The Long, Uneven Road

Ultra-distance trail races continue to gain popularity in the Asian region. Are you ready to finish one?

If you’ve not yet attempted to run a race beyond the tarmac, the challenge of pushing your limits in the wilds might seem like stretching your comfort zone a step too far. What does it take to complete an ultradistance trail race, and what are some of the other ways that fitness enthusiasts push their physical limits in competition?

We ask Joseph Foo, a 48-year-old outdoor sports instructor and a veteran of many adventure and ultra-distance races about what is really required to properly tackle ultra-distance and adventure racing events.

TRAIL STAGES AND EXPEDITIONS

Typically, any foot race that goes beyond the 42km distance of a regular marathon is classed as an ultradistance race. Trail ultras are typically split into two broad categories, the Stage and Expedition Race.

Both are run off the road over more than a day, but the Stage Races are easier to manage because runners return to the same base camp every evening and then set off on a different route the next day. Each stage is between 60 to 80km in length, and a Stage Race lasts between two to four days. The final results are based on the cumulative time over multiple stages.

An Expedition Race is much more involved as the runner will need to be almost entirely self-sufficient. Often spanning at least 250km in rough terrain, the runner chooses where and when to sleep, when to rest, and when to keep pushing on through the night or through bad weather. The clock doesn’t stop after dark, so the fastest runners are usually the ones who need the least amount of rest.

TRAINING BEYOND THE MARATHON

“From my own experience and through coaching students, I believe that an average person needs to commit a minimum of 10 hours per week to training to be able to do well in a sprint-distance Adventure Race or entry-level Ultratrail Race,” says Joseph.