How to prepare for an ultramarathon – and why so many people are getting hooked on endurance running
- Star ultrarunning coach Jason Koop shares insights on why more people are turning to endurance running, and tips on how to succeed at it
- With more people taking part in endurance events, he gives his seven tips on how best to recover
Ultrarunning has seen explosive global growth over the last decade, in both the number of organised races and participation.
Growing from an exclusive sport with just a small number of elite endurance athletes, ultrarunning – running a race longer than a marathon, or 42km (26 miles) – now attracts tens of thousands of runners from all walks of life.
The “ultra” scene in Hong Kong has more than kept pace with global growth. The city’s love affair with endurance races goes back more than 30 years when the 100km annual military training exercise across the entire MacLehose trail was opened to the public. Now known as Oxfam Trailwalker, the annual event attracts nearly 5,000 participants each year.
The popularity of trail running mixed with Hong Kong’s nearly 300 kilometres of major hiking trails that criss-cross hills, country parks and shoreline has made the city a premier destination in the global ultrarunning circuit.
Steve Brammar, 50, race director of the Hong Kong 100, part of the Ultra Trail World Tour, has witnessed the rapid rise in the event’s participation. In 2011, there were just 200 participants compared with more than 7,000 applicants this year, of which only 1,800 runners were chosen via a lottery system to compete.