Cutoff Stress: How to Keep Going

This weekend volunteering at No Business 100, I watched the difference between runners that dropped when things got tough and runners that went on.

Given the choice, we’d all prefer to have plenty of time on cutoff and never have to give it a thought.

But sometimes, no matter how hard you work, you find yourself losing cushion instead of gaining it. Whether it's heat, a long stop, or relentless climbs, your progress slows. Suddenly, the comfortable buffer you’d counted on disappears, and you’re running close to cutoff - one of the toughest mental battles in ultrarunning.

When cutoff stress sets in, you might rush through aid stations and push pace for a couple of sections only to end up exhausted with minimal gain on cutoff. It feels like you're fighting a losing battle.

You keep evaluating your pace, cutoff at the next aid station, and the number of miles to get there.

Can I make it?

How close will it be?

Is it worth going another section if I’m just going to get pulled?

Every minute you waffle in indecision, your cushion slips away and your stress rises. The longer you hesitate, the more you risk losing the opportunity to go on.

Dropping would bring a brief sense of relief, followed by a gnawing regret: Could I have finished? What if I had kept going just one more section?

The heart of the problem isn’t just the physical challenge of staying ahead of the cutoff—it’s the mental trap of over-analyzing your chances. Instead of moving you forward, your mind fixates ahead on all the effort you think it will take to finish—and whether it’s worth it if there's a chance you'll get pulled.

Ironically, this overthinking drains more time and energy than it would take to simply leave the aid station and go on.

The key to overcoming this mental trap is shifting your focus. Instead of obsessing about the odds of finishing, imagine how much better you'll feel if you give it your all - finish or not.

It’s one of those moments you get to become the runner you want to be - someone strong enough to dig deep and fight for every mile, even when the outcome is doubtful. Someone who has the confidence of knowing you gave it everything and there's nothing to second-guess.

To make this mental shift, you need to embrace the idea that getting as far as you can possibly get is valuable, even if you don’t finish.

In a practical sense, you gain more race experience this way and see more of the course.

But more than that, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment knowing you gave your all. And that effort, no matter the result, builds resilience and toughness that will serve you well in future races.

Ultimately, the reward for pushing on in the face of cutoff stress isn’t just about finishing—it’s about honoring your commitment to yourself. The person you become - by refusing to quit just because the odds seem stacked against you - is worth more than any finish line.

In the end, winning lies in knowing you did everything in your power to continue.

And whether you cross the finish line or not, giving your best is always worth it—because you are worth it.