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.
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.
Pamela J. Reed is an American ultrarunner who resides in Tucson, Arizona and Jackson, Wyoming.
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.
Dipali Cunningham from Melbourne, Australia now she lives in New York City, USA is an ultramarathon woman runner. Dipali is a Disciple from the spiritual Master Sri Chinmoy over 30 years.
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.
William Morley Sichel is a British long-distance runner.
Ellie Greenwood is a British and Canadian ultramarathon runner. She is a four-time 100km World Champion, winning both individual and team titles in 2010 and 2014. She won the 90 km Comrades Marathon in South Africa in 2014, becoming the first British woman to win the race. Greenwood is also a former champion and course record holder for the Canadian Death Race, Western States 100, and the JFK 50 Mile Run.
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.
Lizzy Hawker is a British endurance athlete. She has been dubbed as the Queen of the mountains, running ultramarathons while climbing the heights of Mount Everest. Some of her career highlights include five wins at the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), former World Record holder for 24 Hours, and winner of the 2006 IAU 100 km World Championships.
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).
Márta Vass is a Hungarian ultramarathon runner, former IAU100km European champion and multiple IAU 100 km World Championship medallist.
Carol Morgan is an Irish ultrarunner, who specialises in non-stop mountain ultramarathons 100 km and longer, often in challenging conditions with significant ascents / descents. Born in Dublin in 1973, where she trained as a nurse, she is an advanced practitioner in emergency medicine. Morgan holds the course record for endurance ultra event, the Kerry Way Ultra.
South Africans have been participated in various running events 100 kilometres and longer. Some is on road, track or trail. The statistics below show the best performances irrespective of the surface.
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, three iconic 100-mile races, 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, 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.
Tatiana Zhyrkova is a Russian long-distance runner who competes in ultrarunning disciplines. She is a three times champion of the IAU 100 km World Championships.
Aleksandr “Sania” Sorokin is a Lithuanian long-distance runner who holds multiple world and European records. As of May 2023, he held seven world records on the track and road: 100 km (road), 100 miles (road), 100 miles (track), 6-hour run (track), 12-hour run (track), 12-hour run (road), 24-hour run (road). Sorokin won the IAU 24 Hour World Championship in 2019, IAU European 24 Hour Championships in 2022 and the Spartathlon in 2017.
Joanna Lynn Zakrzewski is an ultrarunner from Dumfries, Scotland.
Charles R. "Charlie" Lawrence is an American ultramarathon and marathon runner. He set a 50-mile IAU World Record time of 4:48:21 at the 2023 Tunnel Hill 50 in Vienna, Illinois.
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