![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
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.
Very long endurance running events can be divided into three broad categories: the traditional 26.2-mile (42.2 km) marathon, the ultramarathon, defined as any event longer than the marathon, and true multiday events, which begin with the 24-hour event and can stretch out almost indefinitely, often ranging from six days to 3,100 miles (5,000 km) or longer.
Multiday events are usually timed races such as 48-hour, 72-hour and 6 day races. Set distance races depend on the ability of the runner to complete and what may be a multiday for slower runners may be an ultra to faster athletes. For example the Badwater Ultramarathon, a 135 miles (217 km) race, has a 48 hour time limit, but winners typically finish in under 24 hours.
Many multiday races are held on tracks or measured loops, which eases provision of aid station support for runners. Stage races are the alternative; these include point to point races such as the Trans-American races, which traverse the North American continent coast to coast, and the Gobi March, [1] a seven-day journey across the Gobi desert, the Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon, a 7-day, 250 km trail event in the Kalahari Desert, and the Yukon Arctic Ultra, a 430/300/100/26 mile challenge crossing Yukon in the dead of winter.
Longer multiday races include the Trans-Europe race, which ran from Lisbon to Moscow in 2003, a distance of about 5,100 kilometers. These events take the runner to a different level, where the race becomes a way of life and where nutrition, sleep, energy and psychological states have to be carefully managed. The Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race is the longest certified footrace in the world. [1]
The golden era of multiday races stretches back to the 1870s and 1880s, when they were held on indoor tracks and offered substantial prizes. Known as pedestrians, these athletes established records which in some cases have stood until recently. In summer 1809 in Newmarket, England, Robert Barclay Allardice, better known as Captain Barclay, ran/walked one mile (1.6 km) for each consecutive hour, each consecutive day, totalling 1,000 miles (1,600 km).
The most common multiday race of the era was the six-day race, which ran from Monday to Saturday with Sunday being observed as a rest day. In 1878, Sir John Dugdale Astley was inspired to create a series of five international six-day races, in which competitors vied for the Astley Belt. Two early competitors were the American Edward Payson Weston, who covered 500 miles (800 km) in 6 days. The Englishman Charles Rowell covered 241 km in the first day of a 6-day races in the 1880s.
By the early 1890s, public enthusiasm for such events had moved into bicycle racing, and the multiday running craze came to an end. Interest grew again in the late 1920s, with the advent of Trans-America races. These events were transcontinental stage races that inspired a new generation to challenge the huge distance.
There was little reward for these races in the long run, and it was not until the 1980s that interest re-awoke in true multi-day races. In 1980, San Francisco postal delivery worker Don Choi organized the first modern era six-day race, on a track in Woodside, California. In recent years, several multiday races have stood out, among them the Australian Westfield Sydney to Melbourne races, which were run from 1983–1991, and the Colac (1983–2005) race which is no longer being held. August 2012 will see possibly the final 64 stage Trans-Europe race organised by Ingo Schulze. Sri Chinmoy Races hosts several multi-day events annually in the US: six- and ten-day races, a 3,100-mile (5,000 km) race, and several 24- and 48-hour events in Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Trans-Gaule, Trans-Germany - the Deutschlandlauf, Trans-Korea as well as occasional Trans-Am and Trans-Australia races plus several 6 day events in Europe and South Africa.
In recent years, several multiday races have stood out, among them the Australian Westfield Sydney to Melbourne races, which were run from 1983–1991, and the Colac (1983–2005) race which is no longer being held. August 2012 will see possibly the final 64 stage Trans-Europe race organised by Ingo Schulze. Sri Chinmoy Races hosts several multi-day events annually in the US: six- and ten-day races, a 3,100-mile (5,000 km) race, and several 24- and 48-hour events in Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Trans-Gaule, Trans-Germany - the Deutschlandlauf, Trans-Korea as well as occasional Trans-Am and Trans-Australia races plus several 6 day events in Europe and South Africa. The RacingThePlanet's 4 Deserts Race Series and the Marathon des Sables are among the most popular multiday races taking place today.
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 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).
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.
Suprabha Beckjord is an ultramarathon runner from Washington, D.C. She is an owner of a gift shop and a disciple of Sri Chinmoy.
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.
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.
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 Flushing Meadows–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 Antibes 6 day race was a multiday race that is now called the 6 Jours de France which took place in Antibes starting in 2009 in Juan-les-Pins in the South of France. Consisting of 24h, 48h and 72h ultramarathon events along with the 6 day, this and the Trans-Gaule are the two most significant multiday races taking place in France today. Currently the event takes place in Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, in Southern France and includes a 48 hour and a 24 hour within the 6 day main event.
Arthur "Al" Howie was a Canadian long-distance runner who won more than fifty marathons, ultramarathons, and multiday races in over two decades, including the 1991 Trans Canada Highway run in the record time of 72 days and 10 hours. A brass plaque on Victoria's Mile Zero marker commemorates this athletic event for which he raised $750,000 for a fund for children with special needs. Two weeks after running across Canada he won the Sri Chinmoy 1300 Miler in New York improving on his own world record time. Both the Trans Canada run and the 1,300-mile (2,100 km) race qualified for the Guinness Book of Records. He lived in Duncan, B.C., from 2005 until his death in 2016. He had been receiving treatment for Diabetes I. The City of Duncan awarded him the Perpetual Trophy for Excellence and Sportsmanship in December 2007, and in 2014 he was inducted into The Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame.
The Athens International Ultramarathon Festival is a Multiday race which takes place at the former Ellinikon International Airport in Greece.
Mahmut Yavuz is a Turkish Navy officer, who serves, currently as a lieutenant, in the SAT Commando unit of the Marines and Special Forces. He is best known for his successful career as an ultramarathon runner and his indistinct fast speech. He holds many records and currently works as a running instructor.
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.
Grahak Cunningham is an ultra-distance runner and motivational speaker from Perth, Western Australia.
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".
Dion Leonard is an Australian/British endurance athlete and ultramarathon runner, motivational speaker, and author of New York Times Bestseller Finding Gobi, the non-fiction memoir of his story of his dog, Gobi, who ran 77 miles of a 155-mile race across the Gobi Desert. Leonard who grew up in Warwick, Queensland before moving to the U.K. started running in 2013 and has already achieved numerous top 10 finishes in ultra races around the world in the most extreme conditions. Leonard has not only competed in but completed some of the world's toughest ultra running races across the most inhospitable landscapes.
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.