I didn’t expect one ultra marathon to have such a big impact on my life. When I signed up to do my first last year, I had several marathons under my belt and was at the point that I felt I could comfortably keep going after completing one. I saw there was literally one that was local to me so I hit the old f-it button to prove to myself that I could do it. I wasn’t planning on dramatically changing my running or mindset. Here I am though. One ultra in the books and I’m completely bought in.
I’ve always loved running. Getting out there everyday and racking miles before work. Half marathons are still my fav. I am hooked. I love the speed and seeing how I rank after each one. I put my time in at the gym and hot yoga studio. Both have been huge for my speed and injury prevention. Marathons have become my excuse to travel and see different parts of the world. I end up hitting a bunch of historic sites while hunting for fridge magnets that speak to me.
Ultras are a different kind of animal. I know I have only completed one but I’ve done the runner thing and signed up for two more this year. So I’ve been doing the training, the work. For me, ultras are truly about a daily commitment to bonkers miles no matter what and that has translated for me into personal growth.
Personal growth needs a plan (and a lot of snacks)
If you want to really grow, you need a goal. A vision for yourself that matters a lot to you. It needs to be a part of how you define yourself. Then you can easily justify any amount of time you spend working towards it. That’s you investing in you. For me, ultras have become the most honest way to practice investing in myself. Part of my vision for me is endurance. It isn’t about the distance but instead the time spent grinding through miles and challenging trails. It demands and develops consistency, grit, to put in the work to do an ultra.
Side perk, ultras have amazing aid station snacks.
I’ve never been a big junk food guy. Don’t get me wrong, I like a potato chip just as much as anyone else but I just don’t include them as an everyday indulgence. Now enter the trail race. I’ve done both an ultra and a marathon on trails. Unlike regular road races, they have way better snacks. I love getting a handful of potato chips and M&Ms so much. It is something I genuinely look forward to. It’s more than just fuel; it’s part of the celebration of being out in the woods doing the grind that I earned with my training; all the time I put in to do that race and the commitment I made to personal growth to make that moment mine. I honestly don’t look at M&Ms the same way now.
The simplicity of the ultra commitment
One of the things I love about endurance running is how simple and unending the goal is: be a better runner. That’s it. When it comes to creating a vision, that simplicity and unendingness are absolutes. A vision isn’t signing up for one race. It is the lifestyle that surrounds it. The training, the nutrient, the sleep, and even the recovery are all part of it but so is what you exclude; for me that ended up being tv and video games. Your vision is how you define your lifestyle and that is something that you have to believe in because sometimes everyone around you thinks you’re crazy.
Simple unending justified insanity.
That isn’t to say that races aren’t meaningful to me. I love race day. They are a great way for me to motivate my training. They are important milestones. When I sign up for one, I am not just blocking off that Saturday or Sunday. I am setting up a roadmap for training and committing to that work. That’s the part I value the most. The work.
Signing up for an ultra means I’m committing to doing something for myself every single day. It’s not glamorous or dramatic minus tamper week where every runner is a drama queen. It’s lacing up and getting it done. There’s power in simplicity. You know that you are making a personal investment in you.
My commitment: Leaning into double long runs
The biggest change in my training wasn’t physical. It was mental. One of my friends told me plainly that to train for ultras you have to get used to running on tired legs. To do that, you got to do back to back long runs, a.k.a. double longs. At the time, the idea of doing those was a pretty big blocker for me. I knew before talking to him that I had to do them but was coming up with all sorts of excuses to not. They ranged from working a lot to fearing injury. I don’t quite know what it was that my friend said that stuck with me but it just clicked. If I wanted to take ultras seriously, I had to become comfortable running on tired legs. Period.
Something about just accepting that plain fact allowed me to commit to doing back to back long runs. It just cut through all the lame excuses I was using. Once I accepted that, it was just about showing up and making it something I really looked forward to instead. Remarkably it was listening to audio books that did it. My short runs are all about music. Long ones are where I listen to books written by people I admire or have been burning a hole in my wishlist. That let me see my second long run as another opportunity to have time to listen to those books.
As I happily trotted through my books, I stopped minding that my legs were tired and started seeing my double long runs as my time every week. Not just for my books or even the miles. It became my new way of training my grit. That allowed me to push through my tired legs and gain more weekly miles. Doing that grind has allowed me to see myself more clearly than I have ever before. I’m not just a nutter that is constantly running. I’m an endurance athlete. Everyday I get out there; I am doing the work and proud of it.
This clarity of vision for myself has changed how I relate to running and hiking. No longer is it just grinding miles or pounding trails. I regularly volunteer at local races and trail maintenance events; I donate to trail and running organizations. These trails, races, and people supporting them have helped me find the space to grow, to learn, and to become more than what I was before. It isn’t just where I like to run anymore. It’s a community that I want to be apart of as much as possible. It’s something else that snapped into focus for me.
Going after the hard thing
If ultras have taught me anything, it’s that personal growth doesn’t happen by chance. It only comes from committing to something; following up on that something; and following through on that something day after day.
Everyone can commit to doing a hard thing. If you don’t have a hard thing or if it is still fuzzy, this is what you need to do:
Choose a goal that has a direct line to something that is very important to you
You might not have a clear vision for who you want to be. I certainly didn’t. I did know however what was important and that meant I would be willing to commit to doing the work and putting in the time.
Remember that good goals are simple and unending.
Make a plan that demands daily effort
It has to be daily. There is no part time when it comes to doing a hard thing that is important to you. We all have jobs and family but don’t let them be excuses for not doing your hard thing.
If your excuses stop you, that means your goal isn’t actually important to you. If that happens, pick a different one immediately. One that is deeply connected to you.
Follow through every single day
Show up no matter what. Even when it’s inconvenient, uncomfortable, or boring.
Showing up is the hard work. It is always going to be that way because showing up is how you train your grit.
It doesn’t have to be running or even fitness related. That’s important to me so that works for me. There are other things that are important to me that I make time for too like playing piano. What you choose has to matter enough to you that you’re willing to do the work everyday. Not for a prize or applause but because it’s you working on you.
When you hit a milestone on that hard thing, look back at how you showed up again and again to make it there. Celebrate it. Make it your moment. I collect my race medals and stick them to a wall in my living room. I also look forward to hitting those trail race aid stations that have my favorite snacks because… I really do love those potato chips and M&Ms on race day. It’s a salty and sweet moment I made for me.
Push Pace 