The why of ultra running

One of the questions that I get asked most often is why I do it.  What on earth motivates you to run that far? I’m sure its a familiar question to other ultra runners, and I’m grateful that many have shared their reasons with me over the last few years.

It’s perhaps a more perceptive question than it appears - one of the things that I have learnt along my ultra journey is that your “why” is tremendously important.  In every race, as in life, there will be tough patches and being able to connect to a strong reason for being there is critically important to being able to respond positively in those moments.

Let’s start at the beginning.  I confess, when I started running long my reason wasn’t entirely clear - that clarity has emerged over the subsequent months and years.  Simply enough, I read Scott Jurek’s book in which he discussed how hard he found UTMB, and the contrarian part of me decided if it was that tough I’d better try it. Over 3 years and 8 Ultras the “why” has now become crystal clear, as the races themselves have got harder.  I think it’s tremendously important if possible that at least part of your reason for running is connected to doing something for other people, not solely yourself - that seems to make it more powerful at the time you need it most.

Being asked so often gives me the opportunity to constantly reflect on, and refine, my reasons. This is my current best expression of them, I expect it will continue to change and develop over time:

1. Service: I’m clear that the most important thing in my life is to do what I can to help, support and serve others - my family, friends and colleagues, community and beyond.  If I am to do that to the best of my ability, I need to be the strongest, best possible version of myself.  Ultra running is the best method I have found of stretching that capability and capacity, because - I believe - that it is only through suffering that we truly grow.
2. Example: I want to show my daughters what it means to work diligently towards a goal, how to grind and push for something you really believe in.
3. Don’t die with the music in you:  Many of you will know we lost my eldest child, Charlie, some years ago.  I also recently lost my Grandfather, who originally gave me my love of the mountains.  I’m very connected to the shortness and fragility of life - and I don’t want to be sitting in a chair, years from now, regretting the things I could have done, but didn’t.
4. Gratitude:  I think how lucky I am to have the opportunity and capability to take on these incredible adventures, in what I believe to be the most spectacular places on earth.  I find so much joy not only in the racing, but in the process of preparing.  There is as much beauty to be found in the trails outside my back gate in the Surrey Hills as in the Mt Blanc massif, the Lake District, Snowdonia or the Highlands of Scotland. How lucky I am to have the opportunity to suffer, and how great I will feel when I look back on this? 

When I get asked why I run ultras, I try to answer the question in terms of these reasons. Often the response I get is “I could never do that”. I really believe that we are all capable of much more than we know - maybe not a 100 mile Ultramarathon, perhaps not even a physical challenge, but something truly audacious and almost beyond our imagination.  I try to encourage a different response, such as “I wouldn’t want to do that”, an entirely rational point of view! In the end, as trite as it may seem, it’s the desire that makes the difference.  

There’s a sense in which some people turn what I am doing into a negative judgement on themselves, or their own capability. Perhaps that’s unfortunate, perhaps it’s part of a process they need to go through - it’s impossible to say.  What I can say with confidence is I’m not judging anyone for making different life choices to the ones I make - even as I know that a small minority hold strong negative views about the latter.  Running long continues to make a huge positive difference to me, and the people I care about. There are many more mountains to conquer, on foot and in life. I’m going to enjoy every footstep.