Ultrarunning—what kind of person runs 100 miles - FOR FUN?
Besides chronic sleep deprivation, eating on the run, alfresco toilet stops and slogging through many many miles, ultrarunning is a form of strategic suffering - even more so when you live with a condition known as Freiberg’s infarction, resulting in a permanent fracture in your foot!
It appears to go far beyond a desire to stay thin or healthy. Who are these people, and what does their radical hobby say about them?
I became obsessed with these questions after losing a bet at a hen’s party 12 months ago and running a 50km ultramarathon completely untrained just four days later. Despite the odd niggle and ache, my body held up and I surprisingly had a rather good time. I came away from this experience eager to push the limits a bit further.
“Who are these people, and what does their radical hobby say about them?”
Which is how I found myself lining up for the
