That's an excellent episode of the podcast - thanks for sharing! I hadn't heard that one.

I've never done any ultras, or any marathons for that matter. I've worked up to 20 milers in training. I'm considering trying my hand at a couple marathons in 2016, but I'm not sure yet. I'm just not sure how much I'd enjoy it. I think the half is a great distance. I'd say you nailed it - anything over a half marathon can potentially be real hard on the body. Different bodies can be better equipped to handle it, but the stress of consistent marathon (or ultra) training will almost certainly have a detrimental effect down the line. The big one is knees getting wobbly, which often doesn't kick in until years after a person's hardest running is over. During training, the shin splints, IT bands, and planar flescitis can get pretty rough as well. Still, sometimes I get pretty jealous of people who do ultras. The feeling I get after a great long run is one of my favorite feelings in the world. A girl I dated in high school has a sister who's one of the top women in the ironman triathlon in the US, and she's one of the smartest and most interesting people I've met.

I saw in the podcast that you did some training for a half - are you still running?