Why?

"Perhaps the genius of ultrarunning is its supreme lack
of utility. It makes no sense in a world of space ships
and supercomputers to run vast distances on foot. There
is no money in it and no fame, frequently not even the
approval of peers. But as poets, apostles and philosophers
have insisted from the dawn of time, there is more to
life than logic and common sense. The ultra runners know
this instinctively. And they know something else that is
lost on the sedentary. They understand, perhaps better
than anyone, thatthe doors to the spirit will swing open
with physical effort. In running such long and taxing
distances they answer a call from the deepest realms of
their being -- a call that asks who they are ..."
- David Blaikie