For Martin Hoffman, a run in the mountains can really cover some terrain.
The 嘿嘿视频 physician and professor has been running ultramarathons 鈥 defined as anything longer than the traditional 26.2-mile marathon 鈥 for four decades. He ran his first in 1984.
鈥淭he reality is that it鈥檚 a little hard to explain if you don鈥檛 do it,鈥 said Hoffman. 鈥淔or a lot of people, it鈥檚 about establishing a challenge and feeling good about yourself if you succeed at that challenge.鈥
Hoffman is one of only about 200 people globally who have completed ultramarathons of at least 50 miles for more than 30 years. He has run races up to 100 miles, but said the 50-kilometer (31 miles) is a favorite. 鈥淚 found that to be a distance I could run pretty hard, and it didn鈥檛 consume the entire day.鈥
Splitting his time between the 嘿嘿视频 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Sacramento Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Hoffman uses his expertise to research extreme exercise. A 20-year study he leads follows the health status of people who have run ultramarathons. 鈥淔or now, I can say it doesn鈥檛 seem like there鈥檚 anything especially risky in terms of long-term health from this sort of activity.鈥
And that鈥檚 good because, though he鈥檚 taken a break from serious competition, he is still a daily runner and covers long distances in the mountains just for fun.