Run for the hills! 'The race is the easy part; the race is a party!' So says Zurich-based ultra-runner and fitness coach, Jeff Grant. But when 'the race' involves two back-to-back Ironman competitions, a 100-kilometre run across the Alps, or a four-day non-stop, multi-discipline endurance event--well, it's not the kind of party most of us would want to attend.
While you might think that ultra-running is only for elite athletes, Grant says, "think again". Not so long ago, he was a self-proclaimed victim of the "classic American lifestyle and diet"--overweight and sedentary.
Now, 15 years later and relocated to a new life in Switzerland, he thinks nothing of running a 60-kilometre race or completing a 50-hour non-stop challenge with the Navy Seals. But what drives ultra-athletes to such extremes? Why don't they just take out a gym membership, like normal people?
"Ultra-running is psychological," explains Fiola Foley, an Irish adventure racer, who also works for Swarovski Crystal. "It's not so much to do with your physical condition, it's about pushing the barriers of your mind."
The urge to explore one's limits through extreme sports is something she sees often in Switzerland's corporate world, where people are confined for long hours in a formal environment. Running is a way to "escape from the cage".
Broader benefits
Similarly, Grant says that many of his clients are executives or 'road warriors' who want to learn from their athletic achievements: those who recognise both the physical and psychological benefits of training. He insists that once someone proves they are strong enough to run non-stop for 30 hours, they feel they can endure almost anything.
In an adventure race, the team must navigate a route that not only gets them from start to finish via designated checkpoints, but also encompasses each of the compulsory disciplines: these can include everything from running, biking and kayaking, to paragliding, canyoning and rock climbing.
Ultra-running describes any event beyond the usual marathon length of 42 kilometres (26 miles). Often, "ultras" also include an orienteering challenge; they can also last several days, with athletes covering extreme terrain or distances ... or both.
As you might expect, Foley, a former-professional rower, and Grant who runs Hillseeker Fitness, do not lack motivation. Indeed, Foley says that training is not a chore but a lifestyle, and Grant reckons that the only pre-requisite for an endurance runner is a positive attitude.
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However, both insist that it is the moments of weakness that provide the real inspiration. Grant describes one training session, around three months prior to a race that he didn't feel strong enough to tackle. Two hours into a scheduled six-hour run, he was struck with nausea and knee-pain and--to his shock--he was...
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