UltraRunning » News http://www.ultrarunning.org.uk Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:16:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 en hourly 1 Eddie Izzard and the 1000 mile ultramarathon http://www.ultrarunning.org.uk/news/eddie-izzard-and-the-1000-mile-ultramarathon/ http://www.ultrarunning.org.uk/news/eddie-izzard-and-the-1000-mile-ultramarathon/#comments Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:09:03 +0000 Ultra Runner http://www.ultrarunning.org.uk/?p=29 Well-known UK comedian Eddie Izzard is just over halfway through his 1000 mile run around the UK which he hopes to complete in just under seven weeks. He is running the equivalent of a full marathon each and every day for seven weeks, the charitable proceeds of which will go to Sports Relief of which the comedian is a strong supporter.

The 1000 mile round UK trip will certainly be tough on the famous cross-dressing comedian but it has also managed to bring ultra running into the UK News, a subject which many people had never even heard of. Despite the fact there are a growing number of ultra marathons in the UK and a growing number of ultra runners, this is a sport which rarely receives attention grabbing headlines and is never part of the mainstream news in the UK.

So not only will Eddie Izzard raise a significant amount of money for charity but he has also done the cause of ultra running in the UK a great service, and one which could offer a significant boost in the short to medium term. Will we ever see ultra running appear in the Olympics? Is 2012 to soon to introduce an ultramarathon to the event?

]]> http://www.ultrarunning.org.uk/news/eddie-izzard-and-the-1000-mile-ultramarathon/feed/ 2 An introduction to Ultra Running http://www.ultrarunning.org.uk/news/an-introduction-to-ultra-running/ http://www.ultrarunning.org.uk/news/an-introduction-to-ultra-running/#comments Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:10:15 +0000 Ultra Runner http://ultrarunning.org.uk/?p=3 While Ultra Running has been around for some time it is a sport which has only recently received a significant boost to its popularity. In simple terms Ultra Running involves running in so-called Ultramarathons which are longer than the traditional marathon length of just over 26 miles (42 km).

There are basically two different types of Ultramarathon events which include those of a fixed distance with the first Ultra Runner past the post deemed to be the winner and those which take place over a specified area with the winner the person who covers the longest distance in a specified period of time. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg with regards to the Ultra Running sector which is so varied that it is literally impossible to go through every type of race.

As well as the more traditional kind of Ultramarathon events over six hours, 12 hours or 24 hours there are also multi-day Ultramarathons which can last for a very long time. For example there are Ultra Running events in Africa which last a total of seven days and take in over 250 km in race distance. Ultra Running is now very popular in Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, Antarctica, North America and many other areas of the world.

Over the next few weeks and months we will be bringing you the latest news from the world of Ultramarathons, the latest equipment available, the latest events and offer readers the opportunity to exchange views and comments about the future of Ultramarathons and Ultra Running. This is an event which continues to grow in popularity offering perhaps the most gruelling physical test of any runner in the world.

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