The sport of ultramarathons is growing by leaps and bounds – Staunton News Leader

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Maybe running up and down mountain trails in the middle of the night is not your idea of a fun weekend.

Or it’s possible that running the same loop over and over for hour after hour is not your cup of tea.

But for a fast growing number of people around the world, the sport of ultramarathons is growing by leaps and bounds.

So what is an ultramarathon? It is simply a race that is longer than a marathon. While every marathon is exactly 26.2 miles, an ultra can be almost anything longer than that.

There are two types of ultras. One is the same distance for everyone, however long that may be. The other is a timed event, where you get so many hours to run and walk as far as you can.

Bill Gentry of Grottoes has had a chance to experience much of the variety that is available. Since he became an ultrarunner in 1991, Gentry has completed distance races of 30, 40, 45, 50, 71 and 100 miles, as well as 50 and 100 kilometers.

He has also been active in timed events, running in 24, 48, 72 and 144 hour ultras. And earlier this month, he got to participate in a 240-hour (10 day) race in New Jersey, which started on a Thursday morning and finished the following Sunday.

“I love running,” said Gentry, who has competed in over 200 ultras and is still going. “I love the peacefulness that comes with the training. There’s an attraction for me in seeing how far I can push when things get bad.”

Sometimes an ultrarunner will even create their own challenge.

In 2011, Sandy Powell set out to cover the United States from coast-to-coast. The Riverheads and James Madison University graduate set out from Los Angeles to cross the country on foot. It did not go as planned.

The Greenville resident certainly had the credentials to pull it off. She was a former member of the USA 24-hour National Team and had competed against top competitors from around the world.

She started feeling pain early on in California, but pushed on through the Mojave Desert and across the Rocky Mountains. But the pain got to be too much and her adventure ended near Wichita, Kansas.

“That was one of the hardest blows, because I’m always used to being successful,” said Powell. “I felt like I let people down. It’s something that always haunts me that I didn’t finish.”

There were two good reasons she had to stop. Powell was later diagnosed with a fracture in her femur and another in her hip.

Even with the injuries, Powell averaged 46 miles a day for 37 days before pulling out.

“I did not want to risk serious injury,” said Powell on stopping. “But I got to see parts of the country I would have never seen if I wasn’t on foot.”

ULTRAS ARE GROWING ON PEOPLE

Ultraracing is not a new sport. According to ultra historian Davy Crockett, who has completed 100 miles or more in over 100 races, this type of racing can be traced back to late in the 19th century. There were races held in venues like Madison Square Garden in New York City, inviting athletes to see how quickly they could run 100 miles or more.

Back in 1986, the sport was still relatively young. There were only four 100-mile ultras in all of America.

Tom Green was the first person to complete all four 100-milers in the allotted time in the same year. Green successfully won ultra’s grand slam by surviving the Old Dominion 100 in Virginia, California’s Western States 100, the Leadville Trail 100 in Colorado and finally the Wasatch Front 100 run in Utah.

Things have changed since then. There are well over 100 races of 100 miles in the United States in 2019 listed on the website run100s.com.

“When I first started, it was just a few oddball people doing ultras,” said Green, who lives in Columbia, Maryland. “Now, it’s almost mainstream. It’s kind of an affirmation that what I was doing was actually sane.”

Gentry has also been around long enough to see the sport grow like crazy.

“When I started, after four aces I felt like I knew everyone that was an east coast ultraracer,” said Gentry. “Now I go to the Umstead 100-miler that I’ve finished 16 times and have no clue who three-quarters of the 275 starters are.”

More people are giving it a try and most keep coming back for more.

In the first seven years of the Virginia 24-Hour Run For Cancer from 2004-2010, there were never more than 100 participants. In recent years, the race now has more than 200 registrants committed during the first couple days of signup in early December. The race doesn’t take place until late April.

Ricky Scott, race director of the Crooked Road 24-Hour Ultra in Rocky Mount, also saw his race sell out for the first time in 2018.

“It’s all word of mouth,” said Scott, who is also an ultraracer. “I don’t advertise. If you put on a good event, people will come.”

While many of the big marathons draw thousands of runners, ultras are usually much smaller and more personal. And with the smaller fields over a longer period of time, you get to know each other better.

“Back in the day, this kind of running was unheard of,” said Scott. “It’s a different kind of animal and a different kind of challenge. It’s like a giant party.”

Powell, a former marathon runner, also likes the quaintness of ultras.

“If you don’t know anybody, by the time the race is over you have 20 new friends,” said Powell. “They’re always their to support each other. I like ultras and continue to do them because I like the people.”

HAVE RACE, WILL TRAVEL

Like marathoners, many ultrarunners are not afraid to go long distances to compete in a race.

At the 2018 Grindstone 100 in Swoope, there were people not just from all across America, but also from around the world. There were runners from Switzerland, Canada, Japan, Ireland, Costa Rica, Norway, China and Panama.

The two-time defending champ at the Crooked Road race traveled from Seattle, Washington to Virginia. The 2016 winner was Crockett, who made the trip from Saratoga Springs, Utah.

Amy Mower, a relative newcomer in ultraracing, has been going all over to compete. The former triathlete and marathoner started running ultras just over three years ago and has already won races in Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Arizona.

At the Across The Years Ultra in Arizona that started in December of 2018 and finished in early January of 2019, Mower easily won the 144-hour race. She completed over 453 miles in the six days.

“All my vacation time goes to races,” said Mower, a native New Yorker who now resides in Falls Church, Virginia. “It’s been busy, it’s been thrilling. It’s been intensely rewarding as far as the people I’ve met.”

Now Mower is prepping for her first race overseas. She earned an invitation to the Spartathlon in Greece, which is considered by many to be the most prestigious ultramarathon in the world. All you have to do is complete the 153 miles in 36 hours.

“It’s a focus of all my training,” said Mower of the September race. “I just want to finish that race. I was amazed when I was selected.”

Powell is another one that has had the thrill of competing in other countries. She was selected to be a member of the first four American teams that took part in the World 24-Hour Championships.

“I don’t think much compares to it,” said Powell of the honor. “I can’t describe that feeling when you put on the USA uniform.”

She was able to travel to championships in the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Austria and Taiwan. Powell helped the United States earn a pair of bronze medals in that time and finished as high as sixth place overall individually in 2005.

“In the foreign countries, they think ultrarunning is like football here in America,” said Powell. “That’s why I liked running overseas. People were just so gracious.”

FUN FOR ALL AGES

Many sports are dominated by young people. Ultra races can be done by people of all ages.

At the 2018 Virginia 24-Hour Run For Cancer, entrants started as young as nine years old. The elder of the racers was 95-year old Robert White of Hampton.

White, a decorated World War II veteran, has participated the last four years there. The first two he completed 22.5 miles. At age 94, he did 23.5. This April, he still did 7.5, which is a world record for males ages 95-99.

There is even a race that makes it easier for older runners to compete. A Race For The Ages in Manchester, Tennessee, has a unique handicapping system to even the playing field.

According to its website, “all runners 40 and over will be allotted a number of hours equal to those hard-earned years of age in which to accumulate as many miles as possible.

All the kids, 39 years, 364 days and below, will compete over the final 40 hours of the race. The winner will be the runner with the most miles accumulated by the finish”.

In 2018, 18 of the top 24 finishers were over 60 years old, including 68-year old winner Michael Koppy. Thirty-three participants 70 and older completed at least 100 miles.

THE FINISH LINE

Even though ultraracing is not a made-for-television event, there is no indication that the popularity of the sport will not continue to grow.

When Gentry started racing in 1991, there were no companies that catered to the needs of an ultrarunner. Gentry now estimates there are around 20 companies that sell clothes and equipment for that purpose.

Powell also sees a bright future for the sport.

“I think it will continue to grow,” she said. “Once you try it, you get hooked and that’s the problem. It’s just like one big family.”

So with people still racing into their 80’s and 90’s, how do you know when to give it up. Gentry and Powell shared the same sentiment.

They both said they could give it up after they run the perfect race. It hasn’t happened yet for either.