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I love it! This was what the ultra marathon community used to be like before it became commercialized and professionalized (https://mattmahoney.net/ultra/ https
by username223 1y ago
I love it! This was what the ultra marathon community used to be like before it became commercialized and professionalized (https://mattmahoney.net/ultra/ https://mattmahoney.net/ultra/, especially the story of Gravel Man https://mattmahoney.net/ultra/death600.txt https://mattmahoney.net/ultra/death600.txt). Now you can't run 50k without a crew.
EDIT: And this is what a serious amateur can do on that route: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-03-10/astrophysicist-crosses-death-valley-on-foot-in-record-time https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-03-10/astrophy...
- PaulDavisThe1st 1y ago> Now you can't run 50k without a crew. Thousands of people run 50k's without a crew every year, worldwide. Maybe even just within the US, even. Also, Hummels did his traverse in February; TFA is about doing something in July. In Death Valley, that's a world of difference.
- username223 1y agoYes, Hummels was going for speed. See the Mahoney link for people doing various DV crossings in peak heat.
- tedmcory77 1y agoMatt is such an interesting character; he once had a foot issue that he fixed with a wooden insole. Fun fact about Matt, he built a great compression algo as well.
- username223 1y agoMaybe that's what I enjoyed about the old-school ultra crowd -- they were a bunch of unpretentious geeks with day jobs, doing outdoor stuff as a serious hobby rather than a calculated bid for attention and sponsorship. You can still find them, but you have to look harder.