Whatever it is, let it guide you through the challenging moments.
From Dreams to Distance - Your Ultra Journey Awaits
Your journey into ultrarunning might seem daunting right now. The distances may feel impossible, and the training commitment might look overwhelming. But trust me, I started exactly where you are, with that mix of excitement and terror, wondering what I was getting myself into.
Take your time to choose your first race wisely.
Consider your current fitness level, available training time, and desired level of support. Research the prerequisites, think about travel logistics, and most importantly – find your meaningful “why.” These factors will set you up for success much more than frantically counting miles or obsessing over elevation profiles.
In the next part of this series, we’ll dive into building your training foundations. You’ll learn how to structure your training weeks, when to incorporate strength training to stay injury-free, and how long your longest run should be.