Long-distance running is a good way to test the human body for strength.
The most famous form of long-distance running is the marathon. Its popularity is explained by ancient history and the fact that this sport is included in the program of the Olympic Games.

The length of the marathon race is clearly fixed – 42 km 195 m, athletes run along the highway. However, the word “marathon” has become a household word and is often used to refer to any long races, including cross-country or extreme conditions.

Kenyan Jeffrey Mutai set the world record for the speed of a marathon race – 2 hours 3 minutes, but since the marathon track in Boston did not comply with the IAAF rules, the record was not officially recognized. Kenyan Wilson Kipsang is considered the world record holder among men with a time of 2 hours 3 minutes 23 seconds, the best result among women is Paula Radcliffe – 2 hours 15 minutes.

amazing people

Long-distance running requires the participants to be in good physical condition and endurance. But some athletes demonstrate simply incredible ability to endure extreme loads.

In 2003, British citizen R. Fiennes ran 7 marathons in 7 parts of the world in 7 days.
Belgian Stefan Engels set himself the goal of running a marathon every day of the year. Injured and stopped running for a while, he started counting again and set a world record by running 365 marathons in 365 days. A year later, the Spaniard R. Martinez bypassed him – his result is 500 races in 500 days.
The oldest American runner is Margaret Hagerty. She completed her first race at the age of 72, at the age of 81 among her achievements there were already marathons in all parts of the world. This amazing woman is already 89 years old, but she continues to run long distances.
The oldest marathon runner is Indian F. Singh, who was nicknamed “The Turban Hurricane.” He ran a marathon at the age of 100. The result of the runner turned out to be quite decent for his age – 8 hours 11 minutes. In addition, the Indian athlete is the holder of the world record for the speed of overcoming the marathon distance in the group of athletes over 90 years old. His time is 5 hours 40 minutes.
The youngest runner is A. Cooke, an American boy of six years old. He ran a marathon on a par with adults without prior training and showed the result of 2 hours 35 minutes.
Englishman L. Scott overcame the marathon distance in diving suit weighing 50 kg. Another Briton, A. Holland, ran 10 marathons in a row in 32 hours and 47 minutes.
extreme distances

In addition to the standard 42 km 195 m races, which already seem to many athletes not difficult enough, there are ultramarathons with a distance much longer than a marathon, overcoming which stretches for several days.

Marathon through the Sahara Desert

Crossing the Sahara desert in six days. Participants need to run 240 km. This distance is divided into 6 days, the most difficult is the last day, for which you need to cover a distance of 82 km. In 2007, two participants died in the race.

Extreme winter ultramarathon

The distance of the race can be from 190 to 560 km, you need to complete it in 6 days. The most extreme in such a race is the temperature. It is held along the Arctic Circle, where frosts reach 40-50 °.

Jungle ultramarathon

A 220 km long run through the jungles of South America with an air temperature of more than 38 ° and 100% humidity is a real test for its participants.

Death Valley ultramarathon

Held in Nevada. Runners have to cover more than 200 km in extreme altitude change – the race starts at a point 282 feet below sea level and ends at an altitude of 8360 feet above sea level. In addition, in this area the air temperature rarely drops below 30°C.

In addition to these extreme distances, many more races are held in different countries where participants can test their strength and endurance – the Great Tibetan Marathon with a run at an altitude of 11,500 m, the North Pole Marathon, which runs entirely on the ice of the Arctic Ocean, and others.
The most famous ultramarathon winner is Cliff Young. This non-professional runner won his first 875 km race at age 61, beating professional athletes in 5 days 15 hours and 4 minutes. The secret of Yang’s success turned out to be simple – the ultramarathon runner did not take breaks for sleep, but ran for 5 days without rest.

Daily races

Another interesting type of long-distance running is daily races. The essence of the competition is that athletes try to cover the maximum possible distance in a day. The maximum result in this sport belongs to the Greek Yiannis Kouros – 303 km 505 m in 24 hours.