“Life is just too easy. Society is so cushioned that we have no opportunity for struggle. People are bred to struggle. We need to express that or else be incomplete.” – Gordy Ainsleigh
I am struggling. As I sit down to examine my thoughts and produce a pointed and purposeful piece, I am not sure where to even begin. There is the “virtual race” angle, the “state of our sport” angle, the “be kind to one another” angle, the “new normal” angle, and even the “ultra-running mindset has purpose built us to get through these times” angle. Honestly, all these topics seem a bit played out and overdone. With a lot of folks out of work or working from home and a little more time on their hands it seems that there has been a plethora of articles on the aforementioned topics, so the question then becomes “what is there left to discuss”?
At this stage of the game, with most of us in experiencing various stages of stay at home orders and our activities and lifestyles being restricted on varying levels, we have all pretty much settled into a comfortable routine. Employment-wise we are either still working, not working, working from home, working reduced hours, or somewhere in between and have been for some time; running wise most of us are either taking this time to heal injuries, implement strength training, and running a few virtual races…or every single one we can sign up for or see an ad for.
We seem to be spending our paychecks and stimulus checks $50 at a time running timed events, 50k’s, vertical challenges, week long challenges, 5 miles every 4 hours challenges, 100-mile challenges, East vs. West games, virtually running across the state of Tennessee, and even quarantined last person standing events. Meanwhile, we are waxing and waning about being a community, coming together, standing strong, and being kind. Do not get me wrong, all these things are excellent and awesome in their own rite…it is just getting a little old and stale in my opinion.
The model that we have created is simply not sustainable for the long term. However; I do feel that it is necessary and we are making the most out our current situation but now is the time to start looking towards our future and pondering over what that may look like and what we can do to prepare for it. More and more races are being cancelled while others, such as the Bryce Canyon Ultras on May 30-31 are still on which means that racing in the foreseeable future is going to be a reality and something we need to be prepared for. For example, there will be no crew access for the Bryce Canyon Ultras, this very well may be a trend that catches on and will change the way a lot of us approach the sport. It seems simple enough but take someone like myself who has completed 24 ultra-marathons but never run a solo one; this would be all new territory for me.
So as we move forward I think it is important to try to look into our non-existent crystal balls and prepare as best we can for what the future of our sport will look like and how we will interact with one another. The social media platform has exploded during the pandemic and, in my opinion, has brought us closer together than ever. This is something that I am immensely proud to be a part of and it has allowed us to become incredibly creative.
HPRS’s next virtual race, the We Belong Virtual Series, is a unique expression of the virtual event and in fact, the race itself is almost an afterthought. This is a month-long experience with a private Facebook group and two classroom sessions per week aimed at ultra-running education which culminates on May 30th with a 50 km or a 12-hour run. The value and experience are truly in the journey rather than the destination. A platform like this, as far as I know, has never been seen before and I am incredibly excited to be a part of this experience and I encourage you to as well.
As the days pass and we continue on our projected trajectory I encourage you to use this time to prepare for the future. There is no doubt that we are struggling so start to implement habits and strategies to set yourself up for success. That could take the shape of many things and include forming a schedule and sticking to it when there is not a real “reason” to do so, beginning to balance training, racing, and family schedules, learning how to work hard when the motivation is not quite there, or simply finishing what you start.
I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Navy Seal and all-around inspiring savage, Sean Ryan:
“Everyone can be super productive and a bad*ss when they are motivated, it’s what you do when you’re not that matters…you just have to realize that sometimes you have to suck it up and you’re going to have to pay the f*cking man every once in a while, there is no secret recipe.”
No matter what you are doing at the moment or what state you may find yourself in, remember that we are all in this together so let’s make every day purposeful and work hard at being successful in what ever venture you are pursuing and however you define success because at the end of the day; YOU are worth it and YOU have the power to be great!