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.
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.
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.
Cape Wrath Trail is a hiking route that runs through the Scottish Highlands and along the west coast of Scotland.
Hal Koerner is an American distance runner specializing in ultramarathon running. He is the owner of a specialty running store, Rogue Valley Runners, located in the mountainous Southern Oregon town of Ashland. He is one of the subjects of JB Benna's feature-length documentary "Unbreakable: The Western States 100".
Greg Nance is an American entrepreneur, mountaineer, ultramarathon runner, and politician.
Timothy Olson is an American ultra-runner who was the former recordholder for the Pacific Crest Trail in 51 days, 16 hours and 55 minutes. He won the Western States 100 in 2012 and 2013, including the former course record of 14 hours, 46 minutes and 44 seconds in 2012.
Sage Clifton Read Canaday is an American long-distance runner and ultramarathoner.
Oz Pearlman is an American mentalist, magician, and athlete who lives and works in the United States. He performs as a mentalist under the name "Oz the Mentalist", and has successfully appeared on America's Got Talent, winning third-place in Season 10 (2015).
Pete Kostelnick is an American ultramarathon runner most well known for his world record for fastest coast-to-coast crossing of the United States by foot, in 42 days, six hours and 30 minutes. He is a two time Badwater Ultramarathon champion, and the 5th fastest North American, all-time, at the 24-hour run, covering 163.5 miles.
Jenny Hoffman is an American quantum physicist and professor at Harvard University. She is interested in nanoscale engineering and imaging of materials, using molecular beam epitaxy and scanning probe microscopy. Hoffman has received several awards for her research and teaching, including the 2005 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and 2010 Sloan Research Fellowship.
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, 2021, and 2024. 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.
Michael Hartley is a British former ultramarathon runner.
The Arrowhead 135 is a yearly ultramarathon event which takes place in International Falls, Minnesota, United States.
Rhys Jenkins is a Welsh male ultramarathon runner. He holds the record for the fastest completion of the Wales Coast Path, from Chester to Chepstow. He is also a goodwill ambassador for the mental toughness fitness brand Rokman.
John Wade Kelly is an American endurance athlete who specializes in ultrarunning.
Karel Sabbe is a Belgian dentist and ultrarunner. While Sabbe is not a professional athlete, he has repeatedly set several speed records on prominent trails and completed elite races such as Barkley Marathons.
Sufiya Sufi is an Indian sprint athlete from Ajmer, Rajasthan. She is the first female runner to complete Manali to Leh Ultramarathon in 2021.
The Trans America Run (USA), also known as the TransAm, is the approximately 3000-mile coast-to-coast foot race across the United States. TransAm has historically been run from California to New York, starting at San Francisco City Hall and ending at New York City Hall, though some runners have completed a variation starting in Los Angeles. The world record for the TransAm was set in October 2016 by Pete Kostelnick who finished in 42 days, 6 hours, and 30 minutes.
