Running marathons has been a part of most sports training programs. This somehow made others overlook the truth that running is in itself a sport. Through the years marathon training and its varied types kept interested athletes busy training.

Generally, sprints and marathons hold the main events that gather runners from all parts of the globe both in high and low profile competitions. Sprints are the shortest races ever practiced. They last only for a few seconds. Sprinters are trained to run their fastest and finish the entire distance of the race in the shortest possible time which is approximately ten seconds. This is why sprinters are expected to exude endurance and speed at all times.

Regular sprints range between 60m to 600m of distance while middle-ranged ones cover a minimum of 800m to 300m. The latter is expected to be run by ten minutes at the least but it can extend for some more minutes. Long distance races, on the other hand, have a time limit of 20 to 40 minutes as they cover around 5,000m to 10,000m. The second and third type no longer carries the label sprint anymore because of the longer distances they entail.

Marathons and half marathon training are the ones stealing the limelight these days when it comes to running competitions. Any organization usually holds marathons to promote their advocacies with famous people from the society as the main participants. Running marathons is also known currently as the tried and tested program to lose weight while building up strength, speed and endurance among its participants. Runners of marathon generally do not mind getting the first place. What they are really after is completing the race within their personal time goals and beating their personal bests.

Marathon can be divided in to half, full and ultra-marathon. Each of these is actually labeled according to the distance they cover. Let us first have a comparison of the half and full marathons. As the term suggests, half marathon is half (about 13.1 miles) the distance of the full (about 26.2 miles) marathon. Half marathons are ideal for beginners who have just had months of training. Most people who do half marathon training programs are those who are under weight management and not up to competing in a race. More so, they cannot commit to a stricter training schedule.

Meanwhile, a full ultra marathon training requires a high volume training program. Thus, it demands greater commitment from its trainees. Runners who want to run a good full marathon must complete high mileage weeks. They must be ready to accomplish 20 mile long runs way before the race day. Since it entails longer distance, participants who are able to cross the finish line earn more prestige than those who complete a half marathon.

Consequently, ultra-marathon runners are hailed heroes of the sport. They are the seasoned runners who have been training and running marathons for many years. Their stamina makes them finish a usual ultra-marathon of 100 miles in no time. Besides the said distance, elevations and rough terrains are the added challenges for this race type. In some cases, ultra-marathons last for many hours or even for more than a day. And what makes them hard to complete at times for the participants is the presence of violent weather changes during the entire race.