The standard Olympic racewalk long distance is 50K, which equals 31 miles and takes the top walkers 3:40. Imagine walking at a speed of 7-minute miles for that distance.
Most ultramarathons don't expect quite as much speed. The Tahsis Great Walk held in June yearly on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada challenges walkers to maintain a 14-minute mile for 63.5 miles over logging roads crossing the island. Over 600 walkers attempt to complete the "burning boot" route in 16 hours or less. John Zuiker, age 73 was the oldest male finisher in 1999, with a time of 9:55.
Ultramarathons take several forms.
- Track: Participants circle a track continuously. Usually the direction is switched from clockwise to counterclockwise periodically during the race. The tradition of track events goes back to the high-stakes walking races held in the mid-1800's when the winners took home a fortune the equivalent of millions of dollars today. Several charity events now host track 24-hour walks/runs.
- Road Loop: The course is from a mile to 10K long and the participants complete loops to make up the distance. The 18-Hour Walk in Vancouver, Washington is such an event. This allows for a variation of scenery but continued monitoring of the participants.
- Road Point to Point or Single Circuit: No repeats on these events. Walkers either begin and end at different points or return to the starting place having completed a great circle. The Great Walk is a point-to-point walk, the Bornem 100K Dodentocht (Death March) is a circuit. These walks require more support crew.
Not enough?
The 54th annual Paris-Colmar Racewalk, 540 kilometers, June 8-11, 2000. They took a break for WWII and the '60s but have been hosting it continuously otherwise in various editions of Paris-Strasbourg, Strasbourg-Paris and Paris-Colmar. Entrants must qualify at various 200K races, and there were 28 participants in 1999. How long does that take? 58 hours of walking, down from 78 hours when it was first held in 1929.
Where to find them
As with marathons, those who want to walk an ultramarathon need to talk to the race director to ensure that the walker can keep up to the minimum pace requirements for the event. For road events, participants are often disqualified if they do not reach certain milestones in time. At track events, there may be a minimum pace required to ensure that the faster are not hindered by the slower. Often these events have a limit on number of entries and participants need to pre-register months in advance to ensure a slot.
Related articles
Tahsis Great Walk yearly in June.
C&O Canal 100K/50K One Day Hike yearly in May.
Paris-Colmar yearly in June.
Nijmegen-Rotterdam 160 kilometers across the Netherlands Event site.
Ultramarathon Walking Events Listings of ultra events around the world.
Next page >> Multi-Day Walks
The Long Walks
Long Walks
Across a Continent
Ultramarathon Walks
Multi-Day Walks
Centurion - 24 and 18 Hr Walks
Relays
Training
Planning
Hazards and Recovery
Humor and Discussion
