At 5 o’clock each morning, D.C. high schooler Leila Boser laces up her shoes and escapes the indoor blues by running — for at least seven miles.
The 16-year-old is among a growing number of Americans seeking to escape COVID-19 anxieties through “ultrarunning,” in which runners exceed the full marathon length of 26 miles, 385 yards. And she doesn’t even run for her high school cross country or track teams.
She began running marathons in 2021 and finished her first ultramarathon in November.
“I started running a lot in the pandemic because I had free time, plus there were a bunch of trails near my house that were beautiful,” Leila said. “I enjoy running because it gives me a sense of freedom and peace of mind.”
The number of ultrarunners worldwide rose steeply from 34,401 in 1996 to 611,098 in 2018, according to a 2021 study by athletic shoe seller RunRepeat and sports governing agency World Athletics.
And insiders say the number has grown in the U.S. since the pandemic started, even though there is no official count.
“Coming out of the pandemic, we are seeing more athletes gravitate to trail running,” said Danielle Hirt, a 34-year-old running coach based in Arlington, Virginia. “The pandemic encouraged us to get into nature and ultrarunning is just that: no crazy crowded start lines and much of the race is ‘on your own.’”
Unlike traditional roadway marathons, ultramarathon routes wind through public parks and farmland.
More than a thousand runners participate each November in the JFK 50-Mile, which traces a U-shaped route from Boonsboro to Williamsport in western Maryland’s rural Washington County. Founded in 1963 after President John F. Kennedy challenged the military to be able to cover 50 miles on foot in 20 hours, it is North America’s largest foot race.
“Our runner field is filled every year with participants coming from all fifty states, the District of Columbia and from countries around the world,” Mike Spinner, who has directed the race since 1993, said in an email.
The 64-year-old Hagerstown, Maryland, running coach ran his first ultramarathon at age 12 in 1971 and won the JFK race in 1982, setting a then-course record of 5:53:05. Overall, he logged more than 71,000 miles between 1971 and his retirement from running in 2005.
Ultramarathons have been run since at least the 19th century, enthusiasts say. But the number and types of races have multiplied in recent years.
In 2019, the annual Marine Corps Marathon included a 50-kilometer ultra race for the first time. Competitors consider that distance, just over 31 miles, to be “entry-level” ultrarunning.
And the best ultrarunners increasingly participate in 100-mile races like the Jackpot Ultra Running Festival in Henderson, Nevada, last February. American runner Camille Herron, 41, currently holds the world record for running 100 miles in about half a day.
Many who take up the sport see it as a way of returning to simpler times and more peaceful rhythms of life.
Leila, a junior at Jackson Reed High School in Northwest Washington, will not attempt the JFK 50-Mile in March. But she is training to run the Ultra Race of Champions 50k in Virginia on April 29.
Currently, she clocks 15 to 22 miles on her long runs and totals 50 to 75 miles a week. She often races animals she encounters along the way.
Despite pushing her body “to the point of complete exhaustion,” Leila said she prefers the adrenaline rush of high-mileage running to sitting indoors in the COVID-19 era.
“I know it sounds a little crazy,” she said. “Even when your stomach hurts and you want to throw up, or your legs are cramping, you have to rely on inner strength to keep going. When you get to the finish, you feel so much more grateful because you knew you put everything you had into the race.”
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