Ultra Marathons

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Derby Tup Sep 2014 8:32am, 18 Sep 2014 12,590 posts	0 Derby Tup ponders plan involving much needed freezer de-icing and Badwater training
HappyG(rrr) Sep 2014 12:06pm, 18 Sep 2014 22,811 posts	0 HappyG(rrr) Heat or extreme cold, I don't fancy. So no MdS, Devil Ultra etc. for me Ditto crazy climbs, so UTMB out etc. But Comrades is like VLM for marathon, imho. It's iconic. I have SA friends and they say you are a local hero just for attempting it. And you get the equivalent question if you are a marathoner to "Have you done London?" if you say you do any kind of running and ultras, you get "Are you doing Comrades?" So it's on my bucket list, certainly. G
Boab Sep 2014 1:05pm, 18 Sep 2014 7,669 posts	0 Boab Me too G, I love road races me
Northern Exile Sep 2014 1:17pm, 18 Sep 2014 3,447 posts	0 Northern Exile I'm not sure I agree with that HG. If you're more inclined to off-road ultras and fell-running, Comrades is not on the bucket list - not in my experience anyhow. Not that I haven't got the greatest respect for those that do it of course!
Dave A Sep 2014 1:20pm, 18 Sep 2014 20,852 posts	0 Dave A I'll bet if you got a place you'd have a crack at it
Northern Exile Sep 2014 1:33pm, 18 Sep 2014 3,448 posts	0 Northern Exile I bet I wouldn't
GeeeM Sep 2014 1:56pm, 18 Sep 2014 791 posts	0 GeeeM I've got mixed feelings about Comrades, 56 miles of tarmac and 18,000 people? If you divided those numbers by 100 then that's my sort of race BUT - I know lots of people who've done it including many hardcore trail runners who say it's the most incredible, uplifting experience. Ellie Greenwood seems to enjoy it too... So, never say never - but I'd forsee a long spring of training on tarmac which doesn't sound appealing.
Northern Exile Sep 2014 2:08pm, 18 Sep 2014 3,449 posts	0 Northern Exile They're pretty much my thoughts too. I know someone who did very well there a number of years ago and told me that there was not a chance they'd go and do it again. On the other hand, a girl from our club - not an off-road runner admittedly - did it this year and says it was the best thing she ever did.
Velociraptor Sep 2014 2:52pm, 18 Sep 2014 30,929 posts	0 Velociraptor I suspect that if Comrades was in the UK or western Europe, I'd be all over it like a rash. I just don't fancy going all that way to run a race and have no other reason to want to go to South Africa.
Derby Tup Sep 2014 3:56pm, 18 Sep 2014 12,598 posts	0 Derby Tup I've been to Cape Town and the Western Cape. It is stunning. I can think of better things to do there than run nearly 60 miles on tarmac