The ultra challenge: no, you don't need to be insane or even a gifted athlete to run an ultramarathon. Here, the who, what, why and how of long-distance running

Muscle & Fitness/Hers, Sept, 2004 by Sarah Bowen Shea, Liz Neporent

For Warren's first ultra, her coach put her on a program of power walking with hand weights, running hills and stairs, doing track workouts, strength training and running 40 to 50 miles per week. The regimen enabled Warren to cover 31 miles on hilly dirt trails in 7:02 (yes, seven hours and two minutes). Now 16 ultras and countless miles later, Warren is hooked on the sport. "Every time I cross the finish line, I feel like I'm winning an Olympic gold medal," she says. "It's the greatest feeling of elation."

RELATED ARTICLE: ARE WOMEN BETTER IN THE LONG RUN?

COULD IT BE that possessing two X chromosomes is an advantage when it comes to running ultramarathons? Women--especially at the elite level--often perform better against men of equal ability in races that stretch to double, triple and even quadruple the traditional marathon distance of 26.2 miles than they do in shorter races.

"There is a 10 percent difference between men's and women's world-record times for running distances up to the marathon (length). For 100 kilometers, roughly 62 miles, the gap narrows to about 5 percent," says Owen Andersen, PhD, editor-in-chief of Running Research News (www.rrnews.com).

Women may excel over these very long distances for a variety of reasons. For starters, some (male) advantages for short distances--bigger lungs, more blood volume, greater muscle mass and less body fat--become liabilities at longer distances because they require so much energy to sustain, energy that would be better spent simply placing one foot in front of the other.

Women seem to have an easier time than men converting their saddlebags and love handles into energy. The body relies primarily on fat and carbohydrates for fuel, and burns a percentage of both the entire time an athlete is on the move. As exercise intensity increases, both sexes begin to rely more heavily on carbs, but women continue to burn a greater percentage of fat for far longer. "And even a 5 percent difference in fat-burning potential can help an athlete outlast someone with similar abilities and training," says Karen Dolins, RD, an adjunct professor of nutrition at Columbia University (New York). She speculates that women's superior butter-burning abilities may be due to more fat-burning enzymes stored in their muscles.

Many experts feel the real battle of the sexes in ultramarathoning is just heating up. According to UltraRunning Magazine, women won 12 out of 225 ultraraces held in the United States last year. That's pretty impressive given the much lower participation of women in the sport.

--Liz Neporent

RELATED ARTICLE: ULTRA-ADVICE

HERE ARE SOME words of wisdom from some runners who have been over hill and dale--a number of times.

ON TRAINING:

* Find a group you can run with who provide advice, companionship and safety.

* Don't do training runs longer than 30 miles more than six to 10 times per year.

* Listen to your body and rest when you need to. A five-mile run can be just as important as a 30-miler in the larger scheme of things.