Personaly I think there are two reasons.



1. It's not really running. 95% of ultra runners walk more than they run durring a race. Most runners have a problem with that.



2. The amount of quality competitors is very, very low because no one has time to spend an entire weekend running two long runs and then an entire weekend for races. This lack of competition creates the false sense of excellence among competitors near the top of races. Many of these guys think they have accomplished something great when in reality they just did something others (who are more talented and would beat them at pretty much every distance) can't do due to time or financial reasons. Honestly, it's been my experience that many ultra people actually move up to that distance because they have no talent and they know how watered down the competition is. They can walk most of the race, finish in third, and tell their friends they are a great runner.



Now don't get me wrong: there are guys doing ultras that are very, very talented. They actually do run the majority of races. They were successful at marathons and just like ultras better. We have no problem with those studs.