Ultra lessons

 Runners are a different breed to begin with. The single most common question people ask of runners is “Why?” “Why do you run that far? That many days? That many miles a week? Why would you run at all”? There are many reasons, but a few of them include: for fitness, to reduce stress, to get away by myself, to get away with friends, to race and compete, and to see what I’m capable of doing.
Naturally, I admire anybody who runs for whatever reasons, but if you like to race, here are some lessons that can be derived from ultra runners—that even crazier, different, subset of runners who run farther than the standard 26.2 mile marathon—according to Greg Crowther in Running Times, May 2012.
1.      Don’t go out too fast: what runner has not heard this? It might seem obvious if you are running 31, 50, 62, or 100 miles—what’s the hurry? But this advice holds for races of any length. The vast majority of PRs (Personal records) and national or world records occur when running even splits (every mile pace is the same, or close) or negative splits (the second half of a race run faster than the first half).
2.      Race according to perceived effort: while a GPS or running watch can help us achieve even splits for every mile, it may make better sense to run the best pace that you can given the conditions on race day: there might be issues with hills, weather, fatigue—who knows what? Instead of being a slave to the watch, simply adapt to the difficulties as they arise by running at a pace that will allow you to finish the race.
3.      Practice specificity of training: it’s not enough, usually, to train for a distance by training just to run that distance. You could train for a 10K race on the treadmill by increasing your mileage gradually over time until you felt comfortable to cover the distance. But if the actual race has hills or is on the beach or will likely be blistering hot on race day, you had better run on some hills, run on the sand, or acclimate to hot weather.
4.      Dropping out can be smart: an ultra marathon is an extreme event, obviously; so the better part of wisdom in an ultra may be to drop out if you are tanking badly to live to run another day. In races that are shorter than an ultra, dropping out may make sense if you have been training hard for a PR, but run into a day where this isn’t going to happen—the gale-force winds, the rain or snow or cold, or the flu you caught the day before. Quitting will help conserve some of your power and training for your next attempt.
5.      Enjoy the fellowship of other runners: the loneliness of the long-distance runner doesn’t have to persist before and after the race. In the ultra community, elite runners and mid- and back-of-the-pack runners alike share a common interest to compete and complete an often arduous course. No matter where you finish, the community at an ultra is one of sharing and camaraderie. The same should and can be the case at races of any distance. Take the time to talk with and get to know some of the people that you are running with.
6.      You never know what is going to happen: ultra races are very long, and as Yogi Berra may have said, “The race isn’t over until the race is over.” Whatever the distance, all you can do is run your own race, but don’t assume that you are out of the “money” if somebody in your age group passes you or if you can’t quite catch the runner just ahead of you. People often go out too fast or underestimate their fitness. In a 10K last year, I steadily caught up to a guy who looked to be in my age group, finally passing him with less than 200 yards to the finish line. As I caught up to him, I assumed that he would take off and not let me pass, but he didn’t. I beat him by a few seconds, and he was in my age group.
7.      Be strong—mentally. “The best laid plans of mice and men, oft go astray,” as the Robert Burns poem states. Sometimes things go wrong. In an ultra , they can go very wrong, and you still have a long ways to go, but often, taking a short break, walking a bit, and you’re good to go. In shorter races, of course, everything can also go wrong: citing William Butler Yeats, “Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold.” You forgot your good running shoes, your GU; it’s windy, rainy, cold or all three; the electrolyte drink tastes ghastly; the “gently, rolling course” turns out to be a Himalayan expedition. All you can do is buck up, adjust your pace, adjust your goals—slower finish; run from one telephone pole to the next, one block to the next, one aid station to the next—repeat. And cross the finish line.
8.      Youth isn’t everything: Although “old” myself, I’ve been passed in ultras by really old people—as I was standing still. But I hold my own in most races within my age group and overall. However, more importantly, age isn’t a barrier to competition. Don’t let your age prevent you from running or entering races to test yourself if only against yourself. Naturally, we slow down as we age, but the effort can be the same no matter how old we are or how far we run. If we give nothing else back to the running community that we have enjoyed for many years, we can give this—inspiration to younger people that they too can look forward to a long life on the run.
9.      Do what you love and ignore the rules: The vast majority of people who run will never win the race and only some will place in their age group whether in ultras or any race, so we must be entering races for some other reason. Yes, there may be a T-shirt and maybe a finisher’s medal, but we should run the races we like, the ones that seem interesting, scenic, or historic. Run the hilly 5K instead of the flat PR course if you want to. Just run for the fun of it.