Ulli Kamm

Walking his way into history

Ulrich Kamm is a remarkable man.  For those of you who’ve met him, walked with him – you already know this.  What you may not know are some of the details behind his remarkable feats.  He’s entering forty years of finishing hundreds – which is a milestone worth noting and sharing.

Born on July 29 in 1947 in Germany and moved to the U.S. in 1997, he ran his first ultra, a 50k, in May of 1966 near Munich, Germany.  While he claims that its impossible to say which 100 mile race is the most difficult, that first one may have been the toughest because he didn’t know what to expect or how to train.  It must have had a profound affect on him, because he’s now competed in 229 ultras. 

He walks every single ultra he does – and, of course, he has highs and lows including one race where he traveled for 43 miles without food or water.  He’s proud of completing 100 miles in less than 24 hours and for finishing the Hardrock 100 ten times.  For his lows, his DNFs are for excusable (even by ultra standards) situations including hepatitis, typhoid with a 106 degree fever and the like.

His favorite ultras are Hardrock, which is “the ultimate trail race” for him, McNaughton, which he loves for the course, and Laramie, for which he likes the family atmosphere and scenery.

Along with Traudl, his wife of 33 years, Ulli has done some race directing of ultrawalking events (ultrawalk.com) including the Ultrawalk 200 where 6 people from 4 countries walked together for 200 miles in 67.5 hours to set a new world record.

He has seen many changes over the years including nutrition (gels, bars, energy drinks etc.), the introduction of trailrunning shoes (they used 2mm in. thick soles in 1968), and knowledge of how the body reacts to endurance events.  With all the new technology he claims that success still comes from never giving up, having fun and not taking races too seriously.

While he claims that staying ahead of the cut-off times is growing more difficult for him, he was still able to complete 5 100 milers in 2007.  So what’s next for Ulli?  He’ll “celebrate” 40 years of finishing 100 milers by doing more of course.  He plans to do the Moab 100 followed by Lean Horse 100 … and then, more 100s of course.  He’ll keep going so long as he’s still having fun and enjoying the trails.