My First Ultra-Marathon: Lessons Learned
With 8 km’s to go, I felt on top of the world.
Sending selfies to friends, “Check me out, man!” and texting the family, “I’m feeling great Mom!”. I felt unstoppable.
With 7 km’s to go, I felt like the world was on my shoulders.
Shocks of searing pain spread through my feet with every step. I thought to myself, “Why the hell am I doing this?”. I felt like death.
On March 3rd I completed the Addo Elephant 76 km Trail Run, a highlight in the South African trail running calendar, surely one of the most beautiful courses in South Africa. Running through the majestic Addo Elephant National Park, it is the 3rd largest national park in South Africa and the only one home to the ‘Big Seven’ (Leopard, Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Rhino, Whale & Great White Shark).
The farthest that I had ever run leading up to this event was round about 42kms, this was three weeks prior to the race. Upon signing up to the race, I had never run farther than 21kms.
Completing it within the 15-hour cut-off was my objective. I thankfully finished in 13.5 grueling hours. The waves of emotion were that of a sine curve, up down and all around, jolts of joy and waves of woe.
I would never have entered, let alone completed the race, if it weren’t for the support of an inspirational (yet utterly mad) friend — Damien Hewitt.
I had something to prove to myself, and this race was the vehicle that I was going to do this through.
As I am regularly reading about those that achieve success (have applied skill and worked hard towards accomplishing their idea of a meaningful goal) I feel that it’s my duty to share my learnings from this experience — in the hope that it could help someone to do the same.
Like so many writers have done for me…
As I’ve said before, I am no expert on the matter, however, here are 5 pointers that I think anyone should keep in mind when they’re attempting such a distance. As running is merely a metaphor for life, I believe that these pointers can be applied to achieving any goal that you have in mind.
1. Dare To Be Unreasonable
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” — George Bernard Shaw
In any sphere of life, stepping up to attempt something ‘unreasonable’ gives you a certain kind of energy, a spark to your existence. It starts to make you feel proud to walk in your own skin, with a little more swagger.
A couple of times leading up to the race I was paralyzed with self-doubt, seeing only binary outcomes such as Winning VS Losing, or, Success VS Failure. The moment that I began looking at the race as an exciting adventure, as a process as opposed to an outcome, as an opportunity to become a better man than the one who started, energy and confidence ensued within me.
Lesson: Set yourself unreasonable goals, be transformed by the process and not the outcome. Focus on how far reaching for your goals takes you.
2. Don’t Give Up — Just Rest.
“If you’re not in a rush, you can achieve any goal.”
I always used to look at running as a sport that if you slowed down, or stopped altogether, you were failing. For half marathons and less so marathons, runners generally talk about what finish times they’re aiming for.
For ultra-marathon runners, most of the discussion is just around finishing. And if you didn’t finish, it’s not a failure, you just need to go for it again.
Your primary aim is to finish the distance, your secondary aim is the time which you finish it in. Focus on finishing the task at hand no matter what, take your sweet time if you have to.
This principle applies both in training and battle if you’re really struggling to carry on, just take a breather. Rest, realign your thoughts, gather your strength — then get back on track. Do this as many times as you have to in order to reach the finish line.
Lesson: Learn how to strategically apply rest and relaxation in the pursuit of your goals, find moments of calm in the chaos, sometimes going nowhere for a bit will take you farther.
3. Optimal VS Near-Optimal
“Perfection is the enemy of good”
‘Optimal’ performers do everything that they can to achieve the greatest possible result, ‘Near-Optimal’ performers do everything that they need to to achieve the necessary result.
Optimal performers quite drinking, implement rigorous diets and train according to meticulous and grueling training plans. They aim to beat other performers and achieve relative success. They’re aiming to eke out minor improvements that will separate them from the rest.
Near-optimal performers eat well, they have a general sense of how much and how far they should be running, they race against themselves. They still enjoy the finer things in life, limiting the amount of sacrifice and focus they’re willing to apply to this particular goal. They’re aiming to focus on the big picture, the 20% of activities that will give them 80% of their results.
Decide which end of this spectrum you’re on and act accordingly. Too many people focus on things that give them minimal improvements.
If you’re running enough, eating decently and not partying like a rock star every other night, you should be sufficiently prepared for the race, that’s all there is to it.
Lesson: First focus your efforts on the activities that get you over the line, then, if you want, find ways to secure incremental improvements.
4. The Benefits Of Intentional Discomfort.
“I run because it’s so symbolic of life. You have to drive yourself to overcome the obstacles. You might feel that you can’t. But then you find your inner strength, and realize you’re capable of so much more than you thought.” — Arthur Blank
Intentionally placing yourself in the way of constructive discomfort will make you happier.
Running multiple times a week, hurting and grinding, can help you remain patient and resilient in your professional career. Finishing your runs, getting out there and making it happen, helps you to finish house tasks and work on your side business projects.
Battling with the little voice in your head that says you’re too tired, or too sore to carry on will prepare you for times when motivation is waning and the glitz of the goal is far away.
Lesson: Go about your running with the intention that the lessons learned and progress made, are coherent to your efforts to achieve happiness and productivity in all areas of your life.
5. Enjoy The Process
It was being a runner that mattered, not how fast or how far I could run. The joy was in the act of running and in the journey, not in the destination. - John ‘The Penguin’ Bingham
I went into this race with the sole aim of completing a 76km trail run. The end goal of finishing the race was always front and center, which started causing problems when the novelty of training started to wear off.
You’ve got to learn to frolic in the ocean and stop to smell the roses, or else it’s just going to be one long slog. The whole point of trail running, or at least a large part of it, is to enjoy the natural splendor that exploring the world on foot uniquely affords you.
If you run past a tree fit for a childhood fort, climb that bloody tree. If you come across some mates on the trail, stop and strike up a conversation. Smile at those running past you and greet them like old friends, dive in the dam to cool off and stop for a snack break to take in the beautiful view.
Lesson: If you’re in it for the long run, it has to be about the quality. Feeling happy when running is about the combination of purpose and pleasure being finely balanced. Too much purpose (I…must…finish!), and too little pleasure (I…must…swim!), will leave you tired and uninspired.
Why? Oh why?
As old Victor Frankl once said, “He who has a ‘WHY’ can bear any ‘HOW’”. Make sure to be very clear on why you’re attempting your great task.
If others feel that you’re being unreasonable, hard on yourself, biting off more than you can chew — you have to be able to answer the question that they will ask you, clearly and confidently:
“Why, ON EARTH, are you doing this?”
If you feel that the pain seems too much, the pleasure too little, the obstacles too many and the end too far — you have to be able to answer the question that you will ask yourself, clearly and confidently:
“Why, ON EARTH, am I doing this?”.
