COLUMBIA, S.C. — Nearly 200 runners took part in an ultra marathon in Columbia this weekend, testing their physical and mental abilities.
Among the participants was Douglas Myers – not your average marathon runner. A marathon isn’t even half of his longest distance. This weekend, he was one of a handful of runners who raced 100 miles in the Sandhills Trail and Ultra Festival at Sesquicentennial State Park.
“A lot of training, and a large part of it is just mental,” he said.
The Upstate Running Club organizes the event and features hundreds of local runners. Organizer Matthew Hammersmith said runners have 30 hours to complete as many laps as possible around a seven-mile loop through the park.
“We have runners; we have racers; we have walkers, first-timers,” Hammersmith said. “We welcome everybody that just wants to enjoy outside, get together, meet family and friends. It doesn’t take anything more than just putting one foot in front of the other. So if you can do that, you can be an ultra runner.”
He said runners from around the state come; some run all night, and others, like Ben Espenlaub, take time to nap, relax, or stretch.
“I call it ‘Type Two Fun,'” he said. “It kinda sucks while you’re doing it, but it’s really fun afterward.”
He said running is a fun part of the challenge, but the community is what gets him through the race.
“[The] community is great. If you’re struggling, people will pick you up, tell you to keep going and run along with you. Some people were out all night, so they were killing it,” said Espenlaub.
Myers said the weekend also gave him a chance to learn about himself.
“You have a lot of time with your own thoughts, so maybe there’s something work you’re thinking about, family, my kids, I find a lot of time,” he said. “When life gets difficult, I know, ‘Hey, I can do hard things,” he said.