An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any 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 Aiguille du Midi is a 3,842-metre-tall (12,605 ft) mountain in the Mont Blanc massif within the French Alps. It is a popular tourist destination and can be directly accessed by cable car from Chamonix that takes visitors close to Mont Blanc.
The Mont Blanc massif is a mountain range in the Alps, located mostly in France and Italy, but also straddling Switzerland at its northeastern end. It contains eleven major independent summits, each over 4,000 metres (13,123 ft) in height. It is named after Mont Blanc, the highest point in western Europe and the European Union. Because of its considerable overall altitude, a large proportion of the massif is covered by glaciers, which include the Mer de Glace and the Miage Glacier – the longest glaciers in France and Italy, respectively.
The Tour du Mont Blanc or TMB is one of the most popular long-distance walks in Europe. It circles the Mont Blanc massif, covering a distance of roughly 165 kilometres (103 mi) with 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) of ascent/descent and passing through parts of Switzerland, Italy and France.
Kílian Jornet is a Spanish professional long-distance trail runner and ski mountaineer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest trail runners of all time, he has won some of the most prestigious ultramarathons, including the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, Grand Raid, Western States and Hardrock.
The Trail Menorca Camí de Cavalls is a single-staged ultramarathon race held in the island of Menorca, Spain. It goes around the whole island through the Camí de Cavalls, covering a total of 185.3 km.
Fruškogorski maraton is a yearly hiking and ultra running marathon held on the last weekend of April or the first of May on Fruška gora, Serbia. It is one of the oldest marathons of this type in Europe.
The Marathon du Mont Blanc is an annual marathon distance (42.195 km) alpine trail running event held in Chamonix, France. The Marathon du Mont Blanc race is the titular event but the name also refers to the group of longer and shorter distance races one or more of which competitors can compete in over a three-day period starting on the last Friday in June.
Ellie Greenwood is a Canadian/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 is the first British or Canadian woman to win the 90 km Comrades Marathon in South Africa.
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.
Lill Maria Kotka is a Swedish athlete who specialized in ultrarunning.
Kieren D'Souza is an Indian ultramarathon runner and endurance athlete. In 2016, he became the first Indian to qualify for and finish the Spartathlon, a 246 kilometre footrace from Athens to Sparta held annually in Greece. Kieren, then aged 23, completed the race in 33 hours, 2 minutes and 25 seconds, standing 85th among 370 participants. Up to 2016, only 29 athletes under the age of 25 had completed the race that has been held annually since 1983.
Jonathan Albon is a British sky runner and obstacle course racer who has won three Skyrunner World Series.
The Ultra-Trail Harricana of Canada, also referred to as the UTHC and formerly known as XC Harricana, is an annual trail running event founded in 2011 that takes place at the Mont Grand-Fonds ski centre, 15 km (9.3 mi) from the town of La Malbaie, Québec. The courses make use of the ski centre's slopes as well as trails in the Traversée de Charlevoix hiking area and in the Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie National Park. The event is a qualifying race for the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc and the Western States 100. It is also one of the toughest ultra-trail races in Eastern Canada. On November 5, 2015, Ultra-Trail Harricana was named a "race of the future" by the Ultra-Trail World Tour and officially became part of the Tour in 2017.
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.
Xavier Thévenard is a French elite athlete who specialises in trail and mountain running. He was born on March 6, 1988 in Nantua, France. He won the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in 2013, 2015 and 2018.
Courtney Dauwalter is an American ultramarathon runner and former teacher. In 2023, Dauwalter became the first athlete ever to win Western States 100, Hardrock 100 and the UTMB, three iconic 100-mile races, in the same year.
Yuri Yoshizumi is a Japanese ultra runner and skyrunner. She won the Asian Vertical Kilometre Skyrunning Championship in 2016, placed second in the Vertical Kilometer World Circuit in 2019 and won a number of individual events including the 2019 Transvulcania Marathon and the Fuji Mountain Race in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Tom Evans is a British long-distance runner and a former British Army Captain. In 2020, he competed in the men's race at the 2020 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships held in Gdynia, Poland. He finished third in his Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) 2022, and won the 2023 Western States Endurance Run.
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.
