Much more difficult than the classic marathon, ultra-marathons (ultramarathons) are a type of extreme race that systematically pushes participants to their limits. According to a recent report, this type of test has grown enormously in popularity over the past decade.
In an article published on June 14, 2021, the British daily The Guardian mentioned the epic of John Stocker, a 41-year-old ultra-marathoner working as a sports coach. During a race in Suffolk (United Kingdom) a few weeks ago, the person concerned was the last of the 123 participants to stand and covered no less than 540 km in 81 hours . The few breaks that the man allowed himself during the trip were used to rest, drink, eat or even go to the toilet, all very briefly. In this battle against himself, John Stocker obviously left all his physical and mental strength.
You should know that the marathon in its classic form is generally contested on the road and over a distance of 42,195 km. Much more extreme, the ultra-marathon is simply an event taking place over a longer distance than that of the traditional marathon. It can take many forms, which are generally classified into two categories:races covering a certain distance and those that last a certain time. There are races over 50 km, 100 km, 100 miles (160 km) or even 1,000 km. Others may have a time limit of between 6 hours and 6 days.
The RunRepeat site is a reference platform for reviews and tests of shoes for athletes. On May 19, 2021, this same site published a report indicating that over the past decade, the ultra-marathon had seen a 345% increase in participation worldwide. It must be said that today, thousands of races take place every year. Author of The Rise of the Ultra Runners (2019), Adharanand Finn explained that the growing popularity of running and the increase in the number of marathon runners has caused natural inflation . According to the person concerned, times have changed, because today saying around you that you have run a traditional marathon is not as impressive as it used to be.
The race that John Stocker did in early June 2021 consisted of a route of 7 km per hour until retirement . The man said that his motivation lies in the desire to show his children that you have to try to give the best of yourself and to tell yourself that you can succeed. On the other hand, it is better to think twice before taking the start of one of these extreme and epic races. At the end of May, an ultra-marathon in China resulted in a disastrous death toll of 21. The country has suspended all such races and is currently investigating.
Nevertheless, accidents are rather rare. In 35 years of existence – apart from the recent race in China – the ultramarathon events have deplored only two deaths. It was during one of the editions of the Marathon des Sables, a race taking place over a distance of approximately 240 km in southern Morocco.
