I ’VE heard many runners say that 100 miles is the new marathon, and I think they’re on to something. In the new era of popularity that ultrarunning is experiencing, the collective imagination of the running community has shifted beyond the marathon as the upper echelon of distance running.
As longer and longer races have flooded the global trail scene, the “miler” has come into its position as the gold standard of ultra distances to tackle. Multi-day, stage, and 200-mile races are on the rise, but they still push into the realm of the truly crazy.
The idea of running 100 miles astounded me when I first learned about the niche world of ultra trail running. As I worked on my physical and mental fitness, that mythical distance maintained its grandeur.
It wasn’t until I moved to New Zealand in 2019 that the miler became a guiding beacon in my running. My expectations were built upon the varied and sometimes contradictory reports of dozens of runners, whose stories contained idiosyncrasies yet hid some grains of truth. Sleep demons. Hallucinations. Chafing, cramps, gut problems, blisters, deep fatigue – the list of possible ailments and setbacks that might end an attempt was endless.
Self-doubt crept inexorably closer as the days grew longer, and my vague timeline of when my miler would happen – “next summer” – became more tangible.
Am I really capable of running 100 miles? Is it safe? How do you even prepare for it? And why do it?
I tried to distinguish between my personal motivation and the external motivations heaped upon us as runners and mountain enthusiasts. There are many reasons why running your first hundred miler as part of a race is a good idea, not the least of which are safety concerns. The support, community and shared experience can galvanise races to become some of our best days of running.
For my part, I hadn’t run
