Retreating From Society and Into Nature Has Delivered Some Magical Moments
The following is adapted from Ultra by Michele Graglia.
When I train for ultramarathons, I enjoy myself. I get to go outdoors and be on my own. Sure, it’s tough doing three-, five-, six-, and eight-hour training sessions, but if you’re not also enjoying them, then they pretty much become impossible, don’t they?
As far as the inner quest is concerned, it’s important to retreat a little from society. When we’re on display in front of everyone, this can be pretty hard, whereas if you concentrate only on yourself, you begin to listen to and understand yourself. Going ultra is a means that allows you to discover yourself in the rawest conditions, under fatigue, effort, and pain.
And then those magical moments happen. You’ll never remember what you did that random Thursday night you went to the pub downtown to drink a beer, but you’ll never forget when you popped out of that trail and a glacier opened up in front of you with a herd of bighorn sheep coming down. Or that river that was a color you didn’t even know existed — what shade of turquoise is this?! — the color of sparkling ice water cascading from the mountains.
Or…that morning you found yourself face to face with a bear.
Why I Love Training in Big Bear
Now, in my training forays, I’ve encountered a great deal of wildlife: deer, eagles, coyotes, rattlesnakes. The mountain lion, for instance, is a real son of a bitch!
However, I had one of the most beautiful experiences in the mountains of Southern California in a place called Big Bear. That’s one of my favorite training grounds. When you’re out there, you can finally detach from any social construct. The mind is free, so you can truly get in touch with yourself. You focus on what you really want to do. There are no distractions — no voices blaring from the TV or the telephone. Just gurgling water and the wind rustling through the woods.
Training in the mountains is beautiful; it’s not like running down city streets. And what’s more, you’re at altitude, which is important. The little town of Big Bear is more than 6,750 feet above sea level, and from there you can take trails that head up to nearly ten thousand feet.
It’s not just beauty that surrounds you, but the air is different, more rarefied. There’s less oxygen up there, which makes you develop more red blood cells. So, when you go back down for your race, your blood is capable of transporting more oxygen, and if the body is more oxygenated, it’s much more resilient. Oxygen is our fuel. This is one of the secrets of high-altitude training.
Coming Face-to-Face with a Bear
In Big Bear, I wake up really early and go for a run, then maybe around mid-morning, I head to Starbucks in the nearby town centre because they’ve got Wi-Fi there. I can catch up with my email and do some work. In the evening, I train again and do yoga or sit outside at my table — which is a big rock. As soon as it gets dark, I start the fire, heat up my dinner, gaze at the stars a bit, then go to bed. Two weeks straight, just like this. Alone with nothing else but me, my tent, and the fire. I’m outside all day. It’s a wonderful feeling.
So one morning, I’m flying downhill when just around a tight switchback, I see this huge butt right in front of me. Enormous. It’s a black bear as big as a car! I screech to a halt, kicking up a cloud of dust, and fortunately, the beast gets scared and starts running away.
After about twenty yards, though, he turns around to look at me. “What the hell am I running away for?!” he seems to be saying. So I stand there, totally petrified.
Fortunately, there’s a tree nearby, so I creep behind it to hide. If he attacks, there’s nothing I can do. If he wants to find me, he’ll sniff me out. But I don’t run away — I stay there and wait.
After a while, I begin to clap my hands.
“C’mon, buddy, would you move out of the way, please? I got nothing against you. This isn’t a challenge or anything, I just have to get by. You go your way; I’ll go mine.”
And just like that, the big bear kindly went away.
For more stories like these, you can find Ultra on Amazon.
Michele Graglia is a former top model and is currently one of the world’s top ultra runners. Since 2011, he has competed in over thirty ultramarathons all over the world, often winning and setting course records. He has set Guinness World Records for his runs across the Atacama and Gobi deserts. His wins in the Yukon Arctic Ultra, with temperatures below -40ºF, and the Badwater 135 in Death Valley, with highs above 130ºF, made him the first person in history to win both the hottest and coldest foot races on Earth. His motivational speaking has inspired thousands around the world.
