Why People Run 100 Miles (with Billy Yang)

Why People Run 100 Miles (with Billy Yang)

From Borderlands Trail and Ultra Running by Josh Rosenthal | Ultra Runner

March 30, 2026 · 32 min · Season 1 · Episode 288

About this episode

Billy Yang discusses the deeper motivations behind why people choose to run 100 miles and the identity tied to ultra running.

Why do people run 100 miles and keep coming back to ultra running even after it hurts, slows them down, and offers no obvious reward? If you’ve ever been curious about ultra running or felt the pull toward doing something hard without fully understanding why, this conversation is for you. In this episode, Billy Yang helps unpack what draws people into ultra running and what they’re actually searching for out there.  It’s less about racing and more about identity, suffering, and the deeper reasons people choose to keep going. For runners  and anyone  trying to understand why we choose hard things…

People in this episode

Host: Josh Rosenthal

Guest: Billy Yang

Topics covered

  • ultra running
  • identity
  • suffering
  • motivation
  • storytelling

Keywords

  • 100 miles
  • ultra running
  • motivation
  • identity
  • suffering
  • storytelling
  • running

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Nike

Books & works: The Why

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