Ultras Aren’t What They Used To Be

November 24th, 2008 Posted in Story

A single event can change the course of history.  Thus, is the case for the sport of ultrarunning, where the release of a single book, Ultramarathon Man, has led to turning a simple niche sport into a circus.  I present below Exhibit A.

Ultrarunning not long ago was an unassuming niche of the sports community, considered an “extreme sport” by some but nonetheless possessing the feeling of a band of brothers and sisters who shared the experience and passion for pushing themselves physically and mentally to places that few go.  Used to be (5+ years ago) that with the exception of Western States and a couple of other races, any ultra runner could get into any event, even at the last minute.  Characteristically, ultra runners aren’t very anal.  “Race schedules” consist of scouring Stan Jensen’s web site for an event the week or two before.  Some “planning” might go into a commitment to run a 100 miler, but generally it was whatever the mood and your body were up to.  Now, if you don’t camp out on the event’s web site practically every week, you stand a pretty darn good chance of being boxed out because the race sells out.  I guess this is great for the race directors but it really gets under the craw of “old school” ultra folks.  Heck, Western has had to abandon their long standing TTL (two time loser) rule in the lottery whereby if you didn’t get selected twice in a row you were guaranteed a spot in year 3.  Nevermore.  Why?  Because they had more TTLs than open slots in the race!

So is all this new found popularity good for the sport?

As far as I’m concerned nope.  I didn’t get involved with ultras to go mainstream - just the opposite.  I liked the unassuming nature of the sport and the participants.  I mean, how many sports are left on earth where you can stand toe to toe at the starting line and share a brewskie at the finish with world-class athletes?  It is not only thrilling, but inspiring.  To watch these phenomenal human specimens effortlessly glide over the trails and surge up mountain hills with the power of a locomotive is breathtaking.

Besides, beyond the elite runners, the rest of the pack is pretty darn special as well.  Men and women from all walks of life, professionals, doctors, military, steel workers, carpenters, teachers, etc. - all blend into a single family of ultra runners.  Family - that’s the operative word.  That’s what I was raised into and embraced by 15 years ago - but now it feels crowded, disconnected and shallow.  The secret is out and everyone wants a piece of the “ultra experience”.

I liked it much better when you knew almost everyone at an event - really knew them, like a reunion.  When a hunk of carved bark or a logo cap was a fine reward for one’s effort.  When the home made chili was - well home made - and the talk on the trails was about each others life - not GPS systems and the definition of a trail shoe.  Oh well, bygones.  I need to finish up so I can go set the alarm to wake me up at 5:00 am so I can register for my next event on-line.  Kind of like getting Rolling Stones tickets…….good grief.