Ultrarunner Redefined, or The Running of the Monks
By Rocky Thompson on December 28th, 2006
The Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei will make you feel inadequate, even if you ran all way from New York to Missouri trying to get home after running 50 marathons in 50 days. Â
Following the “700 hundred days of moving and the seven and a half days of stillness,” the next stage towards Enlightenment is the Sekisan Marathon (sekisan kugyo), which takes place the sixth year and consists of 100 consecutive days of 37.5 mile run/walks that require 14 to 15 hours to complete. The seventh and final year, Kakudo will run two 100-day terms. The first 100 days — considered by some to be the ultimate athletic challenge — consists of a daily 52.5 mile run/walk through Kyoto.
[Trail Runner Mag]
So far 46 monks have completed the 1000-day running journey. Two monks have done the 1000-day run twice, and another killed himself halfway through his third attempt.
via Get Outdoors
[...] Possibly crazier than Dean Karnazas, but not as nuts as the marathon monks, Jason is hoping to raise awareness for the trail system which, though accessible from 60% of the state’s residents, isn’t visited by many of them. [...]