For a while now, I've thought that ultra marathons sound pretty cool. I have no doubts that they are brutally painful, exhausting beyond belief and a big time commitment, but still, I'd love to give one a go. There is something very alluring about the idea of running for hours along remote trails through beautiful countryside, pushing my body to its absolute limits, seeing what it's capable of. Having run a marathon, I have a little bit of experience of long distance training and an idea of the pain and mental focus required. I've often heard endurance runners say that state of mind is vital to success in long races, and from my experiences so far, it's true. Negative thoughts can destroy a run while believing in what you're doing can have a far bigger impact on performance than you might think; whenever I'm having a bad run, I find smiling to myself (okay, full-on grinning if no-one's watching) helps, to remind me that I'm enjoying it really. However, I've still only done this for three or four hours at a time at the most, usually just one or two. It hardly compares to spending all night on your feet, unable to guarantee finishing until you actually cross the line.

I am aware that not too many people share this dream, in fact I think that everyone I know, even fellow long distance runners, thinks I'm crazy to even entertain the idea. Recently I've been reading a couple of books by the American ultra runner Dean Karnazes, who seems to think nothing of running literally all night through the San Franciscan hills, and have found myself inspired to want to run ultra distances. One excerpt I particularly remember is him describing how, midway through an all-night run, he got a pizza ordered to the side of the road and then ran along eating it! What I also like about the books is that he doesn't glorify the sport; the pain, blood, sweat and tears is right there on the surface. Yes, he talks about running until you pass out but also about some of the wonderful travel experiences and camaraderie involved in the sport.

I usually receive nervous looks whenever I mention ultra running, as though I might just one day bounce out of the door to run 100 miles. I understand that it sounds like a worrying thing to do and pushing your body to the extreme is hardly safe. All I could think about, for instance, when I crossed the line of a rather warm half-marathon was salt...I was very dehydrated, unable to really speak coherently or walk in a straight line, after 13 miles. After my marathon, I was just exhausted. Every leg muscle burned, my toes were on fire and all I wanted to do was lie down, even food didn't appeal. My first words on finishing were that I never wanted to run again, my parents just laughed at me, knowing this wasn't true and of course it wasn't. Within a week I was trying to jog again and it didn't take long to get back into it. Now, nearly two years later, I've decided it's time to run another one. I know that I need much more marathon experience before I even think about attempting an ultra and I'm in no particular rush, I'd rather build up to it and be able to enjoy it.