An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195 kilometres. Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of 31 miles (50 km) to over 200 miles (320 km). 50k and 100k are both World Athletics record distances, but some 100 miles (160 km) races are among the oldest and most prestigious events, especially in North America.
Juan-les-Pins is a town in the commune of Antibes in the Alpes-Maritimes department in Southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera, it is situated between Nice and Cannes, 13 kilometres (8 mi) to the southwest of Nice Côte d'Azur Airport. Juan-les-Pins is a major holiday destination popular with the international jet set, with a casino, nightclubs and beaches. It is served by Juan-les-Pins station on the Marseille–Ventimiglia railway.
Jean Marie Behra was a Formula One driver who raced for the Gordini, Maserati, BRM, Ferrari and Porsche teams.
Louis Claude Rosier was a racing driver from France.
Philippe Jean-Armand Étancelin was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver who joined the new Formula One circuit at its inception.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose winner is determined by minimum time, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is won by the car that covers the greatest distance in 24 hours. The cars on this track can go up to 366 km/h (227 mph), and reached 407 km/h (253 mph) in 1988 – instigating the addition of more chicanes to the track. Racing teams must balance the demands of speed with the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without mechanical failure.
The Self-Transcendence 3100 mile race is the world's longest certified footrace. In 1996 Sri Chinmoy created this event as a 2,700-mile (4,345 km) race. At the award ceremony that year he declared that the 1997 edition would be extended to 3,100 miles (4,989 km).
Multiday races are ultramarathon running events which are typically either segmented into daily events of a specified distance or time, or staged so that runners can run as far as they want, at their own discretion, over a set course or over a set number of days. Multiday races can range from continuous 48-hour track events to staged transcontinental treks.
The Trans Europe Foot Race is a multiday long-distance ultramarathon that consists of running across Europe.
The Cliff Young Australian 6 Day Race was an ultramarathon race that takes place in Colac, Victoria. One of a small handful of Six Day races around the world, the Cliff Young has had many fine performances culminating in November 2005 with Yiannis Kouros, arguably the best multiday runner in the world, setting a new world 6 Day record. It started in 1983 and was renamed in 2004 after Cliff Young, a Colac farmer and winner of the inaugural Sydney to Melbourne Westfield's Ultramarathon in May 1983.
Ashprihanal Pekka Aalto is a Finnish ultramarathon runner who began running as a hobby at age 25. He currently works as a courier. Aalto is a member of The Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team. In 2006, Tarja Halonen, the President of Finland, recognized him as an "International Ambassador of Sport".
The 6-Day Race became a standard footrace distance in the 1870s and was a popular form of entertainment with up to 70,000 paying visitors during such a Pedestrians event. However the widespread use of the bicycle from 1890 caused it to be replaced as spectator sport by cycle races of the same duration. It was in two forms: strict "heel-and-toe" racewalking, or "go-as-you-please" combination of walking, jogging, running.
The Self-Transcendence 6- & 10- day race are two concurrent multiday running events, held in Corona Park, a large public park in the borough of Queens in New York City. The course is one mile long. They are held annually in April and organized by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team.
Across The Years is a series of timed multi-day ultra-marathons held from December 28 to January 1 each year outside Phoenix, Arizona. It consists of a 24-hour race, a 48-hour race, a 72-hour race and a 6-day race. The 6-day race was reintroduced for the 2013–2014 edition.
The Ultracentric 24-Hour Run in Grapevine, Texas hosted the American Ultrarunning Association's 2006 National 24-Hour Run Championship on a certified, 2.4-mile road loop on November 18, 2006. This annual event offered a $12,000 prize purse in 2006, the largest in ultramarathon national championship history in the United States. The event served as the selection race for the National Team to the 2007 World 24-Hour, which was held in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada in July 2007. The entire $12,000 prize purse was reserved and earmarked only for Americans who qualify for and participate in the 2007 World 24-Hour as a member of the U.S. National Team in that race.
The Surgères 48 hour race is perhaps the most significant event in the current ultrarunning calendar in this time-frame. Begun in 1985 with the inspiration of Jean-Gilles Boussiquet it takes place in Surgères, France. An invitation only event, it has been host to many world records at the 48 hour distance.
The Athens International Ultramarathon Festival is a Multiday race which takes place at the former Ellinikon International Airport in Greece.
The Paris–Marseille–Paris race was the first competitive 'city to city' motor race originating in Paris, where the first car across the line was the winner, prior events having selected the winner by various forms of classification and judging. The race was won by Émile Mayade who completed the ten-day, 1,710 km, event over unsurfaced roads in 67 hours driving a Panhard et Levassor.
Eleanor Robinson is a British former ultramarathon runner and two-time winner of the IAU 100km World Championships. She was the first woman to run over 150 miles in a 24-hour endurance race. She was the winner of the first Badwater Ultramarathon in 1987. She was twice bronze medallist at the IAU 100 km European Championships.
Kaneenika Janakova is an ultra-distance runner and comes from Cerová near Senica, Slovakia. She has lived in New York for ten years. Janakova is a disciple of Sri Chinmoy. Because of him, she adopted the name Kaneenika which is a Sanskrit word meaning "vision beauty of the inner eye".
