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Category: 100 Miler

7 Critical Things I Tell Myself Before A 24-Hour Endurance Event.

7 Critical Things I Tell Myself Before A 24-Hour Endurance Event.

Published by Patrick Durante on May 30, 2023

These are 7 of the things that start going through my mind the week before an event. You are trying to align your mind with what your body is about to do. Mental prep is vital to success, so self-talk leading up to a race is critical.

1) You get what you get and you don’t get upset.

Training is done, there’s nothing more to do.  You will wish you had more time.  I rarely get to the starting line feeling 100%, more like 75-90%. You rarely perform the perfect taper or get great sleep the week of the event.  Everyone has a life outside of running, unless you’re a pro, that will put additional demands on you.   If you can get to the starting line be grateful. 

2) Today Will Not Be Perfect

The event will not be perfect.   Know that things will go sideways and I hope they do!  Odds are I will fall, run out of water, get injured, and be extremely tired.  The list goes on and on, expectations should be low then I will be pleasantly surprised if it goes well. Prepare your mind for adversity!

3) Keep Your Mind Busy

Take some photos, talk to strangers, or plan your aid station meal. From the book “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living” keeping busy eliminates suffering and pain. We are single-track-minded, and we really only do one thing at a time.  Keeping your brain busy with something helps distract from the pain. It can’t focus on a task AND pain, so make sure you get busy with some tasks to distract from the pain.

4) Insecurities Come and Go 

Get ready for the highest highs and lowest lows.  The event will have times you feel like you are on top of the world, then wish someone would put you out of your misery.  It will bounce between these two extremes, realize they pass just like a fast-moving storm, and you just need to acknowledge it and keep moving!

5) Fix Minor Issues Early

Be sensitive to irritation. If something is annoying you in the slightest way, stop and take care of it.  Tell your crew to get whatever you need to fix it, ice or lube if there’s a hot spot.  You can’t put things off. Small problems balloon into major issues the longer the event. Your mind will keep nagging you if you don’t, until is screaming to stop.

6) Always Be Eating (A-B-E). 

Constantly fuel your body and brain. Unlike training, it’s something I remind myself in a race. Set a timer for every 30 minutes and keep eating or drinking your calories. You should also change what you are eating as to not get sick of it.  The stomach is slow to digest and you are going to be doing this for a long time.  ALWAYS BE EATING! You think this is simple to do, but it is not. The brain gets lazy with remembering when to eat, and the stomach stops craving food.   

7) Smile 

Our brains are so dumb that if you smile it will ease suffering. If you can find joy or fun in what you are trying to accomplish it will make it easier.  Happiness is contagious, be a source of fun and joy to those around you.  I carry a picture of my family to remember why I am doing this and what is most important.

That’s it. These 7 tricks help me get through my events. Just enjoy it because it’s over before you know it. If you have any mental tricks I would love to hear them in the comments below!

-Patrick Durante

Pain and Suffering in Ultra-Racingpain

Pain and Suffering in Ultra-Racing

Published by Patrick Durante on March 24, 2023

Pain is guaranteed in life. There is no escaping the fact that something or someone will cause you pain. What is not guaranteed is suffering. Ultra-running, to me, is a long conversation with yourself about these two ideas. Are you in pain AND are you suffering?  The ability to first understand the purpose of pain, as a feedback mechanism to instruct us to listen to our body, is crucial. Children tend to listen only if there are repercussions for their actions, so the same goes for pain. Our body sends a pain signal because we are not listening. In ultra-racing, you need to learn how to listen to that signal, acknowledge it, and then move past it. Don’t get me wrong, there are times when both pain and suffering collide, and that will cause a DNF. The majority of the time, we choose to suffer because the pain has crossed over a threshold that we decide we can no longer bear. We give in, we give up, and we drop out.

When you reach this point, there are a few critical items you can do to prevent going over the edge:

  1. Listen! It’s trying to tell you something, but if you choose to ignore it, there will be a breaking point.
  2. Take a break! There’s nothing to say you can’t back off the pace, sit in the shade, or just stop and collect your thoughts. Pain comes in waves, and most of the time, you can ride the wave to the next shore.
  3. Reason with it. You can talk with yourself to see if it’s really an issue if it’s really that bad and if you can make a deal just to wait and see if your fears are warranted. Nine out of ten times, it’s never as bad as you think.

This year, I plan to approach racing and life completely differently. I will stop getting in the way of things, stop trying to steer them, and let things play out. I have read many books on self-help, self-discovery, and self-improvement, and the underlying theme in all of them is awareness.  The present moment is always trying to tell you something, but we ignore it.  Far too often, we are on to the next thing, living in the past, or dreaming about the future.  Sitting in silence, with no task and nowhere to be, is life’s ultimate reward. Not what you have, what you have done, and what you will do. The odds of being born into you are 1 in 400,000,000,000,000. Think about that! You already won the lottery, now it’s time to just sit back and enjoy it. So, the next time you are “suffering” you have to ask, but am I really?  Sit with your pain, because it’s a gift trying to tell you what you are doing wrong, and if you listen, you will avoid suffering.

Ultrarunner Checklist Manifesto

Ultrarunner Checklist Manifesto

Published by Patrick Durante on December 10, 2022

Inspired by the book, The Checklist Manifesto, this checklist comes from my personal list after completing 6-100 milers and several 50/100K races. I reviewed my race reports to create this but wanted the input of the community. List items should be simple and self-explanatory so it’s quick to review leading up to your race.

Experience is king, so learn from the mistakes that I and others have made. If you think there is something I should add please let me know.

Click here or the link on the left to see the checklist.