17 Simple Lessons for Long-Term 100 Mile Success
Getting confident at 100-mile races doesn’t magically happen the moment you finish your first.
Neither does getting reliable at finishing them.
And learning how to run them sustainably over the long term takes more time and mastery beyond that.
Figuring that all out on your own like I did takes running a lot of 100s over decades.
One of the reasons I coach is to save you the time, and trial and error it took me to get almost 130 100-mile finishes.
So here’s a sample of lessons I’ve learned about the process of running an ultra, from my own journey and from that of friends who’ve finished tens of 100s as well:
Don’t wait for life, training, the weather or anything else to be perfect. You’ll be waiting forever.
Accept pre-race nerves. Eventually, they become a natural part of the process.
Create a race strategy more substantial than hope or luck. Then, be willing to adapt it as you go.
Run your own race. Never, ever assume others know more or better than you do.
Focus your energy where you want to go. Run toward the finish, don’t flee from cutoff.
Take responsibility for your race. For your training, gear, food, navigation, strategy, crew, pacer…and your results. No blaming anything or anyone else.
When problems arise, as they will, solve them like puzzles instead of stopping them like barriers
As long as you’re not out, you’re in. Keep moving.
Control what you can control, and control what you think about the rest.
Commitment is a more sustainable fuel than competition. As in committing to yourself to finish or run your best instead of competing with other runners for time, place, miles or some other external measure.
Trust your ability to run it on your own. The day will come when you need to and besides, race volunteers are pretty awesome.
Make your own decisions about what’s best for you based on your reasons. Learn from others but trust your own answers.
Don’t waste time arguing with what is. You won’t win and the clock is ticking while you do it.
Don’t make DNFs mean anything more than you’re one step closer to a finish.
Define success for yourself, and allow it to be different every race.
Learn from EVERYTHING, not just mistakes.
Be willing to bet on and believe in yourself…way before there’s proof.
Notice that nowhere in this list did I mention getting the right training plan, diet or gadgets.
It’s all in how you approach it, see it, and think about it.
And most important, how you see and think about yourself.
What’s in your head is the most important part of an ultra.
That’s why life coaching - looking at how your thinking is creating your results and changing it where you want to - is so important.
I coach to save you the time it took me to learn this, so you can spend more time seeing what you’re capable of doing.
Email me. Let’s talk about how it can help you reach your goals easier and more reliably for the long-term.
