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It's a long road for any sport to be considered an Olympic event, and especially long for the ultramarathon. But thanks to the hard work of folks like Great Britain coach Norman Wilson, there is still a fighting chance.

Wilson submitted a proposal this week to stage four ultra running demonstration events (a 100km, a 24-hour race, and two mountain running competitions) in 2009 for the Commonwealth Federation with the hopes of targeting the 2014 Commonwealth games. With the support of 15 countries, perhaps it can be the catalyst to achieve this as well as Norman's long shot goal - the Olympics. In this article, Great Britain coach Norman Wilson talks about his struggle to get ultrarunning recognized at this level, as well as how he sifts through the list of London Marathon competitors in search of those tough enough to become ultra runners on an international level, such as 2006 World 100km champion Lizzy Hawker.

One thing I hope he put on the application - Greeks were running ultras long before the marathon was added to the Olympics in 1896. It may be the original distance event!

- SD