Exhausted racers unlock new levels of ‘runner’s high’ while hallucinating during Moab ultramarathon

Runners from around the world came to Moab last week to compete in an ultramarathon called the Moab 240. Participants had 117 hours to traverse a 240-mile loop from Moab to Indian Creek, up the Abajos, into the La Sals, and back to town. Most runners average about 90 minutes of sleep per night, and the extreme exhaustion causes many of them to hallucinate. We talk to runners Aum Gandhi and Alicia Jenkins-Browder about the physical and psychological tolls of a race like this. Photo: Runners cheer for Trevon Hauth, the last runner to finish the race with just six minutes to spare before the cutoff.