World’s Most Extreme Race Has One Finisher

This puts any struggles we might have while running in perspective. The “La Ultra – The High” ultramarathon is a 138-mile race that traverses a Himalayan pass at 17,700 feet. The entire race is above 11,000 feet in altitude, and featured a small avalanche.

Only three people could be persuaded to run it, and only one finished – Mark Cockbain covered the distance in 48 hours and 50 minutes.

Why would runners do something this extreme?

“Part of it is the democratization of the marathon. When the marathon is ho-hum, people start to jump up to 50 kilometers or 50 miles and they enjoy the challenge,” said Bryon Powell of iRunFar.com.