tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53270946480733388.post8598623434816209316..comments2024-03-20T18:40:37.069-07:00Comments on UltraPedestrian: What Does an Ultra Have to Do with a Marathon?Ras (j vaughan)http://www.blogger.com/profile/01809752577805616128noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53270946480733388.post-51206364264216412662014-03-10T02:18:44.333-07:002014-03-10T02:18:44.333-07:00Lots of good thoughts here. I like Martin's p...Lots of good thoughts here. I like Martin's point about the subjectivity of this all. In part I think terminology is an interesting conversation at the moment because people still seem to be innovating and creating new approaches that seem to call for new designations. It's hard to agree on what those should be b/c designations, at some level, reflect values about what's happening. (It's funny - jdvande21 - I kind of like the term foot tour specifically b/c it is casual, easy and non-competitive, which reveals some aspect of my running ideals). I think it's also true that there's marketing importance in designations. I poopoo the term 'ultra', but if I'm honest a big part of tackling my first 50k (vs. taking on a trail marathon or something) was being able to call myself an 'ultra runner', even if I don't fully like the term nowadays. Tim Mathishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11165425704343342951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53270946480733388.post-11038849450043522692014-03-09T13:36:11.164-07:002014-03-09T13:36:11.164-07:00Agree with jdvane21, we definitely need some disti...Agree with jdvane21, we definitely need some distinction between "runners" and walkers & hikers (and I think here sometimes there is a fine line, and is often delineated only by the size of the pack and the shoes). <br />What I object to is the term "race", which I feel runs opposite to the "trail" culture. Except for a few elite, I don't feel that events are °races° and feel uncomfortable in calling them so. A marathon can be considered a race, because after the first few, its not a matter of completing it, rather a matter of how fast. And within a few minutes, you can compare your times in most marathons around the world. On trails this is different, Every trail will be different, so no longer can you just use distance or distance + elevation gain as the only factors. In the trails there are many other factors. Also the community is smaller and I feel a much less competitive environment and a much more collaborative environment. <br />So I vote no for "Foot Race".. Ultratrail still rings well to me; which I think differs greatly from an °Ultraroad°, and there you have another entirely different beast than ultratrail or marathon elites.Jonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05519888294378032860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53270946480733388.post-4281277524224477172014-03-09T13:05:44.023-07:002014-03-09T13:05:44.023-07:00Tim, very well written article pointing out some v...Tim, very well written article pointing out some very true and humorous things regarding the labels we use. I agree with your proposition to start using "foot race"; but I'm not so sure about a "foot tour." The word tour sounds much too casual, easy and non-competitive. It sounds like a boring tourist attraction that involves little to no fitness or training. The term "ultra" makes sense (literally meaning "beyond"). So an ultramarathon is a perfect description in its literal sense, to describe any foot race that covers a distance beyond 26.2 miles. Besides the literal meaning I think the term ultra has grown into a term that represents a culture of RUNNERS (not walkers, hikers, or foot tourers). We are runners, we just happen to choose races with distances and terrain that include some level of hiking and stopping to eat pancakes; that is part of what ultra running is.jdvande21https://www.blogger.com/profile/15467141942916775319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53270946480733388.post-31887899885814162552014-03-09T08:58:17.505-07:002014-03-09T08:58:17.505-07:00Hey Tim, here are my thoughts.
- The trail runnin...Hey Tim, here are my thoughts.<br /><br />- The trail running community seems to have taken the term "ultra" to heart but I agree that incorporating the word "marathon' can be a bit confusing/misleading.<br />- Then again, the term "marathon" is used generically any time you are talking about long/epic things; like this, "I just had a marathon session at the gym, holy cow am I beat." Used this way "ultra marathon" is perhaps somewhat redundant but people absolutely know what you are talking about.<br />- Since trail running events let any (reasonably fit!) average Joe and elite athletes toe the same line at the same event, it's hard to justify different terms for events which include both people just trying to finish within the time limit and those racing to win.<br />- The term "ultra" is incredibly relative. To you, today, ultra might mean anything longer than 26 miles but to your co-worker it might mean anything longer than a 10k! And recall for a moment how "ultra" a regular old marathon felt to you when you first started running, or how casual you are now about running a 50k. Ultra runners have a unique (somewhat distorted?) perspective when it comes to distance that's hard to deny.<br />- There are times when you start a "foot race", realize today is not your day and end up completing a "foot tour". And the reverse is of course also true, you can start running a tour, realize you feel spectacular and then race it in, perhaps for a PR!<br />- People have huge egos! Even if you call a long, solo run a "tour", someone will at the very least find it and then set a FKT and post it to make it official.<br />- Maybe it only matters what YOU (read: anyone) call the event you are participating in? I suppose there is no problem with you "touring" around Mt St Helens by yourself and someone else spending $150 to race around it and get an official time.<br />- Personally I'm not worried about differentiating between long events and really, really long events. Like I said above, the term "long" (read: ultra) is totally subjective. For myself I seem to have settled on "ultra trail running" when I head out with friends or "ultra trail races" when I pay money to run a particular course.<br />- I see no problem with the term "ultra marathon" as to me "ultra" just means long and "marathon" has long ago ceased to mean only a 26 mile foot race. English is a rapidly evolving language after all, just check out stuff like this here: http://nws.merriam-webster.com/opendictionary/newword_display_recent.php<br /><br />So there you have it, more opinions and no answers. :)Martin Criminalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14279350994717100477noreply@blogger.com