Have you ever wondered what makes amateur athletes go long...in fact very very long?
What's the magic sauce that makes a runner into a marathon runner, and a marathon runner into an ultra runner?
Or perhaps, what's the reward and risk for an amateur athlete to step up from the sprint distance triathlon to an Iron distance race.
The fine folks at the University of Wisconsin have also contemplated these questions and since they are partially in the academic business of asking tough questions and providing straight answers...we though that you might want to know the answer to the question, "What are the draws, rigors, risks and benefits of becoming an ultra athlete?"
Of course the answer is not a simple one, but it has to do with motivation, age and even evolution.
In the "Why Files" University of Wisconsin writes answer this question when they write:
"Let’s start with the hardest question. Why in the world would anyone attempt these distances without being paid for it?
People ask, why am I doing this, and I say why do people climb Mt. Everest or do any other tough athletic endeavor?” says Charles Olson, who rode the Furnace Creek 508 last year under the nickname Brooklyn Beast.
“It’s to see if you can. I was doing the Ironman, but it wasn’t enough. I’ve always been interested to see how far I could push things, including myself. As a child, I had slot cars and model trains, would see how fast they would go until they fell off the tracks or the engines would burn out.”
You can read the entire comprehensive article HERE.
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