Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least 3 km (1.9 mi). Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength.
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.
Trail running is a type of running that takes place on outdoor trails, often in mountainous terrain, and often includes significant ascents and descents. Trail running is overseen by the International Trail Running Association (ITRA) and includes longer races.
The Twin Cities Marathon is a marathon in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area which normally takes place the first weekend in October. The race is often called "The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America" due to a course that winds through downtown districts, then along parkways that hug lakes and waterways all throughout dense urban forests in the neighborhoods of both cities.
Dean Karnazes, is an American ultramarathon runner, and author of Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner, which details ultra endurance running for the general public.
The Badwater Ultramarathon is a 135-mile (217 km) Ultramarathon race starting at −282 feet (−86 m) below sea level in the Badwater Basin, in California's Death Valley, and ending at an elevation of 8,360 feet (2,550 m) at Whitney Portal, the trailhead to Mount Whitney. It takes place annually in mid-July when the weather conditions are most extreme and temperatures can reach 130 °F (54 °C).
Ann Trason is an American ultramarathon runner from Auburn, California. She set 20 world records during her career. Her world record of 5:40:18 at the 50 mile distance, set in 1991, was unbeaten until 2015. As of her induction into the Ultrarunning Hall of Fame in 2020, she was considered by many to be the most successful female ultrarunner of all time.
Scott Gordon Jurek is an American ultramarathoner, author, and public speaker. Throughout his running career, Jurek was one of the most dominant ultramarathon runners in the world, winning the Hardrock Hundred (2007), the Badwater Ultramarathon, the Spartathlon, and the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run (1999–2005). In 2010, at the 24-Hour World Championships in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France, Jurek won a silver medal behind Shingo Inoue and set a new US record for distance run in 24 hours with 165.7 miles. In 2015, Jurek set the Fastest Known Time running record for the 2,189-mile Appalachian Trail.
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.
Tim Twietmeyer is an Auburn, California-based ultramarathon runner and an engineering manager at Hewlett Packard, in Roseville in the U.S. state of California. Twietmeyer is also a mountain biker, road cyclist, and retired almost-scratch golfer and swimmer. He is best known for his five victories and unprecedented 25 sub-24 hour finishes at the 100-mile (160 km) Western States Endurance Run.
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.
The Leadville Trail 100 MTB is the second oldest of the well-known 100-mile (160 km) marathon mountain bike races held in the United States, the oldest being the Wilderness 101 in Central PA. The Leadville Trail 100 MTB was first run in 1994 and has become one of the best marketed, attended and known marathon events in mountain bike racing.
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.
Geoff Roes is an American ultra-marathon runner.
Spartan Race is a series of obstacle races of varying difficulty, ranging from 3 miles to ultra-marathon distances of 50k+.
Tracy Garneau is a Canadian ultramarathoner. She was the 2010 UltraRunning Female North American runner of the year.
Sage Clifton Read Canaday is an American long-distance runner and ultramarathoner.
The backyard ultra or last one standing is a form of ultramarathon race where competitors must consecutively run the distance of 6.706 kilometres (4.167 mi) in less than one hour, which is a pace of 100 miles per 24 hours. The race is over when only one runner remains to complete a lap. This runner is marked as the winner and only finisher, with all other runners receiving a "DNF". The runner who completes the second-most laps in a race is often referred to as the "assist", in the sense that their effort is ultimately what determines how long the race is allowed to continue--there is no predefined end length or time in a backyard ultra, as long as multiple runners can complete each loop within an hour.
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, and 2021. 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.
Gary Cantrell, known as Lazarus Lake, is an endurance race designer and director. His races include the Barkley Marathons, Big's Backyard Ultra, the Barkley Fall Classic, Vol State 500K, A Race for the Ages, the Last Annual Heart of the South, and the Strolling Jim 40. In 2018, Lake covered the United States on foot, starting in Rhode Island and ending in Oregon.
United States