Are people pure explorers? Writer and science journalist Alex Hutchinson tackled this query in his newest e-book, “The Explorer’s Gene.” It has parallels to his 2018 e-book, “Endure,” in addition to Dave Epstein’s “The Sports activities Gene,” all of which think about the methods “nature” and “nurture” contribute to elite athletic efficiency.
Hutchinson’s latest e-book incorporates historic and scientific analysis to elucidate why, how, and to what profit we pursue new frontiers, of their many types. He presents private reflections on exploration, too, together with a household hike in Gros Morne Nationwide Park in Canada and a crew orienteering competitors he entered when he wanted a break — and a brand new problem — after years of blazing quick observe and street working.
As I learn the e-book, I puzzled what number of path runners have related origin tales to Hutchinson. Okay, few of us have run 13:52 within the 5,000 meters. However loads of path runners have backgrounds in observe and street working earlier than looking for the novelty of latest distances, elevation profiles, and terrain sorts.
For this month’s column, I took a pattern set of knowledge from the DUV Extremely Marathon Statistics database to contemplate how path runners “discover” totally different occasions, distances, and race places. Since Hutchinson, our inspiration right here, lives in Toronto, Canada, I used for my dataset the 232 finishers of the 2025 Sulphur Springs 100kwhich takes place in the identical basic area of Canada (1). There are such a lot of methods to discover as a path runner, so my concentrate on race outcomes is not going to seize how runners discover via coaching runs, working adventures, or quickest recognized time makes an attempt. Nor do I’ve a whole image of every particular person’s expertise exterior of path working. For instance, Canadian Olympian Christ Duchene was among the many finishers of the 2025 Sulphur Springs 100k, however her street racing expertise isn’t captured within the DUV database.
Runners participating within the 2025 Sulphur Springs Path Races. Photograph: Sue Sitki
Traits within the Dataset
I began by wanting on the number of race codecs that Sulphur Springs 100k finishers had collectively accomplished. The chart under exhibits a collection of the distances and codecs represented, although I excluded some area of interest distances that had solely been accomplished by a single particular person, such because the Bathwater 135 Mile or Transgrancanaria 128k. The runners have collectively explored quite a lot of distances, with 50-kilometer races being the most well-liked.
Chart Displaying Occasion Breakdown by Distance
The bar chart above exhibits the 232 finishers of the 2025 Sulphur Springs 100k collectively had essentially the most finishes in 50k races, with 100k, 50-mile, and 100-mile distances being different in style choices.
Notably, 43 runners (18%) seemed to be exploring path working and ultrarunning via the very act of finishing the Sulphur Springs 100k. For these runners, the Sulphur Springs 100k was their first or solely end result within the DUV database, suggesting it was presumably the primary ultramarathon they accomplished.
Exploring was additionally evident within the geographic sense. Among the many 232 runners within the dataset, 95 (41%) had raced abroad. The most typical race places exterior of Canada have been america and Europe. The U.S. was an unsurprising chief contemplating its proximity to Canada. People have been a large minority (13%) of the race finishers, so it tracks that different extremely finishes included loads of U.S. races.
The beginning of the 2025 Lavaredo Extremely Path, which is a well-liked European vacation spot race. Photograph: UTMB World Collection
Lastly, my dataset signifies the 232 finishers had collectively accomplished 552 totally different occasions. This determine could also be inflated if any occasions modified their names through the years, however it nonetheless signifies these runners with multiple extremely end sought out some — or a number of — selection.
However, as I’ve stated earlier thanI’ve a variety of respect for runners who check themselves by returning to the identical occasion greater than as soon as. Evaluating our health towards earlier variations of ourselves will be one other model of exploring, and there have been Sulphur Springs finishers who seemingly share that view. A couple of examples I noticed within the knowledge have been: Karen Hollandwho has two finishes on the Ten Vista 100k; Mark Careywho has two finishes on the Bromont Extremely 160kand Jordan Bieremawho has run the Sulphur Springs 50k six occasions and the race’s 100k occasion twice.
Surprising Findings
In fact, as Hutchinson makes clear in his e-book, exploration can take many types. It isn’t restricted to racing often, or in unique locales. As I see it, exploring also can appear to be: Signing up in your first extremely, getting a DNF since you examined — and located — the boundaries of your endurance, returning to racing after time away, returning to the identical race to enhance upon your time, intentionally gaining expertise on new varieties of terrain, working a brand new route, making an attempt to stick to a coaching plan when life will get loopy … the checklist goes on.
For me, the nice shock on this evaluation was seeing what number of runners discover trails inside their dwelling province or area with the occasional ultramarathon. It was a welcome counterweight to the FOMO and upward social comparability typically facilitated by social media. For instance, did it really feel to you want everybody was on the Western States 100 this yr? Nicely, most runners in my pattern dataset have by no means raced within the U.S. and 75% of those runners haven’t accomplished a 100 miler.
And does it really feel as if everybody else races typically, when your loved ones has to juggle the logistics of childcare so you may spend a day at a neighborhood race? In actuality, simply 12% of this yr’s Sulphur Springs 100k finishers common greater than two ultramarathons per yr, because the graph under signifies.
That is according to “UltraRunning Journal’s” 2024 participant statistics, which confirmed 51,573 runners had a mixed 68,228 ultramarathon finishes in North America — that works out to 1.32 finishes per runner, a determine which will enhance modestly when races on different continents are thought-about.
Chart Displaying Common Extremely Finishes per Yr, per Runner
Chart displaying the variety of extremely finishes per yr logged by finishers of the 2025 Sulphur Springs 100k.
Does it really feel as if everyone seems to be racing internationally? Solely a minority of runners in my dataset have performed so, and 32% of these runners are People who had traveled to Canada for this very race. Touring for this established race (a Western States 100 qualifier), which takes place inside 100k of the U.S. border and the place the forex change fee favors People, has comprehensible enchantment for quite a lot of American runners.
However even among the many proportion of Canadian runners who’ve participated in ultramarathons internationally in earlier years, the quantity doing so in 2025 could also be decrease. I calculated the variety of worldwide runners (and Canadians particularly) on the beginning checklist for a number of U.S. ultras in 2025, together with quite a lot of the most important occasions in addition to occasions in states alongside the Canada-U.S. border. Canadian participation charges, and worldwide participation charges extra broadly, have been typically down from the earlier yr.
Canada’s Marianne Hogan striding out within the excessive nation on the 2025 Western States 100. Photograph: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Even within the 2022 survey outcomes for the Path Extremely Undertaking, runners with worldwide racing expertise have been within the minority at 29%, regardless of drawing from volunteer survey respondents, who have been extra prone to be passionate ultrarunners, as assessed by their consciousness of and willingness to finish the survey (2).
Does it really feel as if everyone seems to be working super-long races of 200 miles or extra? The thrilling media protection of the 2025 Cocodona 250 mile definitely elevated consciousness of those occasions, however they’re nonetheless very area of interest. Solely six of the 1,927 race leads to our dataset have been for races of this format. Solely 0.3% (505 of 145,186) of the North American extremely finishes recorded by “UltraRunning Journal” for 2024 have been 200 milers (3).
Closing Ideas
I believe path working and ultrarunning are splendidly conducive to exploring new locations, new challenges, and our bodily and psychological limits. The information suggests I’m not the one runner who feels this manner. Taking a look at this month’s knowledge set, we see there isn’t, nonetheless, a slender definition or single blueprint for the right way to discover within the sport. The attractive and generally irritating factor is that we get to determine it out for ourselves.
Name for Feedback
- In case you’ve already learn Alex Hutchinson’s “The Explorer’s Gene,” what’s your tackle it?
- Does the info offered right here replicate your personal expertise or observations at races?
- How do you discover, both inside or past the context of ultramarathon races?
Notes/References
- There could also be a number of readers of this piece who will emphasize that Hamilton is just not a part of Toronto, and subsequently take concern with me describing the race location as being in “the identical basic area” as Toronto. For these readers, please needless to say I reside in Winnipeg, virtually midway throughout the continent. For me, if a race is inside a four-hour drive of the place you reside, it’s in your area.
- Supply: https://www.trailultraproject.com/survey
- Supply: https://ultrarunning.com/calendar/stats/ultrarunning-finishes
