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 50 kilometres (31 mi) to over 100 kilometres (62 mi). 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. Around 100 miles is typically the longest course distance raced in under 24 hours but there are also longer multi-day races of 200 miles (320 km) or more, sometimes raced in stages with breaks for sleep. While some ultras are road races, many take place on trails, leading to a large overlap with the sports of trail running and mountain running.
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.
Ann Trason is an American ultramarathon runner from Auburn, California. She set 20 world records during her career and is considered 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. Jurek has followed a vegetarian diet since 1997, and a vegan diet since 1999.
Deena Michelle Kastor is an American long-distance runner. She was a holder of American records in the marathon (2006-2022) and numerous road distances. She won the bronze medal in the women's marathon at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. She is also an eight-time national champion in cross country.
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.
Ida Nilsson is a Swedish long-distance runner who also competes in ski mountaineering. In 2003 – 2006 she won a total of ten gold medals in Swedish championships in track & field and cross country running, plus two NCAA gold medals. After many years away from training Nilsson won the Swedish championship in ski mountaineering in 2016 and a couple of months later won the prestigious Transvulcania ultramarathon.
Shalane Grace Flanagan is an American long-distance runner, Olympic medalist and New York City Marathon champion. She was the first American woman to win the New York City Marathon since 1977. She holds the NACAC area records in both the 10k and 15k road races.
Brian Sell is a retired American long-distance runner who specialized in various long-distance track events before specializing as a marathoner in his professional career with Hansons-Brooks Distance Project. Sell represented the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the men's marathon. He attended Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania, where he ran on the Saint Francis University cross country team.
Kílian Jornet Burgada is a Spanish professional sky runner, trail runner, ski mountaineer and long-distance runner. He is a six-time champion of the long-distance running Skyrunner World Series and has won some of the most prestigious ultramarathons, including the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, Grand Raid, the Western States Endurance Run and the Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run.
Emma Roca Rodríguez was a Spanish Catalan ski mountaineer and an eco-challenge member. She represented Spain which she was a captain, she helped her team to get in the top 10 spot.
Karl Meltzer is an ultrarunner and ultrarunning coach based in Sandy, Utah. Meltzer has won more 100-mile ultramarathons than any other ultramarathoner, and has held speed records at major U.S. trails, including the Appalachian Trail and the Pony Express Trail. Meltzer's trail runs have been featured in news outlets from Ultrarunning.com to NBC Sports. Meltzer has been a professional ultramarathoner since 1999, and a coach since 2007.
Tracy Garneau is a Canadian ultramarathoner. She was the 2010 UltraRunning Female North American runner of the year.
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.
Ellie Greenwood is a British ultramarathon runner. She began her ultra career in 2008 and is a two-time 100km World Champion, winning the title in 2010 and 2014. She holds numerous course records, including those for the Western States 100, the Canadian Death Race, the JFK 50 Mile Run and the Knee Knackering North Shore Trail Run. She is the first British woman to win the 90 km Comrades Marathon in South Africa.
Camille Herron is an American ultramarathon runner. She is the first and only athlete to win all three of the International Association of Ultrarunners' 50K, 100K, and 24 Hour World Championships. She won the 2017 Comrades Marathon and holds several World Record times at ultramarathon distances, along with the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon in a superhero costume. She is known for running with her hair down, drinking beer, and eating tacos during ultramarathons. In November 2017, she broke Ann Trason's 100-mile Road World Record by over an hour in 12:42:40. She broke her 12-Hour and 100 Mile World Records in February 2022 at the Jackpot 100/US Championship, winning the race outright and beating all of the men. In April 2022, she became the youngest woman to reach 100,000 lifetime miles. She is the first and only woman to run under 13 hours for 100 miles, exceed 150 km for 12-Hours, and to reach 270 km for 24Hrs.
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.
Sage Clifton Read Canaday is an American long-distance runner and ultramarathoner.
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.
Ekaterina Mityaeva is a Russian athlete specializing in trail running, skyrunning, mountain running and ultra running. She is a winner and prize-winner of the international competitions and Championships of Russia.
