ultrarunning

20 Stories

For Top Ultrarunner, It's All About the 'Pain Cave'

'Outside' profiles the sport's top female runner, Courtney Dauwalter

(Newser) - Ultrarunner Courtney Dauwalter is on a record-breaking streak, making history this year when she became the first person to take home the top prize at the three biggest competitions in the sport. Meaghen Brown of Outside magazine profiles the 38-year-old, seeking to unravel how she manages to reach extreme physical...

Top Ultrarunner Traveled by Car During Race
Top Ultrarunner
Is Punished
for Using Car
During Race
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Top Ultrarunner Is Punished for Using Car During Race

Joasia Zakrzewski was reportedly feeling unwell, wanted to drop out

(Newser) - An ultramarathon runner who placed third in a 50-mile race in April—only to later admit she traveled in a car for part of it—has been handed a 12-month ban for breaching UK Athletics' (UKA) code of conduct for senior athletes. UKA announced Joasia Zakrzewski, who CNN reports has...

They Ran Loops on a School Track—for 24 Hours Straight

Ultrarunning is about more than mere endurance

(Newser) - In an intriguing piece for Slate , Stephen Lurie delves into the compelling world of ultramarathons—specifically, the unusual and arguably "deranged" D3 race. That stands for "Dawn to Dusk to Dawn," and that's exactly when the race takes place: over 24 hours in which participants run...

As Far as Ultramarathon Runners Go, He's Remarkable

Dag Aabye first entered the Canadian Death Race at age 62

(Newser) - Renowned ultramarathon runner Dag Aabye, now 82, moved to Canada from Norway when he was young and fell in love with the harsh wilderness. Living in a bus off-the-grid on a mountainside in British Columbia, Aabye has made a name for himself in the ultra-running community as the oldest person...

Expect Hallucinations During This Hellish Ultra-Marathon

The Tunnel Ultra is just over 200 miles in the dark

(Newser) - "I don't want there to be no finishers. But I do want them to go through hell to get there." Mission accomplished, Mark Cockbain. He's the creator of the Tunnel Ultra, a race he calls "a mind-bending test of extreme endurance and sensory deprivation."...

She Ran 100-Mile World Record Only to Be Told It Didn't Count
She Ran 100-Mile World Record
Only to Be Told It Didn't Count
in case you missed it

She Ran 100-Mile World Record Only to Be Told It Didn't Count

USA Track & Field refuses to ratify Camille Herron's record, says course was too short

(Newser) - Professional ultrarunner Camille Herron thought she'd beaten her own world record by more than a minute in February when she completed a 100-mile race in 12 hours, 41 minutes, and 11 seconds, for a pace of 7:37 minutes per mile. The Oklahoma woman beat the male second-place finisher...

They Have 60 Hours to Run 100 Miles. It's Nearly Impossible

Only 15 people have managed to get to the end of the Barkley Marathons in time in 36 years

(Newser) - We've written about the Barkley Marathons in the past and can't resist an update. The punishing 100-mile race is eye-poppingly difficult, so much so that no runners managed to finish in 2022—or many of the previous years. Since its 1986 founding, only 15 have managed to complete...

Plenty of People Run in Central Park. Just Not Like This

Oz Pearlman logged a record 116 miles in a single day

(Newser) - The New York City Marathon ends in Central Park. Oz Pearlman's April 8 run started and ended there—but the time between those two points, and the distance covered, was pretty epic. The New York Times reports the 39-year-old Brooklynite set out to get the "Fastest Known Time"...

Ultrarunner Camille Herron Can Definitely Outrun You

She has earned the right to compare herself to fine wine

(Newser) - Whether you are an elite marathoner or someone who only runs if you are being chased, Camille Herron’s latest feat will impress. It happened Feb. 19 at the "Jackpot Ultras" in Nevada, site of the 2022 USATF 100-mile Championships. Yes, a 100-mile race. That’s roughly the distance...

One in 8 Runners Who Started the Race Ended Up Dying

The 'WSJ' digs into the deadly ultramarathon in China

(Newser) - Running 60 miles would feel like death for most of us. For 21 runners in China, it actually was deadly . Writing for the Wall Street Journal , Wenxin Fan takes a deep dive into just what went wrong during the May 22 ultramarathon , which saw 172 runners set off at 9am—...

It's a Crushing Race, and It Costs $20K to Run It

120 miles, 10K feet of ascent, but Michelin-star cooking

(Newser) - "Race like a warrior but recover like a king." It's an appropriate motto for what's being billed as the most luxurious ultramarathon on the planet. Yes, participants in the Highland Kings Ultra will have to hoof it through 120 miles of Scotland, but they'll pay...

She Decided to Exit 2020 by Running—for 24 Hours

Jen A. Miller describes a day spent running, walking, sleeping in misery and joy

(Newser) - However you welcomed 2021, it almost certainly wasn't like Jen A. Miller did: by running and walking. For 24 hours. In a piece for the New York Times , Miller explains that she signed up for the Hainesport Hundred and 24 Hour Endurance Run in Hainesport Township, NJ, "because...

Race Was Paused for Weather, but She Wasn't Alerted

44-year-old Norwegian ultrarunner dies in lightning strike in Italy

(Newser) - The Südtirol Ultra Skyrace race calls itself "the most extreme experience in the Alps." One runner didn't survive it. USA Today reports that a 44-year-old Norwegian woman was hit by lightning Saturday evening while participating in the three-day, 75-mile race, which begins and ends in Bolzano,...

In Ultrarunning, This Woman Often Beats the Men

Courtney Dauwalter runs 200-mile races, often beating men

(Newser) - There are runners, and then there’s Courtney Dauwalter—a star of “distance running’s lunatic set,” as the New York Times puts it. The 33-year-old ultrarunner routinely participates in races that exceed 200 miles. Since 2011, she has tackled 51 ultra races, Deadspin reports, winning 11 of...

Ultrarunner Smashes Appalachian Trail Record

He completed the 2,190-mile trek in 45 days, beating the prior record by 9 days

(Newser) - After making the final sprint up Maine’s Mount Katahdin in 37 sleepless, rain-soaked hours, Joe McConaughy now boasts the record for fastest time to complete the Appalachian Trail. McConaughy averaged about 48 miles per day to complete the 2,190-miles trek from Springer Mountain, Ga., to the top of...

The Ludicrous Barkley Marathons Will Break You
The Ludicrous
Barkley Marathons
Will Break You
Longform

The Ludicrous Barkley Marathons Will Break You

Fewer than 20 people have completed the race in 31 years

(Newser) - To complete Tennessee's Barkley Marathons, runners only need to average 2mph for 60 hours. Easy, right? Not so much, Esquire reports in a must-read piece that simultaneously makes the race seem like heaven and hell on Earth. The Barkley Marathons comprises five loops through Frozen Head State Park. There'...

Guy Crushes Coast-to-Coast Running Record

He ran from San Francisco to Manhattan in 42 days

(Newser) - Philippides , who? Pete Kostelnick has just made the Greek legend's marathon race look like a quaint sprint. Keeping an average pace of 73 miles per day, the Nebraska ultrarunner, 29, landed at New York City Hall on Monday having raced 3,100 miles from San Francisco in just...

Guy Sets Fast, Furious Appalachian Trail Record

Karl Meltzer, 48, did it in 46 days

(Newser) - Running through 14 states in 45 days, 22 hours, and 38 minutes may be a long and arduous journey, but as of this week it's also the fastest any person has ever completed a supported thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Karl Meltzer, a 48-year-old ultrarunner who also holds a...

Inside the 'Most Brutal Race on Earth'

100-mile Barkley Marathons in Tennessee might be the weirdest, too

(Newser) - To call the Barkley Marathons quirky would be accurate—the entry fee for first-timers to the 100-mile race is a license plate from their home state; the race dates aren't posted (entrants have to just figure it out); there are hidden checkpoints, and GPS devices aren't allowed; and...

Meet the Queen of Ultrarunning

Lizzy Hawker can run over 24 hours without sleep

(Newser) - Ultrarunners compete over hundreds of miles and for days at a time in a single race. But even by those superhuman standards, British ultrarunner Lizzy Hawker, 36, is particularly, well, ultra. Hawker is the five-time women’s division winner of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, one of the toughest trail races...

20 Stories