Running long distances is about shuttering personal limitations, expending willpower, and stretching resolve to limits beyond one’s imagination. Such is Ludovic Macharia’s weekly experience.
Ludovic, 42 , has been a recreational runner for 18 years. He is also an ultramarathoner. That is to say, there are times he is on the road running for up to 10 hours a day.
If you don’t find him trying to run around a mountain on a Saturday morning with his friends, you will find him pushing 60-plus kilometres alone. Sometimes, he leaves the house for a brief run only to get back hours later to wonder, wasn’t this supposed to be a short run in the neighborhood?
He picked running in 2006 after attempting to join the army but was disqualified because he didn’t cut the right weight.
“I weighed 43 kilos while they wanted a minimum of 55 kilos. Over the next year, I tried gaining weight to achieve the qualification, but my body wasn’t cooperative. The friend I went with, on the other hand, had the right weight and therefore qualified in terms of body weight, but he needed to run faster than he was doing. I started training with him to improve his speed,” he says.
From then, running became my lifestyle. Even after failing to join the army, I didn’t stop. I kept running,” he points out.
The Monitoring & Evaluation specialist is an avid hiker as well. Lately, he finds himself converting hikes into runs, the recent one being Mt. Kilimambogo, where he made three loops (circumventing the mountain) and intends to do five in 2025.
Running ultramarathons has never been his interest. He took up the first challenge in 2023 when he joined a community of runners that made his usual 42 Km seem like child’s play.
Just like in 2006, he did not know when to stop. A year later, Ludovic has gone on more than 30 ultramarathons and uncountable standard marathons. Some he plans for and trains for weeks on end, while some just happen.
“I do not pass an opportunity to run,” says he. “There are times I have left the house for a quick dash, and I ended up running a full marathon.”
His is a continuous attempt to stretch his endurance to overcome mental and physical limits. The longest ultramarathon he has done was 70 km during the 2024 edition of the Nairobi Backyard Run. He is always going the extra mile—literally.
“I run with my community every month. We have this monthly birthday run where we convert a member’s new age to our running distance. Say, if a member is turning 50, that becomes our distance for that month.”
The BDLife caught up with Ludovic and asked him about the lessons he has picked along the way.
Running is mental
“The body is capable of so much more than you think. This is not something everybody knows about their bodies. Once you hit the road, the body’s first response is resistance because you are introducing it to something it is not accustomed to. Your performance depends highly on your mental strength. Your body listens to the sound of your thoughts. If you tell it to go the extra mile, that is what it will do. You can only run as far and as fast as your mind thinks.”
To cope with pain and discomfort, runners urge themselves on while sometimes using other strategies, such as breathing techniques.
“Pain is inevitable. When you start running, you condition your mind to embrace pain. This does not mean you ignore pain. Over time, you learn different kinds of pain and what they mean to your body. You learn which one you can embrace along the run and which needs attention. To run an ultramarathon, you must bring to the table your ‘can do’ attitude,” he advises.
The right shoes
Shoe selection is critical in both injury prevention and performance.
Ludovic points out that shoes provide support, stability, and cushioning against injuries. Being on the road for extended periods therefore calls for top-notch comfort and injury mitigation mechanisms.
“Every runner must understand their foot mechanics before buying running shoes. Some people’s feet hit the ground heel first, others hit with the toes first, while others land on their whole foot. Understanding how you run will help in your shoe selection as you will choose those that maximise your running experience,” he continues.
You can’t cheat the process.
Can one cheat the process?
“Running an ultramarathon is like preparing for an exam. You must put in the proverbial 10,000 hours. Nobody wakes up and runs a marathon without proper preparation. This includes running, strength training, resting, and observing the right diet” says Ludovic.
He continues, “Your commitment to your training determines your performance on the road. If you want to go farther, train harder. This is conventional running wisdom, and there isn’t a cheat code this far. No way to go about it.”
Rest
Running can get addictive, as Ludovic admits. Runners can forget to include rest in their calendars or ignore it.
“Resting does not negatively impact your form. Science has shown that rest is an essential tenet of training regardless of one’s fitness or performance level. It helps you recover and regain the energy you lost on the road.
I am learning that it takes confidence to include rest in my calendar of events. Anyone can try and outperform themselves with every outing, embracing rest is understanding that you are setting yourself up for better performances in the future. Resting for me is sleeping.
No gadgets, no screen time. I unplug and enjoy my eight-hour sleep.
It's not a sprint, it is a marathon
“This is perhaps the most important lesson in my running experience: It takes time. Sprinting is short and intense. Ultramarathons are long and tiring. I keep reminding myself that the goal is to finish and not to run fast. If it takes me 10 hours to finish, I am okay with that. This has taught me patience and endurance as well. At the back of my mind, I always remember that no matter how long it takes, I got this.”