How far is too far ?

Here in South Africa we have many ultra junkies in our running community, people who regularly run anything from 50 kays to the incredibly long races that take up to a week to complete. Reading about the six-day circuit race my friend Yvette is doing, this posed a question in my mind: “How far is too far?”

Back in 2003 I took part in my first ultra-marathon, a 50-kay race. Fifty kays…… I hyperventilated while getting kitted up for this race! I was scared like you would not believe. But when I finished it I was an ultra-marathoner and wondered what all the fuss was about in the first place. How easy it is to forget how I felt at the start of training for something like that.

I was reminded of that feeling the other day when SeanF and I started this Comrades thing, agreeing to run the 89 kays together. (Hey, that was all you, mate, leave me out of it! –– Ed.) Am I nuts? But every year thousands of athletes enter this race and while some bail along the way, most run into the finish, take their medal and never say another word about it.

Suddenly thoughts enter the mind, like “Hey, you know what, this race looks doable, a walk in the park,” and before you know it you are thinking about something even longer, a 100-miler, or worse. So now I find myself looking at the Winterton to Pietermaritzburg 100-miler and I actually want to do it…… I guess it has to do with the person you are, but I scare myself. No, really I do. And I think back to that first Rhodes Ultra: What was I thinking?

Then along comes Forumite StuW and the Augrabies Extreme Marathon. I was in awe of what Stuart reported on completing this race, and yes, I said to myself “Damn, I’d love to do that!” What the hell am I thinking? The Augrabies Extreme Marathon? Are you nuts, Dave?

Now I read in the Forum that Yvette is going for the George Archer Six-day Circuit Race of 563 kays. I swear, I was stunned as I read this. That’s 93.8 kays a day for six days! And blow me down, a woman has done this twice already and is going back for her third, which would be a record. It is all too much to think about…… 563 kays, around a track for six days…… that takes a very special kind of person.

How far is too far? I cannot answer this question, as quite honestly, I do not know how far is too far for me. I guess the only way to find out is when you push it that little bit too much and hot the wall. Not the typical wall one hits in the marathon, a much bigger wall, one that you can’t simply walk around like you do when you walk the last 10 kays of a marathon. No, I’m talking about a massive wall that looks more like a mountain, when you realise this is literally as far as you can go.