Ultrarunning is a community made up of people–strange individuals who communicate with a dictionary of their own. You may happen to hear two runners talking and not quite understand what they are saying to each other, and we are here to help!
Out of curiosity, personal culture and just for fun, I have collected the most relevant slang and words that will help you understand this magical world in all its facets.
Or as.
OUT AND BACK
OUT AND BACK refers to all those routes (competition or training) where you start from point A, go to point B and return to point A via the same route.
Although OUT AND BACK courses are not very popular in Europe, these are a widely used race format in the world because they are logical and easy to organize. Leadville 100 is perhaps the example of the most famous out-and-back race in the ultrarunning scene.
P for.
PACER
These are those runners who assist other runners during a race, motivating them and helping them reach the finish line. Overseas this tradition is regulated and well-liked as an altruistic gesture among ultrarunners as well as an activity that has always existed; in Europe, however, it is usually illegal to have a PACER accompany you on a race.
An in-depth study of the topic can be found HERE
PAIN CAVE
Intralatable into Italian except as “pain cave,” PAIN CAVE is a universally recognized term in the ultrarunner community for that moment in the race when
“It’s a state where all you’re thinking, what consumes you, is the physical pain at the moment. You’re not able to comprehend anything else that’s going on or how much further you have to run. Pain is the all-consuming thing.”
Jason Koop
In short, PAIN CAVE means that moment when the runner goes to experience the absence of all other emotion and thought but pain. The ability to be able to pull oneself out of the PAIN CAVE is what demonstrates the ability of an ultrarunner.
It is virtually impossible not to have experienced PAIN CAVE at least once in your career, or to escape from it… It would be like wanting to learn to ski without ever falling: possible, but very unlikely.
POINT TO POINT.
Another type of training or competition route, POINT TO POINT are those routes where you start from a point A and arrive at a point B that does not coincide with the starting point. Translated into Italian as “line routes,” this type of route is also quite popular in Europe and Italy, although it requires a lot of logistics (to return to the starting place).
ITRA POINTS
You may happen to hear some runners talk about POINTS, and they are not referring to points for picking up a new set of free cutlery at their local supermarket, but ITRA POINTS that allow this runner to participate in UTMB.
The UTMB system involves accumulating certain points by racing and finishing at the bottom of certain races before you can participate in UTMB.
ITRA POINTS are also scores that are awarded based on rankings to runners, and they go to create a virtual ranking available on the ITRA (International Trail Running Association) website.
