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.
The International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) is the world governing body of ultra running, race events longer than the marathon distance of 42.2 km. It regulates and sanctions the World Championships for various ultramarathon distances, and tracks world records in ultra distance races approved by IAU. IAU operates under the patronage of the World Athletics and follows World Athletics rules.
Yiannis Kouros is a Greek ultramarathon runner based in Greece. Kouros holds or formerly held many world records between 100 miles and 1,000 miles. In 1991, he starred as Pheidippides in the movie The Story of the Marathon: A Hero's Journey, which chronicles the history of marathon running.
A 24-hour run is a form of ultramarathon, in which a competitor runs as far as they can in 24 hours. They are typically held on 1- to 2-mile loops or occasionally 400-meter tracks.
Edit Bérces is a Hungarian ultramarathon runner, world record holder, former world and European champion.
International Trail Running Association (ITRA) is the governing body for trail running. It was formed in 2013, emerging from the 1st International Trail Running Conference held in 2012. Trail running was first recognised by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 2015 as a discipline of athletics. ITRA has, among other things, developed a points system for ranking the difficulty of specific trail routes and tracking the performance of runners across races.
The Ottawa Self-Transcendence 24 Hour Race was part of a triple Ultramarathon race in the National Capital Region Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Organized by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team the run took place in July. For many years, this race was held on an outdoor track at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility, and then indoors at the Louis Riel dome, on a 400-metre track. Since 2017, the race was held outdoors at the Asticou Training Centrein Gatineau, Quebec. Runners from Canada and all over the world participated. It was the longest-running 24 hour race and oldest timed ultrarace worldwide. Runners from Canada and all over the world participate.
The IAU 100 km World Championships have been held annually since 1987, at different locations, and is organized by the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU). Due to lack of sponsorship, the 2013 event, planned for Jeju Island, South Korea, was cancelled and the 2014 event, originally due to be held at Daugavpils, Latvia, was held instead in Doha, Qatar.
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.
Harvey Sweetland Lewis is an American ultrarunner.
Ferenc Győri (born September 15, 1964 in Kiskunfélegyháza, Hungary) is a Hungarian ultramarathon runner, geographer, and university lecturer.
Dan Lawson is a British ultra runner and charity worker from Brighton. Lawson also does charity work in India for OSCAR India and Skillshare International. He holds the course record for the Grand Union Canal Race and in 2016, he won the European 24 Hour Championships, and in 2020 set one of the fastest known times for Land's End to John o' Groats (LEJOG).
The IAU 100 km European Championships is an annual, ultrarunning competition over 100 kilometres for European athletes. It is organised by the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) and was first held in 1992 – five years after the launched of the World Championships for the distance. The competition features both an individual and national team component. The team race is decided by aggregated the three best times set by a nation's athletes.
The IAU 50 km World Championships is an annual, global ultrarunning competition over 50 kilometres organized by the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU).
Johan Steene is a Swedish ultramarathon runner, most notable for winning the 2018 Big Dog's Backyard Ultra, at which he completed 68 laps or 283.335 miles of the course in 67 hours 48 minutes and 36 seconds, thus setting a new record on the course and beating notable ultrarunner Courtney Dauwalter. In 2017, Steene took a bronze medal in the IAU 24 Hour World Championship, after completing 266.515 km in 24 hours.
The IAU European 24 Hour Championships is a biennial long-distance running competition in the 24-hour run for athletes from Europe. Organised by the International Association of Ultrarunners, it was first held in 1992 as an annual competition known as the IAU European 24 Hours Challenge. The establishment of the IAU 24 Hour World Championship in 2003 saw the European event staged within the global race until the competitions were each recast as separate, biennial championships, with the world event in odd years and the European one in even years. The competition is typically a road running one, though the championships was contested on the track in 1999.
Patrycja Bereznowska is a Polish long-distance runner who specializes in 24-hour running.
Miho Nakata is a Japanese ultramarathon and marathon runner. She won the 2023 IAU 24 Hour World Championship and set an IAU 24-hour run world record.
Fotis Zisimopoulis is a Greek Ultramarathon runner. He's a 3-time winner of Spartathlon. In 2023 at Spartathlon, he broke the long-standing course record set by Yiannis Kouros in 1984 with a time of 19h 55min 9s, becoming the first athlete under 20 hours. He finished 2nd at the 2023 IAU 24 Hour World Championship 292.254 km.
Yiannis Kouros (GRE)
Lubomír Hrmo (SVK)
Alain Prual (FRA)
Paul Beckers (BEL)
Ryōichi Sekiya (JPN)
Anatoliy Kruglikov (RUS)
Ewald Eder (AUT)
Jens Lukas (GER)
Henrik Olsson (SWE)
Scott Jurek (USA)
Ivan Cudin (ITA)
Paweł Szynal (POL)
Robbie Britton (GBR)
Aleksandr Sorokin (LTU)
Tamás Bódis (HUN)
Andrii Tkachuk (UKR)
United States 
Australia 
Michaela Dimitriadu (CZE)