the old wolf hunts with the teeth he's got:
It is easy to relate to those of you who are a little rattled by the numbers some of these people up front are throwing down. I spent a lot of my running career struggling with the comparison of my results to the results of others. Sometimes it just seemed like it was not worthwhile to be out there when there were other runners next to whose performances my own efforts seemed almost shameful. But I persevered because there was something about those days when I reached beyond what I thought I could do that made me feel so alive. I could have gone along and just enjoyed the running, but there is something in us as humans that drives us to reach for the stars.
There came a day for me, as there comes a day for every athlete when the comparisons became a little crueler. The years added up, and they did to me what they do to every athlete. The runner I could not compare to was me. The me that was still young and strong and on the way up. I could no longer even dream of doing the things I used to do. We are lucky as runners. In other sports, there comes a day when you can no longer play. We still get to play, but we have to understand where we are in life. Our days of leading the pack are a thing of the past. The old wolf has to hunt with the teeth he's got.
There is a gift that we get from this understanding. We can see so clearly what we missed when everything revolved around records and victories and championships. We see all around us that every wolf hunts with the teeth he's got. There are great performances all around us that we have never seen before.
19,000 people set off from Arkansas. Some to see how fast they could reach Buckeye Hollow. Some to see how many times they could make it back and forth. But the real stars are the ones who have set out to do more than they have ever done before.
This race is for those people. There are no records to be set. No championships that will go down in the lore of ultrarunning. But thousands of you are writing your personal stories that are as inspiring as any world record performance. I relish the posts from those who are covering more distance than they have ever covered. The posts exude the personal thrill of reaching 100 miles. (100 miles is really far!).
But, as a wise old runner often uses as a point of reference, if this were a mile run, we would only be about 250 yards into the race! We have scarcely begun.
The real race is just beginning. Now it becomes a test of your will, your focus, your determination. Your willingness to stick with the job until it is done. The fresh and new has worn off. And this is where you get to begin measuring yourself against the great ones. To go out there day after day. Keep putting in the miles you can, regardless of whether you want to do it that day. There are going to be storms. There is going to be heat. There is going to be fatigue. Life is going to try to get in the way. You are going to have to take that first step on many, many days when that is not what you want to do. We have a long summer ahead of us, together... those of us who can make it through. Many are going to fall by the wayside.
It is too far ahead of us to really think about right now. But August 31 is going to be a magical day. The survivors, who have made it through four long months, we will get to share something special on that last day. Whether we are forcing ourselves to reach some personal goal before midnight, snatching that buckle, that pin, that mankie at the last second, or just putting the finishing touches on our summer of fun. We will come away with something special. It won't be there for all the ones who will fade away as the weeks pass. It will not be there for those who waver thru the summer and put in a few miles here and there, then show up at the end hoping to taste the magic. The world will little note nor long remember what we do this summer. But you are never too old or too slow the enjoy the thrill of the chase.
Those of us who survive are going to feel the thrill of the chase, no matter the outcome. We are going to hunt with the teeth we got.
laz
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the fine line:
The margin between success and failure is a thin one, And that line is not drawn by the implement we think. It is not talent, age, or experience. Attention to detail is the most useful tool in our kit.
Oh sure, those other things make a difference in the absolute performance. But, real success is achieving the most that our potential allows. And, in any endeavor, those who take care of the details succeed.
I think we all find it fascinating. At the top level, the difference in raw potential is minute. What is it that separates those who win from those who lose? Nine times out of ten, it is attention to detail.
Organizing ultramarathons of all kinds, I can tell you that the easiest races to organize are those with championship-caliber fields. I don't have people writing to ask for information that has been given to them 10 times already. We don't line up at the starting line, and they did not realize they had to bring their own underwear. Championship level runners approach an event in a professional manner and come prepared.
The Barkely runners are one. They are among the best there are at what they do. And, if there is one characteristic that the best of them display, it is attention to detail. There is a lot of speculation as to why nearly all of the finishers have Ph.D.'s. I can tell you. While one is a scholastic pursuit and the other athletic, both are achieved by only a tiny percentage of those who try. And the difference between success and failure is attention to detail. I tell them something once, and they all know it. Which is a good thing. I never tell them twice. If they don't pay attention, they pay the price.
Tonight, when I finally had the chance to sift thru the wealth of data in this race... 19,000 runners over (already) 40 days is an unbelievable richness of data; I went searching for the patterns that I knew I would find. It wasn't any real analysis; there wasn't that much time. Just sitting here and letting the numbers flow in front of me and seeing what caught my eye.
And you know what I saw? The evidence of laxity in the details has filtered its way to the bottom. And the evidence of attention to detail is rising to the top. The most obvious; lumping your runs over multiple days into single entries. Right behind that, I am certain, even tho there wasn't any way to check for it, but I would bet that the more failed entries a person has made, the lower you can expect to find them. Does lumping your runs make them shorter? Of course not. But it belies an attitude and approach that does not lead to success. If you are slack in one place, you will be slack in others.
I had already seen some of this. When a person finishes, I send them an e-mail the next day asking if they want a medal or a buckle. The first 41 finishers answered right away. After 271 finishers, the percentage of responses is dropping. And I am sure it will drop for the remainder of the event.
Why is this important? Because it is so easy. And because the person who benefits is you! We have a different race starting next week. The Heart of the South. It is somewhat like this race, except there is nothing virtual about it. We will drop them off on buses in Arkansas, and they have 10 days to reach their cars in Georgia. In between, there is no assistance whatsoever. They will not be sleeping in their own beds. There is a good chance they will not be sleeping in any bed at all; needless to say, they could use all the information they can get, And I have already sent out some information sheets. In the first one, there was a question requiring a response right in the middle. It was not buried by accident. I can look at the ones who did not respond and be sure they also failed to read the information around the question, the information they will desperately need in a little over a week... but there will be no one to ask. They will be the same ones who have to be picked up off the road by the meat wagon.
Not only are you the one who benefits from attention to detail, but you are also the one that suffers if you don't take care of business. You are the one who cannot get your miles entered. You are the one who did not look at the edit report and does not understand why your miles did not post. You are the one who thinks rules have suddenly appeared that you had never heard about because you never looked to see the parameters of the event to begin with. You are the one who stops 22 kilometers from the finish line because you failed to make sure even the length of the event!
But, the beauty of this simple trick that bridges the gap between success and failure is that it is nothing more than a habit. You do not have to be young or gifted. You simply have to harbor the desire to perform to the same standards as the champions. Because champions take care of the details. We do not all have the tools to be championed as runners. But, we can take pride in how we go about our business. And the habits that bring us personal success at something we are not gifted at, will bring absolute success at the things we do have a talent for.
So, it is up to you. Which would you rather pay; attention to the details or the price?
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The best day of your life:
During my transcon there were a couple of questions that seemed to come up all the time:
The first one was, "What is the strangest thing you have seen?" I always answered, "You." That seemed to leave people somewhat speechless.
The other was a more serious question and deserved a more serious answer; "What is the best day you have had on your journey?" And the answer was always the same; "Today!"
And it was the truth. It was the truth every day... Yesterday was done. It could never be changed. Tomorrow was not promised. Out there on the road, there was no way to know what tomorrow would bring. There was only one day that I could determine. I could make it the best day of my life. Or not. It was entirely up to me.
There was never a thought of quitting. How could I quit on the best day of my life? There was never a thought of taking a day off... How could I miss the best day of my life?
It really is not any different any day. Every day when we wake up, there is only one day we have the power to control. Today. The best day of our life.
We have an advantage over the dog runners. We can learn from the past, and we can plan for the future. But we turn it into a disadvantage. We regret the past and live for the future. The dog runner lives in a state of unmitigated joy., Every time you pick up their leash, they are almost insane with joy. Why? because every day is the best day of their life.
I see a lot of people on here looking for motivation. When really, they have all the motivation they need; Woody, the dog, finished yesterday. And that run was the best run of his race... just like the 50 runs that came before it. Just like the next run, he will do tomorrow. That should be our runs, too. I know it will be great when I do that last run to reach 1000 km. The last run to reach 1000 miles. The last run is on August 31, to get everything I can get and beat anyone left I can beat.
But how can any of those be better than the run I will do today? When I woke up this morning, this was the only run I could control. When I go out the door, it will be the only run I can experience.
How would you run the last run you ever ran? Would you breathe deeper into the air? Would you look at everything a little more closely? Would you drink in the sights and sounds and smells of the world around you? Would you look for animals in the clouds and stop to look at wildflowers in the ditch?
Would the aches and pains really just be a reminder that you are alive. Would the heat really just make your drink more satisfying, and the hunger make your meal taste better.
How could you need the motivation to run the best run of your life? Try it today.
Wake up and hop out of bed. This is the best day of your life, and you don't want to waste a minute. Approach the whole day the same way. Yesterday is over. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Today, though, today has infinite promise.
When you go out to put in your miles, look at them like the last miles you will ever run. It does not matter if it is a route you have run a thousand times. Today is different. Today is the best day of your life. Do you really want to sit on your ass and miss the best run of your life? Do you really want to slog through it like an automaton? Do you really want to waste the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that is today?
We let ourselves get old. And we let ourselves forget. We become trapped by inertia and dulled by repetition. We lose the wonder of the world that we had as children.
But why? We can't help growing older. But no law says we have to grow up. Go out there today with your eyes open. Suck all the living out of the day that it has to offer. This is the best day of your life. And you don't get another chance at it.
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July 5, 2020
Greatness;
I am so sorry that I cannot answer them all. The runners who are finishing the RAT get an e-mail to give them their link to enter the BAT, and to ask if they want a buckle or a medal (save those in Europe and Asia/Pacific who get a buckle).
So many of them write to tell me what this event has meant to them. It is impossible to answer them all, but I read every one. And they make my heart sing. One after another, they are the stories of people who entered this race for a variety of reasons. Some because they knew this was an amount of distance they would cover in four months anyway. Others because it presented a challenge to do more than they had ever tried before. A few because they wanted a buckle or a medal. A goodly portion entered just because their friends had entered...
What they discovered was a race that was both easier and more difficult than they expected. And they discovered they had greatness in themselves that they did not know was there.
Covering distance was the easy part. We are built to cover the distance. Sure, for those not used to it there were some aches and pains during the breaking-in period. But we adapt quickly. And if there is anything we humans are good at, it is covering pure distance.
The hard part is becoming a runner. Not just a person who runs, but a runner. (No disrespect to those who walk, because it is the same thing, only slower). Somehow, they had to stick with it through the transition from thinking, "Will I run today?" to thinking, "When will I run today?" Race is inextricably intertwined with life. Family issues... "When will I run today?" Work issues..."When will I run today?" Don't feel good... "When will I run today?" This is not like blocking out a day or a weekend and tolerating the discomfort long enough to finish. This is taking your life and injecting a race into it with no end in sight.
As a race director, I think the job is not about providing trinkets and baubles. It is about providing a venue for your runners to find greatness in themselves. You cannot force greatness on them nor lure them into it. Every one of us has greatness inside. But, we have to call on it to discover it. When the race begins, the runner is the one who encounters the obstacles. They are the ones who must reach inside for something they never knew was there.
And the obstacles in the RAT are many and insidious. The tedium of finding the time to go out, day after day and week after week... hell, month after month. Creating the challenge for yourself. How easy is it to decide that the RAT is easily achievable and cruise home? This is not the path chosen by most of the RATS. They catch one buzzard... and then fix their hungry eyes on the next. People who started out wondering if they could finish the 1000 Km are chasing 1000 miles. People now who are finishing the RAT in over half the time are set out to try and run negative splits on their summer and capture the BAT.
After these 50 something years, it would be easy for running to get old. But seeing it thru the eyes of so many people who are discovering the greatness in themselves makes it fresh and new every day. Down to the last person, catching the last buzzard, on the last day, the excitement never fades. It is you people who are inspiring me.
Someone remarked about the buckles; " If everyone gets a buckle, then it is no longer special." But that is not true at all. No buckle is special by itself. These buckles we have are just pieces of fancy metal. The magic in them is put there by the runners; for those who have reached deep inside to get them, those buckles will always be special.
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