Ultraman is a superhero created for a Japanese television show. His mission is to use special powers to defend Japan from giant monsters and aliens; fiction with a modern twist.
But, there is such a thing as ultra-marathoners, whose special ability is being able to cover extraordinary long distances with their own two feet. Maybe not a superpower to some, but being able to run 50 miles in around 10 hours is impressive.
Colt Hedden, 29, formerly from Chanute and now Oklahoma City, ran 52.6 miles in about 10 hours last weekend.
“I’ve been in two so far, this was my second one,” Hedden said. “My first was a six-hour trail run where you ran a four-mile loop as many times as you could in a matter of six hours. In that, I completed 31 miles.”
There are many different types of races considered ultra-marathons: 24-hour races, multi-day races that span over 1,000 miles and multiple forms of trail races. They have many names, but as long as it is farther than the 26.2 miles, a full marathon distance, then it’s considered an ultra-marathon.
Hedden didn’t just get out of bed one day and decide to run an ultra-marathon, although if he did, that would make an even better story. He did it the traditional way, by working his way up, after starting to run when he was 25.
“I started out doing smaller races, then did half-marathons and marathons,” Hedden said. “I saw that they had ultra-marathons, so I thought I could probably give one of those a try. I tried it just like that. I worked my way up from full marathons to ultra-marathons.”
RUNNERS all have their own ways to prepare for these monstrous events. Hedden said some people suggest doing one long run and a bunch of short runs every day.
“My way, I learned, run on tired legs,” Hedden said. “If you teach yourself to run when you’re tired, you can keep going. You can past your point of exhaustion, when you run when you’re tired. So, I would run for six days a week for at least an hour or so every day.”
There also isn’t a specific diet that is key to prepare for a race. Hedden sticks to a Paleo diet, mostly high-protein, unprocessed food. During the ultra-marathons, the aid stations are stocked with all-types of junk food, as well as healthy food such as fruit.
“Oreos covered in peanut butter, bananas, trail mix, pop are all usually at an aid station because over the long distance you’re burning a crazy amount of calories, so you’ll have to eat foods you normally wouldn’t to keep yourself going,” Hedden said.
For example, at the last race, Hedden said that he ate three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and had a shot of pickle juice, to keep his metabolism running straight.
Hedden will be running in the Mad Bomber Run tonight.
“I’ve done the Mad Bomber two years now, and I’ve gotten second in my age group,” Hedden said. “So, I’m trying to get first this year. It’s my goal. These are more for the fun of it, I guess you could say.”
