Ultrarunning Humor

A selection of ultrarunning humor.

By on March 11, 2011 | Comments

This evening one of my coaching clients sent me an email that made me laugh. It made me laugh not only because it was funny, but also because it reminded me of the wonderful attitude so many runners have. Whether we’re at the front of the pack (see, Ian Sharman) or admittedly back of the pack, we’re willing to laugh at ourselves. With that in mind, I’m sure you’ve  seen some great ultrarunning humor or come up with some yourself. Please leave a comment that’ll make us laugh, whether it’s original or a link to something you’ve seen before. Have at it … or read the comments for a good chuckle.

To get things started, here’s the inspiration for the subject. Sidney Chen recently thought of the following reasons why he wanted to finish dead last during the hard climbing sections of his first ultra, the Chabot 50k. At the time he thought he was the caboose… it turns out he failed his mission by one place. Better luck at American River, Sid!

Top Ten Reasons Why You WANT To Finish DFL
10. You get to run your own race.
9.  No need to check around you before a farmer’s blow.
8.  You get lots of time to enjoy the scenery.
7.  No need to go “off-trail” for pit stops.
6.  Aid station volunteers are grateful to see you since they can go home after you leave.
5.  It’s the better racing value – more race time per entry fee dollar.
4.  No getting passed in point-to-point races.
3.  If you’re also a cyclist, you can pretend you’ve “won” the “Lanterne rouge” (a Tour de France reference).
2.  More time to pig out at the aid station smorgasbord.

And the #1 reason why you WANT to finish DFL:

1.  No problem finding your car in the NOW empty parking lot. ;-)

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Bryon Powell

Bryon Powell is the Founding Editor of iRunFar. He’s been writing about trail running, ultrarunning, and running gear for more than 15 years. Aside from iRunFar, he’s authored the books Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons and Where the Road Ends: A Guide to Trail Running, been a contributing editor at Trail Runner magazine, written for publications including Outside, Sierra, and Running Times, and coached ultrarunners of all abilities. Based in Silverton, Colorado, Bryon is an avid trail runner and ultrarunner who competes in events from the Hardrock 100 Mile just out his front door to races long and short around the world, that is, when he’s not fly fishing or tending to his garden.