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 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The race consists of 25 laps around an Olympic-sized track. It is less commonly held at track and field meetings due to its duration. The 10,000-metre track race is usually distinguished from its road running counterpart, the 10K run, by referring to the distance in metres rather than kilometres.
The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to 3 miles 188 yards or 16,404 feet 2 inches. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over 12+1⁄2 laps of a standard track. The same distance in road running is called a 5K run; referring to the distance in metres rather than kilometres serves to disambiguate the two events. The 5000 m has been present on the Olympic programme since 1912 for men and since 1996 for women. Prior to 1996, women had competed in an Olympic 3000 metres race since 1984. The 5000 m has been held at each of the World Championships in Athletics in men's competition and since 1995 in women's.
Andrea Mayr is a female long-distance runner from Austria. She also competes in mountain running and cycling. She set her personal best (2:30:43) in the women's marathon on April 19, 2009, winning the Vienna City Marathon. She holds the Austrian records over the half marathon and marathon distances. She is the most accomplished mountain runner in history with 7 World Championship titles
Ahmet Arslan is a long-distance runner from Turkey competing in mountain running. He is a six time successive champion of European Mountain Running Championships.
The Kenyan Cross Country Championships is an annual cross country running competition that serves as the national championship for Kenya. It is organised by Athletics Kenya and has permit race status from the International Association of Athletics Federations. It is typically held in February in Nairobi, the country's capital, and entrants are almost exclusively from Kenya. Entrants represent their home region or one of the high level national works teams, such as Kenya Defence Forces, Kenya Police, Prisons or Universities. These teams host their own annual team championships in order to decide their selections for the national event.
Bernard Dematteis is an Italian male mountain runner and sky runner, two times senior individual European champion at European Mountain Running Championships.
Xavier Chevrier is an Italian male mountain runner and long-distance runner who won 2017 European Mountain Running Championships.
Fred Musobo is a Ugandan mountain runner.
Victor Kiplangat is a Ugandan marathon runner, who became world champion in 2023. He won the World Mountain Running Championships in 2017 as a teenager.
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.
Lawrence Cherono is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He is currently the 8th fastest marathon performer of all time with his 2:03:04 clocking at the 2020 Valencia Marathon. He clocked 2:04:06 to win the Amsterdam Marathon on October 21, 2018. He also won the Amsterdam Marathon in 2017, running a time of 2:05:09, setting the course record, which he broke in 2018.
Emily Grace Collinge is a British runner who has won the European Mountain Running Championships and finished second in the World Mountain Running Championships.
Cesare Maestri is an Italian male long-distance runner, mountain runner and snowshoe runner who won, at individual senior level, World Snowshoe Championships (2019) and a silver medal at the 2019 World Mountain Running Championships and 2018 European Mountain Running Championships.
Angéline Joly is a former Swiss female mountain runner, world champion at the World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships (2004).
Martina Strähl is a Swiss female long-distance runner and mountain runner, world champion at the World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships (2015) and twice at the European Mountain Running Championships.
Allie McLaughlin is an American female mountain runner, world champion at the World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships (2014).
Valentina Bottarelli is a former Italian female long-distance runner and mountain runner who won at individual senior level a silver medal at the World Mountain Running Championships.
The 25K run is a long distance running footrace that is between the distance of a half marathon and a marathon. It was formerly an official world record distance in road running by World Athletics, but has since been downgraded to world best status. Separately, the Association of Road Racing Statisticians retains world records in the 25K distance. The ARRS holds different standards for records than World Athletics, with exclusions for certain point-to-point races and mixed sex races. As a result its women's world record is 1:26:34 by Nancy Conz, set in 1982.
Ruth Charlotte Croft is a New Zealand ultramarathon and trail runner. Croft was the silver medalist at the 2019 Trail World Championships. Her victories at major international races include the Tarawera Ultramarathon, Western States, and Ultra Trail Cape Town.
