Taking the next step - ultramarathon

I have been thinking about this decision for some time. I shouldn't. It is a matter of the heart, not the mind. Ask those already took the plunge to ultramarathon. They would know.

For those who ask what is "ultramarathon", simply put it, an ultramarathon is any run/walk event involving running and walking longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195 kilometres.

I started running seriously in Sep 2008. I joined my first 10km road race in Nov 2008. I completed that and for the next one week, I walked like a penguin.

Since then, I have ran 11 Full Marathons, many other shorter races. To many new runners, this seems like a good achievement. However, I have not participated in any event with distance longer than 42.195km.

I did say when I started running back in 2008 that 42.195km would probably be the furthest distance I would ever run.The Full Marathon was that daunting to me.

I did ran more that 42km in one crazy training run last Christmas. Something that I had planned much earlier to motivate myself to try the ultradistance run.

Recently, I registered for my first ultramarathon. My close friends would say I must be having another round of MLC (Mid-Life Crisis). Some of my runner friends would probably say what took me so long.

I remember when I started running, how much I had improved since then, physically and mentally. How running has helped me to improve my health and increase my confidence. After some time, I find myself stagnating, and in a way, comfortable. In my heart, I know I could probably do more, maybe run a little faster or longer, but I just like the state where I am now. That's nothing wrong with that, mind you. Juggling between family, work, training and other priorities is already a challenge. But something just keep my heart asking for more. I believe I was looking for the new experiences. Travel to new places, getting to know new people while also doing one of the thing I love doing, running. You see, I also want to have more interesting stories about myself to tell my future grandchildren, not just fables and fairy tales.


It is not that I want to prove something or to someone, or that I am as capable as anyone else running the ultramarathon. It is not that I was planing to break any record like running the most marathon/ultramarathon, nor I want to be famous running some ultramarathons barefooted. Not that I want to be called "ultramarathoner". No, it's never about me proving something. It's just as simple as: me, running.

I have registered for Comrades Marathon 2013, dubbed "The Ultimate Human Race", it is one of the oldest ultramarathon event in the world. There, no turning back. I will train for this and complete it.

This, will be a beginning to a new chapter of my stories.