Does any runner truly enjoy the act of running? If they say they do, they’re lying.
I’ve never experienced the “runner’s high.” I think a bunch of delusional runners made that up to trick themselves into running more.
I am a runner. An ultra runner to be clear. For the non-runner, that means I run far distances. 50 milers, 75 milers and even a 100 miles.
I’ve ran 7 marathons, 1 double marathon, 3-50ks, including the Spartan Ultra Beast, 1-100k, 1-60 mile self supported FKT around the head of Maui, 1-38 mile downhill un-supported run from the Haleakala summit to the beach, 1-38 mile uphill (FKT), 1-75 mile roundtrip (another FKT), 1-50 mile Rim to Rim to Rim through the Grand Canyon and 1-100 mile race in Texas.
I’ve also done the David Goggins 4x4x48 three times and some other random endurance runs like carrying a 80 LB sand bag in the mountains for 6 miles.
Yes, I’m not very smart.
Running for 24 hours or longer is not healthy for your body.
The funny thing is, looking at my list, it’s not a very big resume in terms of ultra running. There are ordinary, non-professional people that I personally know, that have done 10x the distance and feats that I have, and faster.
Now the big question: Why?
I got into running in my late 30’s. I hated running and I barely even like walking. I’m the guy who will circle the parking lot at the grocery store for 15 minutes just so I can get the closest parking spot to the entrance.
The story behind the start of my running career was a bet. Whoever won the Exterra 5K, or at least got ahead of the other guys, would have bragging rights. There was 5 of us.
Because of my competitive nature, I wanted to crush everyone and then taunt them with my victory for months and months.
The problem was that I never ran before that and didn’t even know what a 5k was.
But it didn’t matter cause I was going to win.
The first “training” day, I took my vans skate shoes and ran full speed, straight up the hill from my house. After a half mile, I thought my heart would explode and that I was going to die.
I instantly thought that running was the stupidest sport ever created and every runner was stupid for doing it.
I figured that running is pain and these sick weirdos love to torture themselves.
Still believing that, I had already committed to beating my co-workers into oblivion so I was going to suffer through this running thing till I won. Then never run again.
With the race coming up in a month, I trained as though the world depended on it. I had no idea how to train and looking back at it now, I was doing it absolutely wrong.
The “veteran” runner of the group was Grandpa Ryan (I have many stories about grandpa, which we will save for another blog). And I say “veteran” as loosely as humanly possible.
Grandpa was definitely the biggest talker of the group. Lots of lip service and ideas about running but not very much actual running.
He could tell you about what to do all day and goals and things he’s going to do but at the end of the day — Grandpa is a Grandpa (I have soooo many stories!).
Fast forward to the day of the race. Big shocker, no one showed up except Isi, the guy that talked the least. Good thing I paid for everyone’s entry fees because I love wasting money.
It didn’t matter because I was caught up in the thrill of race day. My goal was to win the race and crush everyone in my path.
After the gun went off, it was game on! I sprinted to the lead and maxed out my heart rate in the first 1/4 mile.
It didn’t matter because I was going to give it my all even if I died on the trail.
As I crossed the finish line, I had this amazing sense of accomplishment.
It hurt a lot and the race was hard but I felt this new feeling of achievement, of doing the hardest physical thing I’ve done in years, pushing myself farther than I’ve ever gone.
I didn’t win the race but came pretty damn close. I got 2nd in my age group, and 17th overall out of 500. And the talent ahead of me were extremely seasoned runners. I found out what a great accomplishment that was months later.
And just like that, I was hooked. Everything about running related to life. Picking a hard goal, planning for it, training for it, researching it, executing it and achieving it. Then repeating the process.
After 3 months into my running career, I decided I wanted to accomplish a marathon. At the time, that was the holy grail of running and by far the hardest goal I’ve ever set for myself.
Once I committed to it, I went all in and got it done, in under 4 hours I might add, the longest I’ve ever run continuously.
The sense of accomplishment from that first marathon was overwhelming. I honestly felt like Superman. I did something so hard that 99% of the population will never do.
I applied that experience directly into real life. There was no business goal I couldn’t accomplish. The pain, suffering, training and discipline it took to complete a marathon made everything else in life seem very minor.
Over the years, I’ve pushed myself harder and have gone farther than I ever dreamed of.
Running has given me a confidence in life to train my physical body to be ready for anything but more importantly, it built up my mind in mental toughness to push my body way beyond what I thought was possible.
Running is life. I owe it all to this simple sport that doesn’t require much more than a pair of shoes.
Running has brought me to mental state that I didn’t know existed. It’s so good for my soul.
But it still sucks. You should try it.
#staytrue
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Does any runner truly enjoy the act of running? If they say they do, they’re lying.
I’ve never experienced the “runner’s high.” I think a bunch of delusional runners made that up to trick themselves into running more.
I am a runner. An ultra runner to be clear. For the non-runner, that means I run far distances. 50 milers, 75 milers and even a 100 miles.
I’ve ran 7 marathons, 1 double marathon, 3-50ks, including the Spartan Ultra Beast, 1-100k, 1-60 mile self supported FKT around the head of Maui, 1-38 mile downhill un-supported run from the Haleakala summit to the beach, 1-38 mile uphill (FKT), 1-75 mile roundtrip (another FKT), 1-50 mile Rim to Rim to Rim through the Grand Canyon and 1-100 mile race in Texas.
I’ve also done the David Goggins 4x4x48 three times and some other random endurance runs like carrying a 80 LB sand bag in the mountains for 6 miles.
Yes, I’m not very smart.
Running for 24 hours or longer is not healthy for your body.
The funny thing is, looking at my list, it’s not a very big resume in terms of ultra running. There are ordinary, non-professional people that I personally know, that have done 10x the distance and feats that I have, and faster.
Now the big question: Why?
I got into running in my late 30’s. I hated running and I barely even like walking. I’m the guy who will circle the parking lot at the grocery store for 15 minutes just so I can get the closest parking spot to the entrance.
The story behind the start of my running career was a bet. Whoever won the Exterra 5K, or at least got ahead of the other guys, would have bragging rights. There was 5 of us.
Because of my competitive nature, I wanted to crush everyone and then taunt them with my victory for months and months.
The problem was that I never ran before that and didn’t even know what a 5k was.
But it didn’t matter cause I was going to win.
The first “training” day, I took my vans skate shoes and ran full speed, straight up the hill from my house. After a half mile, I thought my heart would explode and that I was going to die.
I instantly thought that running was the stupidest sport ever created and every runner was stupid for doing it.
I figured that running is pain and these sick weirdos love to torture themselves.
Still believing that, I had already committed to beating my co-workers into oblivion so I was going to suffer through this running thing till I won. Then never run again.
With the race coming up in a month, I trained as though the world depended on it. I had no idea how to train and looking back at it now, I was doing it absolutely wrong.
The “veteran” runner of the group was Grandpa Ryan (I have many stories about grandpa, which we will save for another blog). And I say “veteran” as loosely as humanly possible.
Grandpa was definitely the biggest talker of the group. Lots of lip service and ideas about running but not very much actual running.
He could tell you about what to do all day and goals and things he’s going to do but at the end of the day — Grandpa is a Grandpa (I have soooo many stories!).
Fast forward to the day of the race. Big shocker, no one showed up except Isi, the guy that talked the least. Good thing I paid for everyone’s entry fees because I love wasting money.
It didn’t matter because I was caught up in the thrill of race day. My goal was to win the race and crush everyone in my path.
After the gun went off, it was game on! I sprinted to the lead and maxed out my heart rate in the first 1/4 mile.
It didn’t matter because I was going to give it my all even if I died on the trail.
As I crossed the finish line, I had this amazing sense of accomplishment.
It hurt a lot and the race was hard but I felt this new feeling of achievement, of doing the hardest physical thing I’ve done in years, pushing myself farther than I’ve ever gone.
I didn’t win the race but came pretty damn close. I got 2nd in my age group, and 17th overall out of 500. And the talent ahead of me were extremely seasoned runners. I found out what a great accomplishment that was months later.
And just like that, I was hooked. Everything about running related to life. Picking a hard goal, planning for it, training for it, researching it, executing it and achieving it. Then repeating the process.
After 3 months into my running career, I decided I wanted to accomplish a marathon. At the time, that was the holy grail of running and by far the hardest goal I’ve ever set for myself.
Once I committed to it, I went all in and got it done, in under 4 hours I might add, the longest I’ve ever run continuously.
The sense of accomplishment from that first marathon was overwhelming. I honestly felt like Superman. I did something so hard that 99% of the population will never do.
I applied that experience directly into real life. There was no business goal I couldn’t accomplish. The pain, suffering, training and discipline it took to complete a marathon made everything else in life seem very minor.
Over the years, I’ve pushed myself harder and have gone farther than I ever dreamed of.
Running has given me a confidence in life to train my physical body to be ready for anything but more importantly, it built up my mind in mental toughness to push my body way beyond what I thought was possible.
Running is life. I owe it all to this simple sport that doesn’t require much more than a pair of shoes.
Running has brought me to mental state that I didn’t know existed. It’s so good for my soul.
But it still sucks. You should try it.
#staytrue