Is this a race for people with giant butts? Not quite. A fatass race is essentially an organized “unofficial” race set up by one or a few dedicated ultrarunners. There's usually no perks (shorts, medals, etc.), course marshals (people that keep you on the course), aid stations or other forms of support, or even a timing mechanism. It's usually more like a training run than a race.
So why would you want to run a fatass?
THEY'RE FREE!
And they tend to be super cool. The people that show up for fatass races are running for the pure love of running and the camaraderie of their fellow runners. I would highly encourage any new ultrarunner to hang out at fatass races.
However, I would not recommend a fatass as a first race. The lack of support usually requires runners to carry all their food and water, which adds a fairly difficult obstacle to an already difficult undertaking. Also, the lack of course markings may make the actual course navigation difficult. Again, it's another variable that a brand new ultrarunner shouldn't have to worry about.
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I just did my first "fatass" race this weekend... But I didn't realize it was a fatass race, just knew that it was free and advertised finisher medals and an aid station at the 7.75mi turn around point. I also found out it wasn't marked, and I had no map... Thanks to the snow I found my way for the first 4 miles... Then got lost. Lets just say it was a round trip of 10.5mi to the car where I then quit the "race". I waited for the rest of the guys in the group and so that meant I walked into town and found a place that had bacon... ;)
ReplyDeleteI think if I was more prepared for a totally unsupported 50k I would have made it, but the lack or preparation meant I didn't really want to do it anymore... I guess it was a decent training run but I'm glad I'm not counting this as my first official "50k"...
Ryan aka FunRunningRyan.com
Aren't most of them in Canada though, or am I not Googling it correctly?
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