Comments on: manly marathons

manly marathons

mathowie — Fri, 16 Apr 2004 16:19:47 -0800

I've run a marathon and it was hard. Then I learned about ultra marathoners doing 50 and 100 mile runs in one day. Then there are the marathons and ultra marathons in rough places, like Death Valley. Then there's the grand daddy of difficulty: The Marathon Des Sables. It's 6 days and 6 marathons long, run in a desert with temps topping 110F, you have to carry your week's gear and food, and you are limited to 9 liters of water a day. Here are some photos and blogger Ben Hammersley's current results are here. The event finishes tomorrow. [via jay allen]

By: mathowie

mathowie — Fri, 16 Apr 2004 16:21:05 -0800

disclaimer: I sent Ben 50 pounds months ago for his charities, but forgot about the run until now.

By: Postroad

Postroad — Fri, 16 Apr 2004 16:28:34 -0800

Getting there is half the fun

By: biffa

biffa — Fri, 16 Apr 2004 16:29:50 -0800

That's pretty interesting, would be interested to find out what happened on his stage 4, his stats suggest something went badly wrong for him and its dragged his whole time and placing down badly.

By: matteo

matteo — Fri, 16 Apr 2004 16:41:32 -0800

Then there are the marathons and ultra marathons in rough places indeed. the guy who invented the Marathon in the first place, Phidippides, possibly ran more than the by-now-traditional 26 miles. it is unclear. maybe 140. maybe even 280. it is hardly surprising that the poor bastard died soon after finishing the run. talk about extreme sports. Phidippides (also spelt Pheidippides or Philippides, d. (490 BC) was the first-ever runner of the marathon. The actual nature of his run is not clear. The most common version of the story has that he ran 26 miles to Athens to tell the Athenians that their navy had defeated the Persians in the battle of Marathon (490 BC) after which he collapsed of exhaustion, and died. Certain sources have him not only running to Athens but also then running back to Marathon to deliver another message to the Athenian commanders. Herodotus states that the "professional runner" was sent with a message asking for aid all the way to Sparta (over 140 miles) and back, making the initial run in two days. Herodotus also states that Phidippides met with Pan on his return journey near Mount Parthenium.

By: weston

weston — Fri, 16 Apr 2004 18:52:52 -0800

I've got a friend who does mountain foot races. He can run something like nearby Mount Timpanogos in 3-4 hours. Considering that it's at least a vertical mile from the trailhead and over 14 miles (and doing the mountain in 9 hours will often wipe me out), this is pretty impressive to me. Of course, it's all par for the course when training for things like the Wasatch Front 100 Mile Endurance Run.

By: livii

livii — Fri, 16 Apr 2004 18:59:48 -0800

Marathoners are a pretty amazing breed. Personally, my hero in this regard is Terry Fox, who ran 26 miles a day, every day during his attempted cross-Canada run, totalling 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles). And with one artificial leg. That sheer determination astounds me. The race linked to, however, just doesn't do it for me...at some point that seems so pointless.

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Fri, 16 Apr 2004 19:10:17 -0800

Very cool. It appears this race is also an exercise in navigation.

By: alumshubby

alumshubby — Fri, 16 Apr 2004 19:14:28 -0800

Does anybody do this sort of thing barefoot?

By: MidasMulligan

MidasMulligan — Fri, 16 Apr 2004 19:31:46 -0800

Good god ... so it turns out Iron Man triatheletes are ... wussies?

By: abcde

abcde — Fri, 16 Apr 2004 22:27:03 -0800

A water limit seems kind of disturbing. Hello, brain damage!

By: dame

dame — Fri, 16 Apr 2004 22:55:24 -0800

On the one hand: impressed. On the other: aren't there better hobbies out there, like . . . oh . . . anything?! This strikes me as one of the weirder manifestations of privilege; I'm lucky enough to have a cushy life, so I must make a hobby of doing some that, under most other circumstances, would be torture, trauma, or a war crime. Then again, I think it should be legal to hunt joggers, so what do I know.

By: fooljay

fooljay — Fri, 16 Apr 2004 23:38:08 -0800

That's pretty interesting, would be interested to find out what happened on his stage 4, his stats suggest something went badly wrong for him and its dragged his whole time and placing down badly. That's what I thought too, until it hit me. Look at who finished around him. It's a bunch of other Brits. They probably stopped off at a local for a few pints and lost track of time.

By: Rob1855

Rob1855 — Sat, 17 Apr 2004 03:34:40 -0800

Then again, I think it should be legal to hunt joggers, so what do I know. Legalize it? That would take all the fun out of it.

By: bashos_frog

bashos_frog — Sat, 17 Apr 2004 05:29:08 -0800

Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Dr Mike Stroud: Seven marathons in seven continents in seven days to help fight heart disease.

By: bashos_frog

bashos_frog — Sat, 17 Apr 2004 05:35:09 -0800

I still think the Race Across AMerica is the most extreme endurance event. 20 hours cycling, 2 hours massage, 2 hours sleep for 6 - 7 days straight. Delirium, and paralysis are normal(!) occurences at the end of this one. Due to handlebar pressure on the carpal tunnel, I've heard that finishers can't hold/turn a doorknob for about two weeks after.

By: dolface

dolface — Sat, 17 Apr 2004 07:45:42 -0800

for those of you in the bay area, the western states 100 is close enough to go see. i wanted to check it out to try to get a sense of ultras, with an eye towards doing one, so i volunteered at the 99 mile aid station last year. i was pretty amazing to watch the runners coming through after almost 100 miles on the trail. temperatures in the canyons were reported to be 120 degrees that year. (the winner did it in 16 hours, most people finish in 24 - 36 hours) if you get a chance, go check it out.

By: prentiz

prentiz — Sat, 17 Apr 2004 18:40:21 -0800

If you think marathons are difficult now, how about when you're as old as this guy ? He stopped running about the time India was partitioned and didn't start again until he retired to Britain, aged 82. Still running marathons 11 years later. Apparently he's even improving on his time, running his first sub-6 hour marathon last year. I'm 25 - running for the bus is enough to finish me for the day...

By: plemeljr

plemeljr — Fri, 30 Apr 2004 13:36:34 -0800

Update: Ben's Thoughts on the Marathon des Sables. He made it, and is in good spirits. He might even go back!