Marathon Monks - Japan

DaltheJigsaw

AMAZING!!

Tosh

50 miles a day for 100 days is some mean feat. After a year of training (starting from a very low fitness base) my longest run so far is 17 miles which is teeny in comparison. I think I had a long sleep after that too, after eating everything in the kitchen.

But ultra marathoning is becoming quite sexy with many ultra races of 50 to 100 miles (or longer) popping up all over the World (done all in one go). There's a 70 mile one not far from me that I'd love to have a crack at. I've been inspired by the book 'Born to Run' (can't remember the author), and the Japanese Marathon Monks get a mention in there, along with the Tarahumara (another group of spiritual runners) from Mexico.

One definition of 'spiritual' is working with the mind; and when you run distance, you definitely work with your mind. I'm positive that if the Buddha donned some running shoes and Lycra he'd've gained some insights from that.

I like these monks footwear too; there's a lot of evidence that modern over engineered training shoes actually cause injury and there is a movement to return to barefoot running or a more minimalist training shoe.

These marathon monks are real running savants though.

DaltheJigsaw

Tosh said:

50 miles a day for 100 days is some mean feat. After a year of training (starting from a very low fitness base) my longest run so far is 17 miles which is teeny in comparison. I think I had a long sleep after that too, after eating everything in the kitchen.

But ultra marathoning is becoming quite sexy with many ultra races of 50 to 100 miles (or longer) popping up all over the World (done all in one go). There's a 70 mile one not far from me that I'd love to have a crack at. I've been inspired by the book 'Born to Run' (can't remember the author), and the Japanese Marathon Monks get a mention in there, along with the Tarahumara (another group of spiritual runners) from Mexico.

One definition of 'spiritual' is working with the mind; and when you run distance, you definitely work with your mind. I'm positive that if the Buddha donned some running shoes and Lycra he'd've gained some insights from that.

I like these monks footwear too; there's a lot of evidence that modern over engineered training shoes actually cause injury and there is a movement to return to barefoot running or a more minimalist training shoe.

These marathon monks are real running savants though.

Isn't that amazing!! Thanks for sharing!:)

lobster

I find these guys amazing and inspirational. Last year, I could run for 30 minutes, using the couch potato to 5k challenge but had too many injuries to continue.
I would have had to kill myself if working like these guys . . . :hair:

DaltheJigsaw

lobster said:

I find these guys amazing and inspirational. Last year, I could run for 30 minutes, using the couch potato to 5k challenge but had too many injuries to continue.
I would have had to kill myself if working like these guys . . . :hair:

I started practicing Insanity with PX90 Yoga. Pretty amazing! Check it out!!