Long-Term Goal Setting
I have been thinking a lot about goal setting since the Devil Dog 100K. The further removed I get from the race, the more I believe that it was the best race I have run.
Many factors went into that day going so well, but setting the ambitious goal of breaking the 9:44 course record was a big part of it. Without that goal to motivate me, both in training and on race day, I would not have run 9:23. The next runner was almost two hours behind me, so there was no one to push me on course. Chasing the record pushed me to dig so much deeper and get the most out of myself.
Over the past ten years, I have had a series of big, scary goals to motivate me:
2014-2017: Finishing UTMB
2017-2019: Sub 30 hours at UTMB
2019-2022: Finishing Tor des Geants
2022-2024: Sub 100 hours at TdG
When I first set each of these goals, they were daunting and scary. I felt they may be doable with multiple years of work, but success was not guaranteed. These goals got me out of bed every day and lit the fire that drove me to put in the work.
I believe that having ambitious long-term goals is key to maximizing your performance. Bill Gates said, “Most people overestimate what they can achieve in a year and underestimate what they can achieve in ten years.” I wasn’t much different at the end of 2014 than the start of 2014, but by 2024 I was a transformed athlete. That would not have happened without big goals to chase.
“Most people overestimate what they can achieve in a year and underestimate what they can achieve in ten years” - Bill Gates
Importantly, each goal was tied to what I intrinsically love doing – running in big, beautiful mountains. To stay focused on something for that long, you need to enjoy the process. I also put each of these goals out publicly. That was scary, but it provided extra accountability. It also resulted in getting support from countless friends along the way.
After Tor, I realized that for the first time in ten years, I didn’t have a long-term goal. I was still training hard with a great race schedule lined up for 2025, but I wanted to find a new multi-year goal that would be meaningful and push me to get the most out of myself.
For my previous goals, while I didn’t always succeed on the first try, I did end up hitting all of them eventually. After Devil Dog, I think I need to aim higher. It is easy to set a goal you know you can achieve, and it is easy to set a goal you know is impossible. Finding a goal with a 50/50 chance of success is much harder. That is the brilliance of Laz with a race like Barkley.
I would like to set multiple goals that walk that line, ideally achieving some but falling short on others. I have a few ideas brewing, some of which I’m not ready put out there yet. One goal I am willing to ready to share is going under 90 hours at Tor. I want to run 85-88 hours and be in contention to race for top 10.
One the one hand, it feels insane to even entertain that as a possibility. It wasn’t long ago that I couldn’t wrap my mind around finishing Tor in any amount of time. Runners who placed in the top 10 were titans, mythical creatures. This also will require dropping 10-12 hours from my 2024 time.
However, when I take a step back, I was 61st in 2022 and 23rd in 2024. Why not shoot for top 10? Taking so much time off my 2024 race is daunting, but I can still get a bit fitter and stronger. And there a huge amount of room for improvement in race execution with gear, nutrition, sleep, and aid station management. Maybe I don’t hit top 10 on my next go at Tor, but it is a race that rewards experience, and maybe it happens the next time.
It feels good to have another big, scary goal. Now I need a plan to get there. I love the planning process and look forward to sharing how I am approaching it along the way.
Now let’s all dream big and see what we can accomplish in the next 5-10 years!