The Obstacle is the Way

So much attention gets paid to the physical training for an ultramarathon, but the mental game is equally, if not more, important. 

DNF rates are typically 20-50% in challenging races.  Western States and UTMB have both become difficult to get into, especially States, so the motivation to get to the finish is if anything higher than usual.  Yet in 2021, DNF rates were 34% for Western States and 40% for UTMB.

There are plenty of good reasons to pull the plug, and I’m not here to tell you to never drop from a race.  Accidents can happen on the course.  The heat at Western States this year posed a serious medical risk.  Some runners miss cutoffs despite valiantly chasing them.

But many DNFs happen because an obstacle gets in the way, and our minds tell us we can’t or shouldn’t continue.  Maybe nutrition went sideways, and a bad gut seemed insurmountable.  Or a missed turn and “bonus” miles compromised your goal time.  Or maybe the enormity of the challenge was simply overwhelming, and it just didn’t seem possible, so why continue?

Ryan Holiday’s “The Obstacle is the Way” gets into the mindset required to overcome obstacles.  Holiday channels the wisdom and grit of ancient stoics to provide timeless advice on how to succeed in anything you do, with many parallels to running ultras.  He writes:

“There is always a countermove, always an escape or a way through, so there is no reason to get worked up.  No one said it would be easy and, of course, the stakes are high, but the path is there for those ready to take it.”

Many of my best races, and all the most memorable ones, featured massive obstacles and disastrous moments of despair.  But as Holiday says, there is always a way through, and the key is not getting worked up.  Simply work backwards from what it will take to get to the finish and how to overcome the obstacle standing in your way.

I wrote about this before, but my 2019 UTMB was a perfect example of this.  I found myself at mile 20 with my nutrition off the rails, feeling terrible, getting passed, and with no idea how it would be possible to go another 87 miles.  Earlier in my running career, I would have DNFed.  Instead, I calmy and methodically figured out the path forward, pushing the rest of the race out of my mind and solving the immediate problems.  I slowed down, righted my nutrition, and went on to have the best race of my life.

Ultramarathons are incredibly hard, and often we are in fact seeking the obstacles, searching for what we are capable of.  Every time we overcome an obstacle, steel sharpens steel, and we become even tougher.  These experiences get added to what David Goggins calls the cookie jar or David Roche calls the saddlebag of courage.

The next time an obstacle comes your way in a race, embrace it.  Stay calm.  Find your countermove and the path forward.  Not only will you get to the finish line, but over time these experiences will stack up to take you to new heights.