100 Marathons and Ultras in Perspective

I will start by saying, I'm not taking any of this too seriously, and neither should you. I'm also not saying that reaching 100 marathons/ultras isn't something to be proud of. It is, but on the grand scope of things, running statistics, key word statistics, are trivial. It's like asking someone on their birthday if they feel older. Fair warning though, you'll get to see a bit of my analytical nerdy side in this post.

At an age of 33 years 119 days, I am now officially a member of the 100 Marathon Club of North America. Yes, it's a real club. I am also, unofficially, the 12th youngest North American ever to reach 100 marathons. My first marathon/ultra was on November 20, 2004, and my 100th on October 18, 2014. It took 9 years, 10 months and 29 days. The moment came to fruition at 11:45am on a beautifully verdant, albeit unseasonably warm autumn day in Hollister, NC. The site was the Medoc Trail Marathon, a delightfully fun, smaller, and yet incredibly charismatic event. In retrospect, it was a far better setting than some larger race with more fanfare.


The 100 Marathon Club of North America currently has 450 members. However, I know there are more because I know a handful of others who qualify, but probably don't know, nor care, to be in the group. Safe to say there are probably 10% more people then what is listed, so roughly 500 total.

The top 12 youngest Americans to 100 currently looks like this, but I am sure in the next few years I will get bumped out, not that it really matters.

1) Brenton Floyd (18)
2) John Lui (24)
3) Laura Skladzinski (28)
4) Ian torrence (reached 100 ultras by 29, probably much younger to 100 marathons/ultras)
5) Justin Gillette (29)- Has the fastest average time for his 100 marathons
6) Steve Walters (30)
7) Matt Jenkins (30)
8) Hideki Kinoshita (32)
9) Leslie Miller (32)
10) Jonathan Young (32)
11) Keith Knipling- I have no idea where he would rank, but I'm fairly sure he's in the top 5-6
12) Me (33)


I will also note that one distinct difference, again it really doesn't matter, is that a majority (86 out of 100) of my marathons occurred while completing ultra distances of 31 to 103 miles. Only 14 were actual races of 26.2 miles, whereas most of the 100 marathon club members totals are soley from marathons. Based on the statistic of having ultras comprise over 50% of "marathons", only Ian Torrence and Keith Knipling completed their 100 faster. That's pretty good company.

One final crazy statistic is that in 100 marathons/ultras I completed a total of 4,198 miles, or an average race distance of nearly 42 miles. What is the significance in that? If I had run exclusively marathons, like most of the runners in the 100 marathon club, my 4,198 miles would actually be equivalent to running 160 marathons. Since 100 marathons, for most folks occurred at 2,620 miles (26.2 x 100), I was curious to figure out when I may have reached that total.

As it turns out, to the exact mile, I unknowingly reached 2,620 miles at the Crooked Road 24 Hour on December 6, 2011. The funny thing is the distance I chose to do that day was completely arbitrary, and I chose to run 62.7 miles because I had never done a 100k. Thus, I completed the equivalent of my "100th marathon" at age 30 years 168 days, which in 2011, would have made me the 5th youngest American to 100 marathons. Subsequently, after 2011 a handful of younger runners hit their 100 marathon milestones, hence why I am now 12th on the list.

I will say for certain that running as many marathons and ultras as possible has NEVER been my objective, nor ever will be. I simply run to have fun like anyone else, sometimes to push myself, and other times just to enjoy the freedom of the outdoors among friends. If I had really wanted to, I could fairly easily run a marathon, or two every week (like the Marathon Maniacs Club) and be somewhere around 400-500.

In all honesty, not that it isn't a big deal to do something like 52 marathons in 52 weeks, but most fit and experienced distance runners could trudge through a marathon any given day or weekend, but choose not to. Like me, they have a life outside running, and can't afford, or don't want to spend that kind of money constantly traveling and paying entry fees. They would probably also rather select a few focus races per year and keep the emphasis on quality over quantity. I also don't encourage, believe it is healthy, or admirable to run too many races. Running too much, especially before we physically mature in our early 20's, and even after, will no doubt lead to unforeseen health risks years down the road.

That being said, I've had tons of fun along the way and shared the miles with many cool characters. I'm looking forward to the next 100, but alas, as I alluded to before, it is JUST running ;-)