As someone who’s a fan of both running and skydiving, the SkyDive Ultra has been on my radar since the idea was first born three years ago. It’s exactly what it sounds like: You jump out of an airplane 2.5 miles above the earth, land, and then you run a whole bunch of miles — ranging from 6.2 to 100 miles, including “normal” distances like a marathon.
I doubt I’ll ever actually travel to southern Florida to do this event, but it’s a fun idea. I’ve only skydived once because it’s expensive, but I absolutely loved it and was on this awesome, electrified cloud nine for hours. (Side note: I didn’t tell my mom that I was doing it so she wouldn’t worry, and I highly recommend the shock factor of calling your loved ones and saying, “Guess what! I just jumped out of an airplane!”) I’ve also only run one ultra, but I’ve run 15 other marathons, so I guess you could say I’m not opposed to them. I really wonder what it would be like to skydive and then start running with that incredible high. Something tells me I’d start out running two minutes per mile faster than my marathon pace due to the skydiving exuberance, I’d hold that pace for five minutes, and then I’d spend the rest of the race suffering from it.
Anyway, it’s a small, new race that doesn’t get a lot of attention, but it’s been successful enough for the past two years that registration is open for next January’s third-annual race. The race director himself wrote a recap of it: As I suspected, most participants were local, but some were not and some had some really cool stories of what brought them to the race. I also found this race report; Mr. “Cheaply Seeking Fitness” did have a higher than average heart rate during the race due to the skydiving, which doesn’t surprise me.
If you’re not into running or skydiving, I suppose this wasn’t much of a Tuesday Time-Waster. But maybe those links will make you feel more normal in comparison?
I’ve been seriously considering this race. Completing a skydive, then running 100 miles? Why not? What gives me pause is that there is no shade on the course, and the course itself is apparently pancake flat. I like shade and rolling hills, but the draw here is really combining a skydive with an ultra. I think I might do it.
I like a few hills, too, but it just sounds so intriguing! I think I would stop at the marathon, though.
If you do it, I’d love to hear about it.