Running. The Why.

Preparing for my first race, the Racing The Planet race in Georgia in 2021, I spent many nights hiking with a weighted rucksack (mix of bottles of water and bags of rice) while listening to audio books and podcasts. One advice I came across more than once was that it is important to know why you are doing a race. The idea is that when it gets down to it, you know why you are there and quitting will therefore not be an option you consider.

I'm not sure I ever got to the point where I considered quitting, but knowing why I sign up for races helps me with my training consistency. Why is it that you are out on a random Wednesday evening (or morning if you're a morning person) in the dark and the rain running your 10km. Why are you training, what is your goal? I think everyone has their own very personal reasons for doing ultra races, but my why is pretty simple: "because I can" and "because I enjoy it". So long as my body will go along with it, I have the time needed to train and I can afford to spend money on the affiliated travel, I would like to continue signing up for races.

Two anecdotes come to mind at this point: the first was when I completed the second stage of my first race in Georgia in 2021 and had just been to the medics tent to have a hole drilled in my big toe to relieve the pressure from the fluid that had built up underneath it (sounds a lot worse than it is, it's actually an incredibly relieving feeling and the pain stops instantly). I remember going back to my tent and texting my friends group on Whatsapp about the experience. Only one guy replied and he just pointed out that I should stop whining (it wasn't so much about the blisters, my feet just hurt in general), after all it was me that wanted to be there. That's exactly the same attitude you will encounter from the medics at the Marathon des Sables. They fix up your feet but don't expect any pity from them. They're doing their job (well really it's them volunteering), and it's you that wanted to do this race.  

While my reason for running may come across as rather bland, I have met some amazing people on the small number of ultras I have been on to date. There are many people out there battling their inner demons or running to draw attention to good causes.

But even if you think you don't need to know the why, you'll still need a reason on hand when your friends and your friends of friends will ask you. For as fascinating as it may be to run 100km or run through the desert or over a mountain, most people simply cannot understand what would drive anyone to do this.

Of course there are many more straight forward answers as to why you may sign up for ultras: to seek out your limits, to get to a higher level of fitness, to see spectacular sceneries (many races take place in areas that you otherwise would struggle to access unsupported) or for the special friendships that are made on these runs.

In all likelyhood we each have our combination of small (ordinary) reasons for why we run and more personal weighty reasons for running. But being clear on the why before you head out on a long demanding race may help you mentally on the day.