Active vs. passive challenges. The hard you choose vs. the hard you don’t. I’m back again for my 12th time at Blues Cruise 50K, the race that started it all. I was trying to figure out what made me take that initial leap of faith to the longer distance. How are things different now, having made that decision? Has it improved my life? That’s what this post will focus on, and why it’s so important to have challenges you choose vs. just the ones life hands you.

2011 – Blues Cruise had a mandatory stream crossing

I think part of it was I was searching for my endurance identity. I wanted to be able to call myself an “ultrarunner.” I had just finished my second Olympic distance triathlon. While they were fun, I never felt comfortable in the water, and a bike accident left me in the hospital for nine days. The first Blues Cruise opened my eyes to a world of adventure on the trails. I had done a handful of trail races, but nothing this long. It was the right amount of hard/uncertain fun, and the idea that some don’t finish really intrigued me. It was a hard I was choosing that most people thought was crazy. My parents were concerned about the distance and how long I was running, which seems hilarious now compared to some of my latest efforts. When others are questioning your life decisions, you know you are going in the right direction. They couldn’t wrap their brains around what was enjoyable about it.

For me, it was the fascination with new details that didn’t exist in any other race I had done before. Food intake, foot care, drop bags? How much pain could I endure? How do you pace this thing? Even as I come back after all this time, pace is one of those things you never know if you have fully dialed in until you’re more than ⅔ into the race. I was so nervous heading into this event, and now to see it morph into a footnote at the end of each season is amazing. This year, I gave it a lot more attention in my training, using lots of vert training and a very detailed plan for this year. I think I am primed to have a “good” year.

The reason this race was so important, like the shorter ones that came before it, was it was a challenge I picked vs. one I did not. There’s a lot of science on taking on challenges you choose; in psychology, it’s called “stress inoculation.” The basic idea: if you face manageable and chosen stress, you get better at handling all kinds of stress. That’s what I have seen in my life. I can’t be fazed by much after being completely drained in some of these events. When you master a hard thing that you willingly took on, you start to believe, “Hey, I can do hard stuff.” That belief has stuck with me, and life just keeps throwing something unexpected. The 50K was that first example of cramping and pain I had NEVER before felt in any event before it.

Ultras are a big part of my happiness, graph from longest running happiness study. Community was the biggest factor

Ultrarunners are experts at choosing suffering on purpose. Training for and finishing races means you’re constantly pushing through discomfort and testing your mental limits. Research has shown athletes have higher pain tolerance and can handle emotional distress better than people who don’t do endurance sports. It’s why sports are such an important part of life, and why it’s important for kids and adults to be involved in them.

I have discovered more about myself in the depths of ultrarunning than in any other activity that I have done. It’s built confidence and a deep sense of community and connection with others who are on the same crazy journey. Some of my best friends I have had were made and met on the trail and in the community.

Blues Cruise showed that if I loaded my year with a bunch of challenges that scared the crap out of me, I felt a sense of pride and accomplishment, and kept meeting new people and seeing new places as long as I kept coming back and kept training. I always added Blues Cruise because it was that first important win that sparked many that followed. I kept increasing the challenge until the point at which I have done some amazing races, been to amazing places, and helped amazing people. They are my calling card in ultras; the 100s became part of the hardest things I have done, and there are still so many more to take on. How crazy is it that one simple decision so long ago could have such long-lasting effects? It all started with that first step, that leap of faith to a new distance that seemed crazy. 50Ks are now normal, like a 5K becomes nothing to a marathoner. It’s perspective, it’s relative, but it’s intense at any distance.

Challenges are coming for you regardless. They are coming in all different forms, from ones you choose to ones you do not. Stress is a necessary part of our system, but not too much. Each ultra presents a unique challenge that’s relative to the person, the training they have put in, and the physical state they are in. They all teach the same thing: that constant effort will get you to the finish line. Congrats to anyone who is about to take on Blues Cruise for their first time. They are lucky, because they could be at the doorstep to a life of adventure, friendship, and challenges that will bring them to some amazing places. Have a great race, and I’ll see you on the starting line!

My video back in 2022 when I had a break through performance.

Patrick Durante

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.

bouncingsoles.com/about-patrick-durante/

Where do you draw the line? When does hard become too hard? That’s what I wanted to learn. Could I manage my pain, pace, and mental demons in a Last Person Standing event. A format that’s a 4.1 mile course, every hour on the hour until nobody’s left. Here’s my recap on what went right, wrong, and how I would do things differently next year.

What went right?

There was something very different about the vibe of this race. Where typically I will spend 10-15 hours alone in the woods in the later stages of an ultra, you start with the group every hour. That made for more conversations, more friends to be made, and more smiles and miles to be shared.

There’s 3 things I found that kept me running well into the night. Real food, foot care, and mental daemon control. Real food was one of the key things most people mentioned, but why? You can’t stop eating, because once you do you can’t maintain intensity, and this will get intense. I tell my athletes, when intensity goes up, nutrition goes up. While real food did work, I also supplemented it with gels to hit carb targets, a strategy new to this year. The issue I found is most people under eat in racing. That’s where isotonic gels come in, you just force it down and it’s done.

Some of the real food items I ate were cookies, bagels, overnight oats, ramen, sushi(California roll, I wouldn’t risk anything else). Ramen was provided by the nice people working the aid station/start. They also made pancakes and smores, but sadly I missed them.

My “Real” food that I ate during the race

Gear purchased specifically for this race included: cooler, tent, and a reclining chair. I had a cheap dinky cooler that was 20 years old. I invested in this Ninja that could keep ice for over 48 hours, if not longer. It kept things cool, and had a refrigerated compartment for things you didn’t want to freeze. It worked very well.

Home made gels, overnight oats, and star bucks drinks FTW

The ability to have cold ice and food at your feet was a game changer, and needed for most looped events. I also brought out the Starbucks cappuccinos and BOY did they go down fast. I dipped my hat in here every loop when temps started to rise.

Foot care

Thee first loop my shoes got soaked, and I knew this was going to be an issue. On the 3rd loop I switched shoes, and rubbed zinc oxide all over my feet. I learned about this method technique from running 2 wet 100 milers in PA. Foot care gets you far. If every step is painful you are in for a bad day. Keep your feet happy and dry. The people that power through puddles and never need a shoe change, god bless you, but that’s just not me. I will use drop bags for spare shoes, 2Toms blister shield, or kill a man to get a dry pair of socks. This is my longest distance with no shoe change, 50 miles, because my feet felt amazing! (Weather conditions and humidity can affect this greatly. Plan accordingly!) Another purchase was an anti gravity chair when they went on sale around Christmas. It helped reduce swelling between rounds.

Elevating for feet for the race felt o so gooood

The final item you will need is a pop up tent. Why? Because if you are out there for that long you want a chance to be outs of the elements. Unless you have a tent or something else to keep you out of the rain. Be prepared for all the elements when you are out. I’ve learned that weather can change suddenly, and having different clothes is critical. I changed my shirt multiple times, and I almost wish I could have changed my pants as I did get some chafing. Maybe next year I’ll invest in one of those pop-up changing tents… We saw both intense sun and rain on race day.

I kept massaging my legs between loops while I had time. Yet another way I tried to save my legs. See it here on amazon. Its been one of the best devices for self care.

I did this multiple times, in conjunction with leg elevation. I didn’t have any soreness or tightness that’s typical for this distance or amount of climbing. This went out the window when I only had a minute or two between loops, but I was sitting very close to the corral massaging my legs very late in the yards.

Mental daemons

To slay my mental daemons I saved music until night. I socialized, talked with people. Filmed the course, and kept my mind busy. As they saying goes, idle hands are the devil’s playground. The same goes for an idle mind. Keep it busy with the course, music, or talking with people. No negative chatter or complaining to other runners, that’s a recipe for a fast DNF!

What went wrong?

24 hour crew

My dad offered “crewish” support, as he referred to it. I am self-sufficient in these events. I know my dad’s limits, and what he can do at night. He’s 73 so, I cut him some slack, and this is a hard ask to crew you for 24 hours. My wife is managing the 3 kids back home, so she is not an option. My father did fulfil a dinner request. God bless his heart.

Dinner was a 2 cheese burger meal. It was AMAZING! Thanks Dad!

He assisted on the first few rounds, and helped me break down all supplies when the race over. What went WRONG here was me being humble enough to accept aid by strangers. Multiple people asked if I needed help, and I declined. This is not a fault of pride, or ego, but I didn’t even know how I would direct them. My mind was fried, and it didn’t even know what it wanted,. Trying to convey that to someone to assist me seemed like more work. The coaches who put on the race made me 3 cups of ramen and they were delicious. I had my aid ready, and I just couldn’t think clearly what I wanted between rounds. You know that quote about having a plan until getting punched in the face? Well things started to hurt and I stopped thinking clearly about what I needed. I should have rehearsed my breaks better or planned what I would take in the later yards. I also shouldn’t have put my tent so far away from other runners. It might have been a bad idea to be secluded.

Focus on breathe – You are either in rest and digest or fight or flight. I noticed that late in the race my breathing was getting short and choppy. It was around the same time that I had issues keeping pace. I noticed it only too late and then made an active effort to focus on breathing. I was using a 2-1 ration, 2 inhales, then 1 long extended exhale. When we exhale slightly longer than we inhale it has a multitude of effects, besides calming me down, it triggers your parasympathetic nervous system. That’s the rest and digest, food can process, your mind can think, and you are no longer panicking. When I stopped focusing on my breathe I started to get anxious. It was the beginning of a decline in mental and physical state and it all started with my breathe. I realized this far too late, and the damage was done. I was slowing down and aid station breaks were not going well. Panic set in. I regret not doing some type of loop rehearsal in training, with a plan for the later hours of the race.

Poop Loop

Ah the dreaded poop loop. Having raced for 20 hours I knew that it was coming.

It was the final blow to poor pacing and mounting race anxiety. I pushed the pace so hard on the pool loop that it caused too much stress “in the end” 😜. On the final loops, I was slow the first two miles, then blasting the last 2 miles. It wasn’t an even distribution of effort over the entirety of the course.

10 minute breaks in the beginning, down to 2-3 minutes near the end.

You can see from the graph here, I had some 10 minute breaks, then 8 then 5 then 3 etc. My aid station visits were a mix of well executed, and panicked hair on fire, and I don’t have any hair! I was unsure what food to take, and in the end I just kept grabbing gels and quit real food. I know this for next time, have a well thought out aid station visit. Similar to transitions in a triathlon, it should be rehearsed! Plan your food strategy! Have grab bags you take with you! I’ve used them in the past races but forgot to do them here.

What would I have done different

I would have practiced the 4.1 course elevation in my long run. So for a 4-6 hour run I could have taken a break for 5 minutes at my car with aid. My efforts in the beginning were not evenly spread . If I had to do it again, I would have found a 500ft hilly 4.1 mile out and back and kept repeating. Then practicing my 5 minute breaks. Elevating my legs, massaging them, eating food, etc. I didn’t have any specific training for this race. I ran a decent amount of vert, worked on mobility, and strength, and then gave it my best shot at a pace that felt comfortable. Mud is something that’s difficult to train. See “Rabid Raccoon 100” in the dictionary for a definition of mud. Having an LMS under my belt I have a better understanding of what pacing feels like.

The Dynamic Duo, Phil and David Perkins.

I went in with this irrational fear of getting eliminated on the first loop. If you stay with the group that’s impossible. Anxiety only built when I drop the ball on my aid station procedure. Part of me said, hey, I am an accomplished runner. The 2nd part of me said, you have never done this before. So I had a healthy dose of a realistic outcome. I landed at 85 and was happy with 4th place DNF. I also knew of 2 studs on the course who were capable of over 200 miles. I’m looking at you Phil! One more regret was not staying with the pack in the later miles. I think that could have extended my range. You assist each other in this race and its not as solo as you think.

The mental daemons in this race will break you. The warning whistles to return to the start line are a a constant stress. I would say that I wasn’t consistent with pacing and effort, I was running by RPE(relative perceived effort), but I shouldn’t have limited it more to an exact time. When night loops started I knew that things were going downhill. As time slips and you get closer to the cut off you realize you are not going to make it! You start thinking you are not good enough, you are not as strong as your competitors…Doubt crept in, and since I was alone I didn’t have anybody but myself to converse with. I said out loud “STFU” several times when negative thoughts kept playing on loop. Next year I will band together with a group, or have more conversations to make sure I stick with the pack.

Final Thoughts

You would think that Last Person Standing, and running in general, would be a solo activity. This event made me realize that the old adage is so true: “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” The people who went further were talking to their neighbors, telling them what their goals were, and sharing the burden of their challenge. I saw Corey take the course distance record for females. I saw a son fighting with his father to hit his 100K goal and not give up. I saw people run their farthest distance to date and be grateful they went one more. For myself, I learned that effort has to be evenly distributed; it is finite. All things fade in time; there’s no person who won’t fatigue. That’s true in my personal life as well. Everyone has their limits of how much they are willing to take. People in your life fall under three categories: “Friends for a reason, friends for a season, and friends for a lifetime.” This event is a chance to face fears, see your breaking point, and make a lot more friends for a reason. I think the power would be in coming back in year two: to see familiar faces and push that bar just slightly higher. To know that the limits in your life are fictional—you created them, so you can break them.