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When Gaithersburg resident Mike Broderick began the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100-mile race in May, he was in peak physical shape. By the end, his feet were four times their normal size, and he had lost two toenails.

Welcome to the sport of ultramarathoning.

Ultramarathoning—or running any distance beyond the usual 26.2-mile marathon—is a growing sport across the country, including in Montgomery County.

"Marathons are like a gateway drug," said Broderick, who coaches ultramarathon runners across the country. "You start with a marathon, then do a 50k, then try a 50-miler or 100-miler, and the gnarlier, the rockier and the more mountainous, the better."

An ultramarathon is any race longer than the standard 26.2 mile marathon, though most are 50 or 100 miles. Most are run along trails instead of the typical marathon roadway, Broderick said.

More than 17,000 people completed ultra marathons in 2008, according to John Medinger, publisher of UltraRunning magazine, most coming from either the worlds of marathon running or extreme sports.

"This is something that's growing because people want the challenge," he said.

For Bethesda resident Sarah Stanley, it's also a way to celebrate her 30th birthday. On Aug. 22 she'll take to the Black Hills of South Dakota, where she'll attempt to complete the 100-mile Lean Horse Ultra Marathon.

"We as a nation celebrate milestones in a sort of negative way, with eating a drinking," she said. "I thought what better way to turn 30 than with 100 miles?"

Stanley trains non-stop, logging dozens of miles each week. Many county residents who train for ultras stick to well-known trails, such as the C&O Canal towpath, Rock Creek Park, or Cabin John Regional Park.

Lance Crist and Maria Kozloski, a married couple from Bethesda, completed their first ultra in November, in Hagerstown's JFK 50 Mile.

Juggling three children makes it difficult to train, but the duo put in between 40 to 70 miles a week on the trail.

And while many parents are happy to sneak away to a movie or dinner every few weeks, Crist and Kozloski have different priorities.

"It's funny because the standard is to get babysitters to go out on Friday or Saturday night," Crist said. "But we get excited when we find the neighborhood babysitter that wants to work at 7 a.m. Saturday morning so we can go running."

Finding time to put in the hours of training can be difficult, Kozloski said, but it's worth it.

"This is a very individual thing for each of us," she said. "We're pushing each other to do the best we can, and it's a real sense of accomplishment when you finish."

The scene at the finish line can be dizzying, runners said. Depending on the race the competitors could've been on the trail for anywhere between eight and 30 hours. Sometimes people collapse, sometimes others just lie down. Toward the end of one of his races, Potomac resident Greg Ashe said his body was OK, but he was hallucinating slightly.

For Stanley, whose run later this month will be her first 100-miler, the physical ailments that come with extreme distance running are in the back of her mind.

"I don't care if I have to crawl on my hands and knees to get to the finish line, I'm going to do it," Stanley said.

Sarah Stanley will be live-Tweeting from the race course on Aug. 22. To follow her progress, visit www.twitter.com/sarahstanley.