It sounds crazy—making yourself run farther than a marathon in one session—but many runners do it.

“Afterward, you’re really aware of your body because you’re going through all these physiological changes and you can really feel alive afterward, and that’s something I really enjoy,” said Taylor Valentino, 23, a kinesiology major at SF State.

Valentino, who has participated in three 50-mile races since 2005, is what is called an ultramarathon runner.

An ultramarathon is technically any run longer than a traditional 26.2-mile marathon course, but the term is most commonly applied to runners like Valentino who compete in races of 50 miles or more.

“I think it’s overcoming the challenge that it brings to me and it’s kind of like...after I do that I pretty much feel like I can do anything. If I’m ever down and I reflect back on maybe like a really tough run I got myself out of then I just say ‘okay, I can do this now, it’s not that hard anymore.’ And just the love of being outdoors and next to other runners who share the same passion and just the adventure part of it,” he said.

Valentino was inspired to try running an ultramarathon when he read an article about the Western States 100 race—a 100-mile race from Squaw Valley, about 40 miles east of Fresno, to Auburn, a town northeast of Sacramento.

“I don’t know what it was about that race,” he said. “After I read that article, something just inspired me to keep going...So I started training to run my first 50 [mile race] and ever since then I’ve been trying to get into the Western States 100 and other ultras along the way.”

Valentino has not been able to get into the Western States 100 because the race has a limited number of runners allowed to enroll, and because of the requirement that each contestant have previously finished a 50-mile run in less than 11 hours, he said.

Valintino’s best time for a 50-mile run is nine hours thus far.

Valentino’s youth makes him a unique figure, according to Anne Thilges, an anatomy and physiology instructor at SF State, and another ultrarunner.

“Very long-distance sports tend to favor people who are older,” Thilges said.

“People in their early 20s or so are very young to be doing a marathon... [It’s] mental, mental, mental, first of all it’s mental. But also, to be a strong ultramarathoner you really have to have a strong base for structure, you have to have a lot of miles on your legs. Younger people just haven’t had the time—the years—to build that up.”

Younger runners tend to not pace themselves realistically for such long distances, Thilges said. They often try to set a pace that is too fast for them to maintain.

Tom Lyons, SF State’s head cross country coach agrees. “Most of the ultras are run by older folks. I guess it’s just because as you get older you realize you can do more and take on bigger challenges.

“It’s just like the beginner runner who runs a 10 [kilometer race]. The 10k runner wants to run a marathon and you just keep moving up. You realize that there are not a lot of limitations. The only limitations are in your mind... Younger runners have to learn patience. An ultra is patience in both training and embracing.”
Lyons also ran ultras for 15 years and competed in “about 50 ultras” before a knee injury while training for a 100-mile run caused him to switch to bike racing.

Thilges, who doesn’t keep track of how many races she’s done, has been running marathons and ultramarathons for nearly 20 years and is currently training for an Ironman competition in Arizona.

Ironman races usually consist of swimming, biking, and running for a couple hundred miles.

“There are always ups and downs,” Thilges said when asked how she keeps motivated.

“There [are] times when I might not feel great, something might start hurting or not be comfortable, but I always know it won’t last... It’s just like life. When life gets hard what do you do? You keep going and you push through and you know that tomorrow will be a better day.”

“Why does a mountain climber climb the mountain?” Thilges said on why she runs in ultramarathons.

“I didn’t decide to do ultramarathons. I enjoyed running and I went from doing 10ks to marathons and just sort of got into doing a trail run that was more than a marathon and I just did it. I enjoyed running and just went a little longer, then a little longer. And you know, this is what I love.”

Thilges said she began running when she was in college to keep in shape and to help cope with stresses as they arose.

Thilges said she typically runs five days a week for her training.

“My training would be a once-a-week long run anywhere between 20 and 30 miles,” Valentino said about his training.

“And sometime during the middle of the week a medium run of 12 to 15 [miles]. During the rest of the week I just do speed work or interval work like running up hills or stairs. Those are probably either five or eight-mile runs.”

Valentino also says he does light strength training to keep his muscles from deteriorating. “I do lighter weight with more reps two to three days a week for just like 40 minutes,” he said.

The story about how Valentino began running is another interesting aspect of about him.

“I started running when I was 18 just to get into better condition for surfing,” he said.

“And when I was 19 years old, for my dad’s 50th birthday, his friend dared me to run a marathon so I took him up on it and that kind of started me into long-distance running.”

Running has changed Valentino’s life in many ways. Once he began competing in ultramarathons, curiosity about the sport led him to change his major.

“When I got into ultramarathoning, I was curious about what it would do to my body internally so I took up this field [kinesiology]. I was at first a film major. But now I love kinesiology way more then I ever did film.”

Valentino had just this one message: “I would just encourage anyone who reads this and seems somewhat interested to not necessarily run an ultra but if they want to run a 10k or a half or a full [marathon] to go out and try it because it’s definitely inspiring on every level.”