Three Myths to Leave Behind Forever

Want to be a good ultrarunner?

You’ll have to un-believe three limiting myths.

Limiting because they continually point out you’re not a good ultrarunner and you don’t belong with them.

If you think any of these three, I invite you to drop them immediately.

Myth 1: The harder you train, the easier the race.

Corollary: If the race wasn’t easy, you didn’t train like a good ultrarunner would.

The truth?

Training hard helps make a race easier but it’s not a linear relationship.

Said a less engineer-y way, putting in X amount of training doesn’t mean the race will be X easy.

And putting in 10X training this year compared to last does not guarantee the race will be 10X easier.

Why?

For one thing, there’s a limit to how much training is beneficial. The race will definitely be hard if you believe this myth and overtrain.

But the race will also be hard if you go out too fast, it’s an unusually hot day, and any number of factors besides training.

Training is less like a steady savings account where you deposit effort for a predictable return, and more like the stock market where you make a decision and invest your effort for an unpredictable return that’s subject to a wide variety of forces.

Myth 2: Good runners don’t have the problems you do.

Corollary: You’re obviously not a good runner or you wouldn’t have these problems.

This is a flat-out lie.

There aren’t two separate types of problems - ones experienced by good ultrarunners and ones by not-good ultrarunners.

There are only ultrarunner problems, and no one in the sport is immune to any of them.

You name it, we all deal with it.

Physical problems, like chafing, blisters, stomach upset, dehydration…

And mindset problems, like worry, fear of failing, doubt you’ll hit your goal, wondering if you trained right, intruding life stresses…

No matter how talented or fast, we all have to listen to our bodies and do the mindset work, every race.

Myth 3: If you’re good enough, things don’t go wrong

Corollary: Good runners face challenges but for you…things go wrong.

There’s an unspoken belief that somehow the problems good runners face make gloriously epic stories, while ours lead to embarrassment and failure.

Not so.

Everyone takes a wrong turn now and then (leaders are actually more prone to this).

Everyone is subject to missteps, misjudgments, distractions, and injuries. They’re part of the sport.

And everyone falls in a trail race eventually. Sometimes more than once. Good runners are not somehow blessed with a protective force field. We’re all subject to gravity and being human.

This myth, and the two above, keep you from feeling good about yourself as a runner.

Dropping them lets you appreciate your progress, learn from your races, and see yourself as the ever-improving ultrarunner you are.

It expands the results that are possible for you and I want you to see what’s there for you. That’s one of the best feelings in the world.

Use this link to set up a consult call and let’s talk coaching.

You deserve races to match your dreams.