The Rise of the Ultra Runners: A Journey to the Edge of Human Endurance
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- Create Date：2021-07-11 09:55:16
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Adharanand Finn
- ISBN：1783351330
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Summary
Marathons are no longer enough。
Pain is to be relished， not avoided。
Hallucinations are normal。
Ultra running defies conventional logic。 Yet this most brutal and challenging sport is now one of the fastest-growing in the world。 Why is this？ Is it an antidote to modern life， or a symptom of a modern illness？
Adharanand Finn travelled to the heart of the sport to find out - and to see if he could become an ultra runner himself。 His journey took him from the deserts of Oman to the snow-capped peaks of the Rockies， and on to his ultimate goal， the 105-mile Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc。
The Rise of the Ultra Runners is the electrifying， inspirational account of what he learned along the way。 Through encounters with the sport's many colourful characters and his experiences of its soaring highs and crushing lows， Finn offers an unforgettable insight into what can be found at the boundaries of human endeavour。
Pain is to be relished， not avoided。
Hallucinations are normal。
Ultra running defies conventional logic。 Yet this most brutal and challenging sport is now one of the fastest-growing in the world。 Why is this？ Is it an antidote to modern life， or a symptom of a modern illness？
Adharanand Finn travelled to the heart of the sport to find out - and to see if he could become an ultra runner himself。 His journey took him from the deserts of Oman to the snow-capped peaks of the Rockies， and on to his ultimate goal， the 105-mile Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc。
The Rise of the Ultra Runners is the electrifying， inspirational account of what he learned along the way。 Through encounters with the sport's many colourful characters and his experiences of its soaring highs and crushing lows， Finn offers an unforgettable insight into what can be found at the boundaries of human endeavour。
Reviews
Diana
，
Damn， what a delightful book。
Jeremy Singh
，
The worst part about this book is the title。 It’s misleading。 This is more of a story af Adharanand Finn’s personal foray into the world of ultra runner as a journalist。 It’s great！ It’s a fun read。 It does have some history of the sport， science around running， health and nutrition and his ups and downs along the way。 Some of the biggest names in the sport are interviewed like Zach Miller and Killian Jornet and iconic races are profiled， such as UTMB， The Comrades in South Africa and the Wester The worst part about this book is the title。 It’s misleading。 This is more of a story af Adharanand Finn’s personal foray into the world of ultra runner as a journalist。 It’s great！ It’s a fun read。 It does have some history of the sport， science around running， health and nutrition and his ups and downs along the way。 Some of the biggest names in the sport are interviewed like Zach Miller and Killian Jornet and iconic races are profiled， such as UTMB， The Comrades in South Africa and the WesternStates 100。 Along his journey Finn learns more about himself， and makes common mistakes that he slowly remedies at each new race。 A bit slow to get going but you have to be in it for the long haul。 Just like an ultra。 He delved into the history of ultra as a sport， the science behind running， nutrition， injury prevention and the perspectives of some of the biggest stars of ultra right now。 How will I use this？It’s inspiration to run and there are some great health and injury prevention tips and idea such as NKT and Felden Krais。 When will I use this？When in injured or have nagging pains。 When I’m not feeling motivated to run。 Why will I use this？I’ll become a better runner and this a better human。 “Did we just suddenly forget the pain and the suffering？ Or was the suffering why we were happy？” “Happiness needs to be earned。”NKT - anatomy of movement。 The brain adapts to injury but after the injury is healed the brain still needs to be retrained to perform normally - reducing pain。 。。。more
Joe Denton
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Incredibly written。 Loved it
Matthew Senior
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I loved one of his previous books， Running with the Kenyans and so was looking forward to reading this one & it didn’t disappoint。 I admire the fact the best way to write on a subject is to fully immerse yourself by going in at the deep end。The extremes of ultra marathon running is fully encapsulated with races from the Lake District， South Africa， US and onto the famous UTMB along with numerous crazy others。 The different mentality of ultra marathon runners to the everyday runner is blatantly a I loved one of his previous books， Running with the Kenyans and so was looking forward to reading this one & it didn’t disappoint。 I admire the fact the best way to write on a subject is to fully immerse yourself by going in at the deep end。The extremes of ultra marathon running is fully encapsulated with races from the Lake District， South Africa， US and onto the famous UTMB along with numerous crazy others。 The different mentality of ultra marathon runners to the everyday runner is blatantly apparent， personal bests/times/pacing all goes out the window。 Finishing is all that matters。A great read and his other book is on my list of future must reads。 。。。more
Phil Whittall
，
Adharanand Finn enjoys running but is ultra-running （50km or more） really running with all the kit the multi-stages， the planning and so on。 Finn sets to find out and ends up running the mother of them all the Ultra Trail de Mont Blanc （UTMB）。 This books charts the journey and the discoveries along the way。 Finn is honest when he comes across ideas that lack the science but seem to work and is honest about his regular rookie mistakes & ultra hallucinations！ At the end of it all I can't quite wor Adharanand Finn enjoys running but is ultra-running （50km or more） really running with all the kit the multi-stages， the planning and so on。 Finn sets to find out and ends up running the mother of them all the Ultra Trail de Mont Blanc （UTMB）。 This books charts the journey and the discoveries along the way。 Finn is honest when he comes across ideas that lack the science but seem to work and is honest about his regular rookie mistakes & ultra hallucinations！ At the end of it all I can't quite work out whether I want to give it a go or not。 Sounds amazing， sounds horrific， sounds torture， sounds transcendent。 I think that's the point。 Ultras are both and you might never be able to get to the one without the other。 The audiobook on the other hand was just great。 。。。more
Randall
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Relatable on some levels， but two years to UTMB is over the top。
Jacktober
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Four stars only because I leave 5 stars for books that anyone could love。 I do think you have to have a general interest in Ultra Running for this book to be a must read。 This book covered a large number of topics beyond just the history of running as a sport， and the writer’s journey to the UTMB。 The topics were all super interesting， and asked questions such as Why are female runners paid so much less than men when they place evenly？Why don’t East African runners compete in Ultras when they ge Four stars only because I leave 5 stars for books that anyone could love。 I do think you have to have a general interest in Ultra Running for this book to be a must read。 This book covered a large number of topics beyond just the history of running as a sport， and the writer’s journey to the UTMB。 The topics were all super interesting， and asked questions such as Why are female runners paid so much less than men when they place evenly？Why don’t East African runners compete in Ultras when they generally dominate long distance races？How does one deal with the pain in the middle of a race when the pain of not finishing is even worse？How will the additional money that’s trending towards the sport change the culture？Overall， absolutely fantastic for anyone interested both in the sport， and interested in considering inequality and inequity in niche sport communities。 。。。more
Heather
，
An account of a very specific subset of ultra running。 I was fascinated by the stories of these elite races。 The author’s running career is impressive。 I struggled to identify with this particular flavor of running， as the author didn’t really talk about failures。 Pain， but not failures。
Gav Fearnley
，
Don’t often write reviews， but as a bang average middle of the pack runner / Ultra runner I’ve obviously read many books like this and I can honestly say this is the best and by far the most relatable for the not massively talented but enthusiastic ultra runner。 I could relate to everything in the journey through the high and the lows， the feelings of invincibility and feeling you could run forever to falling in to the pits of despair thinking you can’t possibly take another step。 I’ve even had Don’t often write reviews， but as a bang average middle of the pack runner / Ultra runner I’ve obviously read many books like this and I can honestly say this is the best and by far the most relatable for the not massively talented but enthusiastic ultra runner。 I could relate to everything in the journey through the high and the lows， the feelings of invincibility and feeling you could run forever to falling in to the pits of despair thinking you can’t possibly take another step。 I’ve even had the same hallucinations involving buildings in woods and imaginary cows blocking the path！ Fantastically honest book with great stories and interviews along the way involving the legends of the sport。 After a couple of years off from ultra running I’m now looking at races again 。。。。。。。。。。。。 。。。more
Eric Michiels
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Fantastic book！
Kent
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The depths of UltraI have heard about the pain seeming to disappear at some point once you have run far enough。 In this book Finn describes that eve t multiple times and how it seems to occur。 Overall I enjoyed the writing and appreciate the journalistic style。 It was a bit harder to read than some other ultra books。 The author is a talented runner based on his times and descriptions in the book。 This makes it a bit harder for the back of the pack group that can long for those kind of times。 The The depths of UltraI have heard about the pain seeming to disappear at some point once you have run far enough。 In this book Finn describes that eve t multiple times and how it seems to occur。 Overall I enjoyed the writing and appreciate the journalistic style。 It was a bit harder to read than some other ultra books。 The author is a talented runner based on his times and descriptions in the book。 This makes it a bit harder for the back of the pack group that can long for those kind of times。 The book still presents a great accounting of how ultras progress and how you learn from the mistakes。 It is also interesting to read about the human connections as we finish over a year of pandemic life。 。。。more
Louise Peterson
，
Maybe I only liked this book because I’ve recently gotten into Ultra running， but I thought this book was excellent。 My favorite running book to date。 Similar structure to Born to Run in that it layered history of the sport with stories from stars all while the author pursues personal endeavors。 10/10 recommend。
Trevor Pownell
，
Adharanand Finn jumps headfirst into the world of ultrarunning and tosses back great stories & experiences to the readers on this side of the sport （the amateurs， that is）。 He writes in a way that's inviting， light， and knowledgeable - giving enough detail to understand the dynamics and stars in ultrarunning today without ostracizing any level of familiarity。 Like Born to Run， it's hard to not walk away from this book thinking， "why shouldn't I try an ultra？" Fun book。 I'm personally biased to l Adharanand Finn jumps headfirst into the world of ultrarunning and tosses back great stories & experiences to the readers on this side of the sport （the amateurs， that is）。 He writes in a way that's inviting， light， and knowledgeable - giving enough detail to understand the dynamics and stars in ultrarunning today without ostracizing any level of familiarity。 Like Born to Run， it's hard to not walk away from this book thinking， "why shouldn't I try an ultra？" Fun book。 I'm personally biased to liking this weird sliver of the world。 “Most of the time we exist in a constructed world where everything is designed to keep us comfortable， keep us away from the rawness of life。 But we evolved to exist in an environment that would often be tough， difficult， dangerous， and deep down I think we long for a connection to that ancestral existence。” 。。。more
James Healy
，
Gonzo journalism meets ultras。 Other reviewers mention it sometimes feels like a series of race reports linked by a bit of narrative。 Also that it's an imperfect and unbalanced view of the sport， in particular glossing over many achievements by woman。Those things are true， but it is what it is。 An above average amateur marathon runner decides to try ultras， documents his training and progress， and along the way meets members of the community and explores the ultra world。 Why people do it， the di Gonzo journalism meets ultras。 Other reviewers mention it sometimes feels like a series of race reports linked by a bit of narrative。 Also that it's an imperfect and unbalanced view of the sport， in particular glossing over many achievements by woman。Those things are true， but it is what it is。 An above average amateur marathon runner decides to try ultras， documents his training and progress， and along the way meets members of the community and explores the ultra world。 Why people do it， the diversity challenges， the mystique around events like UTMB and comrades， and just how hard is it to keep going after 80 miles。A refreshing break from the sports pro biography format。 。。。more
Jill
，
I am tempted to rate this book lower because even as a running enthusiast I found this mostly insufferable （somehow boring accounts of races and author isn’t very likable）， but the last chapters were moving。 And the explanation of the appeal of ultra running resonated with me and my running （but not tempted to run ultras）。 The chapter on him “introducing Kenya to ultra running” was absurd and ignorant and reeked of white savior BS。
Kaspars Koo
，
The first ultra book not written by an elite runner that I have read。 So might be interesting to read to see ultras through a normal runner's eyes。 The first ultra book not written by an elite runner that I have read。 So might be interesting to read to see ultras through a normal runner's eyes。 。。。more
Willem Gheysen
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So motivational！
Dima Manuel
，
As I train for my first ever ultra I find the journey to be very lonely at times。 Books like these help remind me that I'm not alone in my crazy dreams！I learn so much about running from these books。。。about diet， form， the mind， willpower。 I also learn about common mistakes runners make and fix those in my own training。 The stories that are told are so often crazy and so inspiring！Thank you so much！ 🙏♥️ As I train for my first ever ultra I find the journey to be very lonely at times。 Books like these help remind me that I'm not alone in my crazy dreams！I learn so much about running from these books。。。about diet， form， the mind， willpower。 I also learn about common mistakes runners make and fix those in my own training。 The stories that are told are so often crazy and so inspiring！Thank you so much！ 🙏♥️ 。。。more
Ross Poulton
，
Finn perfectly captures why we run for silly distances and what we feel when we push ourselves to our physical and mental limits。 Without resorting to extraneous adjectives he shows how we talk ourselves into pushing even deeper than we’re comfortable admitting。 To arrive at the finish line， on the other side of darkness and pain， is very difficult to explain。 “Rise of the Ultra Runners” is what I want to give to others after I complete an Ultramarathon， to say “here - this is what I feel。”
Ning
，
Fantastic book on the world of ultrarunning， with key facts and stories from various elite athletes， while Finn records his own journey to pursuing the world of ultrarunning。 It's really inspiring and makes me want to lace up and run far！ Fantastic book on the world of ultrarunning， with key facts and stories from various elite athletes， while Finn records his own journey to pursuing the world of ultrarunning。 It's really inspiring and makes me want to lace up and run far！ 。。。more
R。L。
，
A delightful read。 I laughed， got emotional， laughed again。。。Finn captures the true heart of running。
Jill
，
I started running a few years ago， and have since developed a fascination with the ultra runners。 I have barely worked my way through 10k， so I just can't even imagine what it takes to get through 50+ miles。 These people are not just athletes - they are something else entirely。 I think the author gave me the best perspective when he said that he didn't feel like a runner in an ultra race， since so much of it involved not actually running。 So even within the sport of running， which seems simple e I started running a few years ago， and have since developed a fascination with the ultra runners。 I have barely worked my way through 10k， so I just can't even imagine what it takes to get through 50+ miles。 These people are not just athletes - they are something else entirely。 I think the author gave me the best perspective when he said that he didn't feel like a runner in an ultra race， since so much of it involved not actually running。 So even within the sport of running， which seems simple enough - shoes， legs， go - there are factions and specializations。 This book also highlighted the subcategories of ultra races。 There's fell running， and trail races， and multi-day races， and multi-lap timed races。 So pick your poison！ Expect pain。 Expect to break。 Expect。。。。not to run alot of it。 Don't always expect to finish， and if you do， don't expect to break any records。 It seems， based on the author's description， that to finish one of these races is truly something to celebrate。 Even the best of the best do not finish and sometimes， there are races when nobody finishes。 I can't say I gained any motivation to try something like this， but it inspired me to keep going with what I'm doing， knowing that I will have good days and bad。 I may walk the distance， and I may not finish。 But at least I tried。 。。。more
Tess
，
REALLY enjoyed this book and felt like I wanted to get back into more stories after it ended。 If you like books on running， this is a must。
John McCarthy
，
recommended in PPTC as great running book， interest in ultras not necessary
Petr
，
You read about how bad it is to run an ultra marathon and it only makes you want to run one。 omg。
Suphatra
，
I cried at the end of this book。 I hadn't expected to。 This is a nonfiction book by a sports journalist about an obscure area of running， but I got swept up in the author's journey to test ultra running on his own。 Races of 100+ miles in a pain cave alone with just nature， yourself and your mind。 The sport is truly soul-defining。 I loved all the vignettes of famous ultrarunners， the travelogues of races in exotic， beautiful places， and the way the author weaved in facts， current events， and even I cried at the end of this book。 I hadn't expected to。 This is a nonfiction book by a sports journalist about an obscure area of running， but I got swept up in the author's journey to test ultra running on his own。 Races of 100+ miles in a pain cave alone with just nature， yourself and your mind。 The sport is truly soul-defining。 I loved all the vignettes of famous ultrarunners， the travelogues of races in exotic， beautiful places， and the way the author weaved in facts， current events， and even the politics of the sport。 This was a compelling read through and through and I was sad when it ended， because I wanted to know more about the people I met and the races they were running。 Highly recommend this book！ 。。。more
Cian Aherne
，
Fascinating， engaging， enthralling， I loved every page！
Melanie
，
I got slightly frustrated in the chapter where the author explained that there is inequality for women in terms of sponsorship money， and recognition in the sport。 In this very chapter， many times it was mentioned that a US man had never won UTMB， yet the author failed spectacularly to acknowledge the several US women runners who have won this race。 It felt like it would have been a good time to mention them。It became even more tiresome when he ran the UTMB himself， and gave detailed information I got slightly frustrated in the chapter where the author explained that there is inequality for women in terms of sponsorship money， and recognition in the sport。 In this very chapter， many times it was mentioned that a US man had never won UTMB， yet the author failed spectacularly to acknowledge the several US women runners who have won this race。 It felt like it would have been a good time to mention them。It became even more tiresome when he ran the UTMB himself， and gave detailed information on the elite runners in the race。 But only the elite men of course。 Zero mention of the elite women。 。。。more
Meg
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Running！ Running far！ Finn goes from marathoner to ultramarathoner for work reasons but falls into the addiction of the pain cave and brings a number of interviews with elite ultrarunners into this tale of running one of the biggest ultra races。
Alan Horan
，