Something Makes Him Tick: Psychology of an Ultrarunner

Running distances further than a marathon — in some cases, running distances A LOT further than a marathon — takes a certain type of character.

I believe that character is deep inside all of us, there for the unlocking.  I didn’t know I had one, and WOULD HAVE LAUGHED if you said I had one, just a couple years ago.  But now I am certain we all have it.

It just takes something to trigger it.

Like rage.  Fear.  A broken heart.

For me, it was all three.  At once.

I had just caught the running bug and my destination was: THE MARATHON.  I thought there was no finer achievement.  So I dug right in.

At the time, I was dating a girl who I really dug.  She was perfect.  Maybe I was falling in love.

She was a runner too.  She’d drawn me in to the sport actually.  She was training for her first marathon as well and her target was Chicago 2010.  I loved being with her for the build up and the excitement.  And I started thinking about what it would be like to run further than a marathon. Is it possible?  Do people hurt themselves trying?  I was really clueless that an entire world of ultrarunners even existed.

And then I found Dean Karnazes’ book, Ultramarathon Man.  I was fascinated.  And determined I would test the waters.  Some day.  Soon.

The girl thought that running more than a marathon was dangerous.  And stupid.

I didn’t say much.  I put it in my brain’s back pocket and forgot about it.

But then, exactly one week before she was to run the Chicago Marathon, on a cold October morning, she broke up with me.

I went for a run.  And on that run, I decided I was not only going to beat her marathon time (by a lot), but I was also going to tackle the ultra distances.  50 miles.  100 miles.  24 hour races.  I’m doing that shit.

That was how my switch was flipped.

And now I’m doing that.  I’m really doing it.

So much hurt has brought so much joy to my life.  I find it astoundingly ironic.

And just perfect.