Why run an ultra?

Jennifer Bonn
2 min readAug 1, 2022

As I went around and around the mile loop at my last ultra-marathon. I thought of all the reasons I love this type of race. I know when you tell someone that an ultra is anything more than 26.2 miles the person will look at you as if you have lost your mind, and I thought the same thing before I tried one. Here are a few reasons why they are my favorite races.

The type of people

I’m not sure if it’s because of the endorphins, or because doing something slightly crazy makes you happy, but most runners are extremely nice people. The veteran runners help the new runners, and I always come away having learned something new. The ultra-runners are friendly, and you tend to see a lot of the same people, so many friendships are made.

All our welcome

If you think you are not fit enough to go to an ultra race you are wrong because all sizes, shapes, ages, and fitness levels will be there, and no one will judge you. Showing up is what counts.

Inspiration

I enjoy speaking with other runners because I quickly realize that any small complaint I have is minuscule compared to what some people have suffered physically. No matter what they have as challenges, they still show up to races.

Motivation

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Jennifer Bonn

My specialties are education, running, parenting, and self-help. My book 101 Tips to Lighten Your Burden can be found on Amazon. www.jenniferswriting.org