Running 50km in the Tunnel Ultra Marathon Tunnel: A taste of the 200-mile race mind games

[@Manvmiles]

Would you run 5 hours in a 1-mile tunnel?

[@admuir]

Great insight and thanks for letting me join you for another of your crazy runs. Incredible run and no where near as tedious as I thought it would be. Hard to describe but the changing in texture of the walls and lights would really play with a very fatigued mind😵‍💫

[@Manvmiles]

Was great to have you along for the adventure mate. What next?

[@admuir]

@@Manvmiles, Terminator on Sunday….when a race has parts called “the bog” “the sting” “ the shoe wash” you know it’s going to be interesting 👍🏻

[@MrEsPlace]

This is absolutely right up my alley, or tunnel. Goran Winblad did an ultra in a circular tunnel track at a stadium that is similar to this one. I LOVE THE IDEA! I run on a trail with a lot of tunnels, under-passes, and I love them all. What a cool idea!!! Great video

[@Manvmiles]

Go try it out!

[@mthuthuzelimsobantu5546]

Thanks for experiencing it for me and sharing, I did a 100m tunnel in NZ a few years ago and felt uneasy

[@Manvmiles]

100 miles is a lot in a tunnel for sure. Felt that out there.

[@mthuthuzelimsobantu5546]

100 miles my foot! try metres

[@Manvmiles]

@@mthuthuzelimsobantu5546 Oh 😂😂😂

[@chad.haggerty]

On a bike trip and few years ago, we did a 1 mile unlit tunnel. It was also an abandoned rail line. It was an unusual experience. Before the end and seeing light again, there was a comfort but only just. 5.5 hours would have been interesting. Your comments about it being just the movement make sense. Thanks for the video and the exercise in exploring the mental aspect.

[@Manvmiles]

Thanks Chad.

[@bev9708]

😲😧😩 yep, it’s confirmed, runners are either a bit or a lot crazy!!!

[@Manvmiles]

Not sure which category I’m in 🙈

[@Seanonyoutube]

@@Manvmiles squarely in the a lot crazy category 😂

[@stuffnuggets-ashwoodrow4488]

Hey! I ran through that tunnel a couple of weeks back when I ran marathon distance for the first time. I had no idea they did an ultra in there, that's insane!

[@chrislowery1261]

Incredible achievement. Think the music would drive me nuts as well.

[@MarkLeHuray]

Thanks for that! Have the real thing in few weeks. Really pleased with your insights and appreciate you taking the time to test it out. You need to sign up for next time.

[@Manvmiles]

Oh wow. Huge kudos for taking this one on. If you have any other questions or there’s any way I can help, let me know. Can’t wait to hear how you get on.

[@milosjosic9232]

Incredibly. Great video 👏👏

[@Manvmiles]

Thanks mate.

[@TimGrose]

Nice. I do like running on old railways but have yet to do this one so motivated now to do so. There is a shorter tunnel old railway section in Heathfield in East Sussex but sadly that closed due to apparently anti social behaviour. Being a mile long (I see it is bit over at 1672m) did you ever feel uneasy on your ups and downs? I see they seem to close it at night but still open to 11pm.

[@Manvmiles]

I honestly felt good for most of this. It's quite a high tunnel it didn't feel too claustrophobic. You could sense the slight difference in the ups and the downs but that kind of helped with the rhythm of it all.

[@samspade2399]

Nice. Like you say, this tunnel run seems good for building up mental resilience. Also interesting that you didn't find it claustrophobic

[@Manvmiles]

Yeah it was great for that. Think the height of the tunnel helped. It’s not too stuffy either.

[@JohnBirtchetSharpe]

Do you think the pace difference was because it was on flat pavement rather then the normal undulation , the beat might be the constant light at the end of the tunnel 🙂

[@Manvmiles]

In terms of going faster?

[@JohnBirtchetSharpe]

@@Manvmiles yes , a subconscious constant reward 'of light' might have just moved the body a little quicker. (pure armchair speculation)

[@admuir]

In part I think it was the out leg had a slight incline which made the 2nd leg feel so much easier, but I only ran 20 of the miles!!!

[@Manvmiles]

@@JohnBirtchetSharpe yeah, it's possible that's the case. I think it help with the chunking up effect where you're only focussing on the mile (or the meter) in front of you.

[@colinjones4077]

What about sweating do you sweat more than you normally would

[@Manvmiles]

It was very cool in there at the time I did it, so didn't sweat more.

[@runstretchsucceed]

what camera are you using on your head?

[@Manvmiles]

It's the Insta360 Go2. It's ace.

[@ellismccoy]

Definitely not my jam!