How to Be a Real 100-Mile Runner

I often get asked if I’ve run Western States 100, Hardrock 100, or Badwater 135.

The person asking usually says, “Because you’ve done everything.”

Actually, I haven’t. I haven’t done any of those three.

When I first started getting this question, I’d feel an instant pang of insecurity because a REAL 100-miler would have finished at least one of them…and had entries in for the others.

I’d brush the feeling aside, reply “No,” and explain why I hadn’t.

Then it came.

The response was almost always a surprised and disappointed, “Oh.” End of conversation. 

And the person would excuse themselves to talk with someone else.

Leaving me feeling like a disappointment. Like a hobby 100-miler who won’t tackle the real 100s, and has just been found out.

So I get not feeling like a real 100-mile runner. I’ve been there, even after finishing multiple 100s. 

You run races to prove yourself to others.

Stress about placing or getting the buckle instead of living the experience before it’s over.

And freak about the problems that inevitably happen, instead of solving them so you can keep moving.

And the truth is, it’s all in your head. 

Notice no one actually said I wasn’t a real 100-miler. I just assumed that’s what they were thinking, and that they were right…and I needed to fix it so I could finally relax and be a real 100-miler. 

How can I be sure it’s all in my head? Because even if someone flat-out told me I was a real 100-miler, I could still doubt it.

If I believed I had to finish one of those three races to be a real 100-miler, I could win a race, score a course record, finish the hardest 100 in the world, even finish 128 100-milers and still not feel like a real 100-miler.

Because achievements don’t validate you. What you think about them does.

Do you need to run Hardrock? Western? All three?

Nope, you just need to decide you’re a real 100-miler.

When I looked it, Western States and Hardrock were already tough to get into. If finishing one of those was required to be a real 100-mile runner, it would take me years.

I could wait and feel insecure every time that question came up or decide the handful of 100s I’d already finished made me a real 100-mile runner.

Waiting was too much hassle…and there was no good reason to.

If someone ever accused me of not being a real 100-miler…well, once I imagined it, it seemed kind of silly. Who was actually going to do this?

And besides, there were plenty of people I considered real 100-mile runners who hadn’t run these. Why should I?

What you want to believe about yourself, you can - if you commit to it. 

All it takes is a decision.

Blazing a trail of new beliefs goes faster and easier with someone by your side to keep you accountable, see your blind spots, and help you re-group when you lose your way.

If you want to decide new things about yourself and live into them, I’ve got an opening.

Email me - let’s talk.