KILIAN JORNET BORN TO RUN - Amer Sports

t PER/Cimbaly©MDS2010
trend: ULTRA
In ultra-long races, simply reaching the goal is a big achievement.
swimming and carrying out various adventure tasks.
Timekeeping begins at the start line and continues until
the team crosses the finish line.
In the Crocodile Trophy (www.crocodile-trophy.com),
competitors ride 1,400 kilometers, divided into ten stages,
across the Australian desert. Even the world’s best
cyclists consider the race, organized in hot and harsh conditions,
to be one of the greatest challenges of all times.
Marathon des Sables (www.darbaroud.com) is one of the
most famous ultra-runs. The race, covering 254 kilometers
across the well-known Sahara Desert in southern
Morocco, lasts six days. The longest leg is 91 kilometers.
Patrouille des Glaciers (www.pdg.ch) is one of the most
traditional endurance races. It was arranged for the first
time back in 1943 as a test for Swiss mountain soldiers.
Today, the race also accepts civilian teams. The event consists
of three-person patrols skiing a route of 53 kilometers
from Zermatt to Verbier. The overall elevation gain
over the route is 4,000 meters.
The Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (www.nycswim.
org) is a 45-kilometer swimming contest around the
downtown area of New York City. A water temperature of
18 degrees Celsius, a heavy swell and busy boat traffic add
to the challenges of the long swim tour. The race is not for
inexperienced swimmers, seeing as the maximum duration
is 9 hours and 30 minutes.
The goal of today’s adventurers
is to gain unique experiences
and test their own limits.
20 || 3.2010
Spartathlon (www.spartathlon.gr) cannot
go unmentioned when talking about running
races longer than a marathon. The route from
Athens to Sparta traces the footsteps of
Pheidippides, who ran 245 kilometers along
an arduous path in 490 BCE. Spartathlon was
revived in 1982 and has since become the
main place of pilgrimage for modern-day
ultra-runners.
In search of individual limits
and friendship
What makes people participate in races that
seem totally irrational to an outsider? Why
are so many willing to torment themselves
through long workouts just to cope with a
great challenge?
Endurance events that measure – and
often push – the limits of human performance
have been around for centuries. They used to
be tackled by only a few adventurers and
exceptional individuals. Ambition and the wish to achieve
something unique drove these heroes of their time further
and further.
Today, the start lines of exacting ultra-runs, multi-day
cycling competitions and demanding adventure races are
increasingly populated by normal people who are no longer
satisfied with the standard distances set for their disciplines.
Rather than secure a mention in the history books with
their feats, modern “adventurers” are looking for unique
experiences and want to test their limits, both physically
and mentally.
Though ultra-distance sports involve very personal and
often selfish motives, long races also show features that
shorter ones sometimes lack. Competitors usually exhibit
quite remarkable team spirit. For many, overcoming a challenging
route, long distances and fatigue is more important
than beating other competitors. It is an unwritten rule that
you help others along the route whenever needed.
Race participants often forget their rivalry and cross
the finish line hand in hand.
For some ultra-athletes, endurance has become something
of a philosophy or lifestyle – even a religion. The Sri
Chinmoy Self Transcendence run (3100.srichinmoyraces.
org) in Queens, New York, which is sometimes called the
world’s longest competition, attracts participants whose
training program consists not only of running but also of
meditation. The 5,000-kilometer run that takes place
around a single block and lasts for nearly two months may
well feel easier if you are in balance with yourself and your
surroundings.
That is what ultra-long events are ultimately all about.