How Running Ultra-Marathon Races Can Make Your Life Easier
“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Say you’re running and you think, ‘Man, this hurts, I can’t take it anymore. The ‘hurt’ part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand anymore is up to the runner himself.”
― Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
I love Murakami. Not only because he is a great writer, but also because he is a long-distance runner, like me. And this quote is a great one which became a motto for a majority of runners. Although running seems to be like a physical activity, it is actually a mental activity. It requires motivation to start, keep the momentum and finish a run, the preparation for a race, or the race itself.
In an ultra-marathon race over 100 km, it is very likely that you will feel pain. This is inevitable as Murakami also remarked. Suffering from the pain is indeed up to you. If you complain and really believe that it will be an endless pain, your brain starts to convince you to give up the race. “Hey! What is your purpose to be in this race? What is your problem? Do you like to feel pain?” Here you either approve your inner voice or you decide to overcome the pain and reach your target: to finish the race. This feeling and desire to give up is not much different than an obstacle you encounter in your daily life. It is easier to give up when you have a problem or discomfort in your life. We generally can not avoid the event causing discomfort to us. But it is up to us how much we will suffer from the situation.
Let’s go back to that 100+ km race. It will possibly last more than 10 hours if you are not an elite runner. And this race would possibly require you at least climb up 2500+ meters and go down approximately 2500+ meters. When you are going up, you typically start walking, sometimes with the help of poles, which might last for a couple of hours. Those moments sometimes make you feel that the climb will never end, and it will be impossible for you to run again. But most of the time this does not happen. You finish the climbing stage and start running again when the route starts to go down. Just like these ups and downs in an ultra-marathon race, life is full of ups and downs. Sometimes ups come consequently one after another, sometimes the opposite. The thing is sooner or later the ascents will finish and descents will follow. We must never end our hope to reach descents. After finishing more than 10 ultra-marathons, I started to realize this much more than any stage in my life before started running.
“It is not a problem to go slow. The real problem is to stop”. This is a motivation quote we encounter in races. Of course, there is a time limit for races but if you are able to keep the momentum in a race and do not stop “mentally” it is easier for you to finish a race. Think about a project you participated in at work. Think about how you slowed down and stopped somewhere within the project and that might possibly have caused you to be late to reach the deadline or even fail to complete the project. But if you had maintained the stability and momentum, the progress would possibly be better. So what is important is “not stopping” and always being aware of the progress, just like a tough race.
Life is full of decisions and requires planning. Your relationships, work, school … You have to plan your day, your project, your trip, budget, etc… You have to make decisions. They are all simulated in a race… Should I go fast or slow? Shall I eat salty or sweet? Did I drink enough water? Am I able to reach the checkpoint before cut-off time if I go a bit slower? Should I change my top, it started to become windy…I will not give up! After 10 kilometers I will have a rest… I should follow the signs… No, I’m not sleepy… I feel very energetic… These thoughts are very familiar to anyone who participates in a race. You should have a plan! You should make decisions and you should learn from your mistakes! Isn’t this like life itself?
So, why not register for an ultra-marathon if you have trained enough? Or start running tomorrow morning if you are not a runner? You can share your thoughts or experiences in the responses.
