History

Dr. Marty Hoffman had the idea of a non-profit foundation to support international research related to ultra-endurance activities in the mid-2000’s.  The foundation was to be call the Ultra-Endurance Exercise Research Foundation.  But, that never got off the ground because it was too early in the development of ultra-endurance related research and it preceded the rapid growth in ultramarathon participation that was seen shortly thereafter.

Over the subsequent years, Dr. Hoffman focused on building a research program related to ultramarathon running, and then in 2014 he started a conference to serve as a forum for scientists and clinicians to share new information related to ultra-endurance sports science and medicine, the Congress on Medicine & Science in Ultra-Endurance Sports.

These efforts laid the groundwork such that the additional energy from Drs. Patrick Basset and Volker Scheer allowed for the establishment of the non-profit foundation.  The Ultra Sports Science Foundation was formally established in France in 2016, and in the United States in 2017.  The Foundation has overseen the annual Congress since 2016, initiated a competitive research grant funding program in 2017, and continues to expand on various educational opportunities.

Our logo of three interconnecting rings was adopted for the initial Congress on Medicine & Science in Ultra-Endurances Sports.  The intent was for the logo to represent the focus of the conference - the overlap of medicine, science and ultra-endurance sports.  We retained the three interconnecting rings for the Ultra Sports Science Foundation logo, and this was placed within an encompassing circle thus representing the three main missions of the Foundation – research, education, and health and safety – within the sphere of the wide variety of ultra-endurance activities.