I met a man training to summit Everest this past weekend. I thought that surely if you can conquer that mountain for the average cost of 50,000 dollars, then there’s no other mountains to climb, right? I started thinking about how many previous mountains I have climbed, and once I got to the summit, it didn’t provide any different view than some of the previous ones. Ultras can have that same effect, you think crossing the finish line will change everything, or once I get that PR I’ll be content. Life is filled with false summits, what you think is the peak, even your limit, but its not. There’s more left, and its critical you keep going. I’ll tell you why.
Life is filled with these things. As I look back at my brief 44 years, I’ve chased after a lot of things. At the time it felt like an important achievement, house, cars, job titles, or PRs. Each I ran down, like a persistence hunt, knowing it was only a matter of time and it was mine. Once there, be it the new status, or title, its shimmer and glory was brief until they dulled over time and became the new baseline.
There’s been a shift in my recent years as I had talked about my 100 – 100s post, that the more races I conquer at the 100 mile distance don’t provide any more sense of enjoyment as the first, except ES100 the entire DFL thing that happened. That was just nuts, but even after that, like clockwork, I am back on ultrasignup, looking for my next fix. Anthony De Mello covered it best in his book Stop Fixing Yourself. I am trying to shed awareness on why I am doing these events and boiled it down to these few items.
- Struggle – that 50/50 shot of success is magical.
- Novelty – I need new experiences.
- Reason to train – why I put in the work.
- Evolution of self – I learned so much when races go off the rails, not as much when they go perfect
- Experience for Coaching
How I help others achieve a massive goal if I am not on the same path? It’s only through the shared experience, and getting humbled that I realize where others might make mistakes. I can’t do it for just the finish line, or age group award, or bragging rights. Those are just a bunch of false summits, where you think you’ve reached the apex of your performance, your career, but no, there’s still more to go. The journey over the past year of training is where all the magic happens, those early runs with friends, seeing new places, and trying new things you never dreamed you would do (see sleeping in my car). The goal is to be content with my work at the end of the year. To keep stacking those blocks, year after year, so I know that if I couldn’t do this tomorrow, I would be grateful for what I achieved. Did I put myself out there in a new and interesting ways? Did I meet others in the same fight? Is the man in the mirror inspiring, or is he self absorbed?
“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”
In the past few weeks I have been creating tools for myself, and athletes to be better at ultras. UltraRunTools 1.0 released for athletes I coach. To give them more insight to get to the finish line, because I have to keep evolving and learning. The second I stop, and say, “that’ll do pig”, I stop learning, I will stop being who I am destined to be. What’s at the top of the mountains? More mountains! There are endless mountains to climb. Thank god, because if there was one ultra to rule them all, like Everest, and you finished it. Would you then put down the sword and stop the fight? Would you say, I can rest because there’s nothing more to conquer?
The journey of self improvement can be another endless trap, but we grow when under pressure, when someone depends on us. You need something out there that demands you show up, be it your kids, be it that title of manager, its the thing that demands responsibility in all your actions. Those are the main reasons to chase any “False Summit”. They require your standard is high on all fronts, even down to what you put in your mouth on a daily basis. They will command you to show up, say what your going to do, and and actually do it. Don’t talk about it, be about it! (I love saying that line to my kids)
“I judge you unfortunate because you have never lived through misfortune. You have passed through life without an opponent, no one can ever know what you are capable of, not even you.”
So it’s important to chase the summit, the top, not to say that you did it, but to say I have a goal that’s big. I don’t know if I am strong enough, but I wake up, every day, and work toward that goal until I achieve it. I love the stories adventure creates, I love close calls with danger, I love that view from the summit, even if its false or brief. I love the problems solved, and places explored. I create a list at the end of every year for what I want next year to look like, because it’s the guiding light for connection, and my reason to get up. Without that, we are nothing. Never content to sit idle. I will always want more.
PA Triple Crown… Let’s dance!
Patrick is an ultrarunner and coach from Philadelphia who loves documenting his running career. His mission is to provide useful tips and tricks to assist others along their ultra journey. You can find his coaching services at https://ultraruncoach.com.
