Ultramarathon

Just as in your IM Kona question it depends.  They do have qualificaitons standards and then you must be approved to run so that is usually the real tough part.  Some people can do it pretty quickly, some people will never do it.

Like others have mentioned, it really depends on you. As Trixie stated, if it were just running 135 miles, that might be "easy". (really a bad word to use when talking about this race). But just think you start off in 120+ degrees at (if my memory is correct) 282 feet below sea level and finish at around 8400 feet... and in the process cover around 13k in elevation gain.

I am pretty sure you need to "qualify" and be invited to this event. You can not just sign up. All those that "qualify" and submit an entry, their paperwork goes before a board and they select who gets to race. To submit an entry, you have to have one of the following: 1)completed the race before. 2) Completed one of the events in the Badwater Cup. 3) Completed a 100mi running event. Once you meet one of those, they like you to have one of the following, in addition: 1)Ultra Running GrandSlam. 2) An event like the Eco Challenge. 3) Ultra Triathlon (double, triple, Ultraman..or longer). 4) Ultra cycling event - 500+ miles.

So, as you can see.. you will know if you are ready or not before you even submit paperwork.

On some levels, I agree with Trixie.... You may have to be a little "off" to do something like this, but that may also be why this event interests me. Even more so than any of the other Ultras out there or even.. shhhh.. Kona. I will get there some day...

Good luck ... you can do whatever you put your mind to...

Kenny

I think it took my friend like a year or 2 to train for it. She told me its not as hard as you mauy thing. I might try to do badwater someday.

I've done two ultras, the Marathon des Sables in Morocco and the Jordan Telecom Desert Cup in Jordan.

The Marathon des Sables is 154 miles done in stages over 5 days. Longest stage is 54 miles.
The Jordan Telecom Desert Cup is 105 miles non-stop through the desert between Jordan and Iraq starting at Wadi Rum and ending at Petra, Jordan.

Remember that in an ultra most people are moving pretty darn slow. It takes more tenacity and patience than athletic prowess I would suggest. It also takes some basic survival skills, good navigation (particularly at night) and the ability to take good care of your feet. These are skills that might take a while to learn and perfect. Mistakes made in a big race can really make you uncomfortable.

If you decide to do an ultra be certain you are prepared and know how to take care of your feet, understand how your body reacts to extremes of weather and distance and know your navigational skills. From there it is simply a matter of putting in the miles.

Here are some stories are about a couple races I did:
http://www.actiontom.com/