An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195 kilometres. Various distances, surfaces, and formats are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of 31 miles (50 km) and up to 3100 miles. World Championships are held by the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) for 50 km, 100 km, 24 hours, and ultra trail running. The Global Organization of Multi-Day Ultramarathoners (GOMU) holds World Championships for 48 hours and 6 days. World Records are ratified and recognized by World Athletics, the IAU, and by GOMU.
Pamela J. Reed is an American ultrarunner who resides in Tucson, Arizona and Jackson, Wyoming.
Adam Goucher is a retired American cross-country and track and field athlete. He ran for the United States at the 2000 Summer Olympics in the men's 5000 meters. Goucher primarily competed in distance events and is featured in Running With The Buffaloes, a book revolving around the 1998 season of the University of Colorado cross country team.
Gwynneth "Gwyn" Coogan is an American educator, mathematician, and former Olympic runner.
The Leadville Trail 100 Run is an ultramarathon held annually on rugged trails and dirt roads near Leadville, Colorado, through the heart of the Rocky Mountains. First run in 1983, the race course climbs and descends 15,600 feet (4,800 m), with elevations ranging from 9,200 to 12,620 feet. In most years, fewer than half the starters complete the race within the 30-hour time limit.
Ted Corbitt was an American long-distance runner. The first African-American to run the marathon at the Summer Olympics and the founding president of New York Road Runners, Corbitt is often called "the father of American long distance running." He was also an ultramarathon pioneer, helping to revive interest in the sport in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. New York Times columnist Robert Lipsyte called Corbitt a "spiritual elder of the modern running clan". In a Runner's World feature honoring lifetime achievement, writer Gail Kislevitz called Corbitt a "symbol of durability and longevity". Corbitt was among the first five runners to be inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame, and the first to be inducted into the American Ultrarunning Hall of Fame.
Nikki Kimball is an American distance runner specializing in the Ultramarathon. She ran her first 100-mile race at the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run in 2004, and was the female winner. She was the winning female at Western States again in 2006 and 2007, becoming only the third woman to win Western States three times. In 2014, she won the Marathon Des Sables multi-stage endurance race on her first attempt. Prior to running, her main sport was cross-country skiing. She was crewed at the 2007 Western States by U.S. Senator Max Baucus of Montana, where Kimball lives. She lives in Bozeman, Montana.
Ryan Shay was an American professional long-distance runner who won several USA championships titles. He was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and attended the University of Notre Dame. He was married to Alicia Craig, also an American distance runner.
Michael Wardian is an American marathoner and ultra-marathoner. He won the 2008, 2009 and 2010 US 50 km championships and the 2011 US 50 mile championship. In 2008, he won the U.S. National 100 km championship. Wardian also is the 2007 JFK 50 Mile champion, and 6-time winner of the National Marathon in Washington, D.C., winning 2006–2008 and 2010-2012.
Karl Meltzer is an ultrarunner and ultrarunning coach based in Sandy, Utah. Meltzer has won more 100-mile ultramarathons than any other ultramarathoner, and has held speed records at major U.S. trails, including the Appalachian Trail and the Pony Express Trail. Meltzer's trail runs have been featured in news outlets from Ultrarunning.com to NBC Sports. Meltzer has been a professional ultramarathoner since 1999, and a coach since 2007.
Desiree "Des" Nicole Linden is an American long-distance runner. She represented the United States in the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics women's marathon. In 2018, she won the Boston Marathon, becoming the first American in 33 years to win the woman's category in the event. She holds the women's 50K world record of 2:59:54.
Connie Gardner is an American ultramarathoner and member of the USATF. She has competed in ultramarathons all over the world, and has won 11 USATF national championships. Her ultramarathon victories include the Burning River 100 Mile Trail Race, the Mohican 100 Mile Trail Race, the NorthCoast 24-Hour Endurance Run, the Tussey Mountainback 50 Miler (2011), and the JFK 50 Miler.
Jacquelyn Camille Herron is an American ultramarathon runner and scientist born on December 25, 1981 in Norman, Oklahoma. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest Ultramarathon runners of all time.
Rachel Tomajczyk is an American distance running athlete.
Sage Clifton Read Canaday is an American long-distance runner and ultramarathoner.
Courtney Dauwalter is an American ultramarathon runner and former teacher. Widely regarded as one of the world's best trailrunners, Dauwalter became in 2023 the first person ever to win Western States 100, Hardrock 100 and the UTMB in the same year.
Jim Walmsley is an American long-distance runner. An ultra-trail specialist, his wins include the JFK 50 Mile in 2014, 2015 and 2016, the Lake Sonoma 50 in 2016 and 2018, the Tarawera Ultramarathon in 2017, and the Western States 100 in 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2024. He holds several course records, including the Western States 100, set in 2018 and further improved by 21 minutes in 2019. In 2023, he became the first American man to win the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc.
Scott Fauble is an American long distance runner. His best marathon time is 2:08:52. He is the co-author of Inside a Marathon: An All-Access Pass to a Top-10 Finish at NYC. Fauble explains how testing blood levels in Boulder has benefited his training in 2022.
Kami Semick is an American ultramarathon runner based in Bend, Oregon who was a two-time UltraRunner of the Year and USATF’s Ultra Runner of the Year in 2009 and 2010. She ran collegiately with the University of Alabama and transitioned to ultramarathons in her 30s and came in second with a time of 4:54 in the Siskyou Out Back 50k, second in 4:54. Her ultra career went on to include five wins at the Miwok 100K Trail Race, a fourth place finish at the 2006 Western States 100, first female and third overall at the 2010 Vermont 100. Internationally, she won the 2009 IAU 100K World Cup in Belgium, the IAU 50K World Championship in Gibraltar and was involved with the creation of the North Face Tea Horse Trail Running Expedition.
