The Journey(s) of Running 100 Miles

The journey leading to running ("jogging", "hiking", "walking", “crawling”) 100 miles is filled with a lifetimes worth of valuable lessons I believe everyone would benefit from. The crazy thing about this is that it isn't the "100 miles" part that is the driver or the differentiator, it's really picking anything that is challenging, risky, or scary and leaning into that journey with purpose and commitment. This is the story of my journey to finishing the Mountain Lakes 100 Mile race last September, and the lessons and insights I gained in hopes it can help you either tackle something challenging or push you to chase something new you've been scared to jump in on.

Pursuing the art of the journey over the outcome is where growth happens and true beauty is unveiled. When looking at my path to the finish line, I purposely looked at it through "macro", "micro", and "nano" journeys. Being able to take a more broad point of view helps identify what lead you to where you are now and even what may have provided you with the inspiration, or the "why", to do something as scary as running 100 miles.

While my journey can be a beneficial perspective for many facets of life, there are a couple of key themes that pull through in each journey that relate to our lives and how we live them. The first is the importance of fueling, pacing, and training. Fueling + Pacing + Training = Success. This isn't just true in running, it's true in life itself. How we fuel our minds, bodies, and souls dictates our energy levels and our ability to shine our light as bright as possible. The journey of life is similar to a 100 mile race in that we need to pace ourselves properly. We can't come out of the gates at 150 mph only to later crash and burn. There are times when our pace needs to be fast, but it always needs complimented with deliberate slow periods to recover and grow. Training looks different for everyone. There is at least a million ways to train for running 100 miles, and the same goes for life. The focus isn't on how we train but that we realize the purpose of training or the "work" we're putting in.

The "Macro" Journey

The complete trajectory of our lives to this point is our "macro" journey. From the day we're born there are moments and events that lead us down the path to achieving whatever it is we're chasing. My "macro" journey includes a childhood filled with obesity and therefor a true hatred for any sort of running. When I was roughly 20 years old, I started losing weight (mostly to get chicks) but this opened up a new perspective on the importance of health. It's a heck of a lot easier to run a 5k at 225 pounds verses 270 pounds. The same goes for life. Seeing the quality of life increase exponentially when we start to understand that the training we're doing (in the gym, our mental habits, our spiritual structures) and the fuel we're putting into our body (both food and the content we're consuming) starts to shift our journey in an entirely new direction. For me that meant losing more weight and starting to be passionate about fitness and nutrition. While at this point in my journey, I still had no clue I would ever set out to run 100 miles. Looking back this was one fork in the road that lead me to today.

The reason I bring this up is that everyone is on a different "macro" journey. This journey is essentially our life and all the things that happen in it along the way. I'm a firm believer that things do happen for a reason and God's plan manifests in the decisions we make years and years prior. I probably wouldn't be sitting here writing this article if I would have never chose to consider losing weight. This led me to fitness, which led me to CrossFit, which led me to CrossFit 8035 where I met my wife, who led (drug) me to Oregon to start a new life, which opened my eyes to the beauty of trail running. That's a simple example, but crazy to think about! Maybe you're thinking of running your first half-marathon? I encourage you to take a couple seconds and reflect back on what might have led you to where you're at today! It can be inspiring!

The "Micro" Journey

My "micro" journey starts when I fell in love with the sport of trail running. Moving to Oregon in 2018, I was completely burnt out from a "competitive" CrossFit career. It is not lost on me how my pacing in that "micro" journey of life was completely unsustainable. I treated it as a sprint and eventually I blew up. However, I had built a strong understanding of how to fuel my body towards health, my mind through "gym therapy", and my soul through a closer relationship to and reliance on Jesus and the beauty of his creation, our amazing planet. I also fuel my mind through time alone letting my thoughts run free, not cooped up in a gym for hours each day. The beauty of the PNW opened my eyes to the power of worshiping on the trails and in the mountains. I was also searching for something to fill my physical training void and I instantly fell in love with running. A sport you can always run faster (at any distance) or run further, always providing something to chase!

How running in general has changed my life is a story for another day, but the point here is how my definition of "success" shifted in my identity as an athlete. I didn't initially set out to complete a 100 mile race, but after my first two races, a half marathon and then a 25k trail race, I had the thought in the back of my mind. Could I do it? What will that journey look like? All I knew was I learned pacing myself was an important variable in the equation I had messed up in the past. This journey I knew needed to be gradual, slow and steady, and filled by pursing the journey and not just checking the box.

Brick by brick we build. Progressing to the next level is what our humanness naturally strives for. But because of this, we often try to “level up” too quickly, not maintaining the proper pace, or not fueling ourselves properly for that level of intensity. My goal was to start with a 50K, and then a 50 miler, then a 100K (60 miles), and hopefully land at being able to do the full 100 mile distance. A lot of runners do 6, 7, 8+ races a year. There’s nothing wrong with this, but I prefer to embed myself into 12+ week training cycles to set me up for progression in the sport. The “training” piece we mentioned! Meaning I usually only run 3-4 races a year and also dabble in road running and triathlon. This "pace" helped me build more gradually and "train" more appropriately for the 100 mile distance and one piece I encourage everyone to consider! All to often I see people doing their first 100 miler 1-2 years into their journey and having an absolutely horrible experience. However, I know there are people who are special breeds and have success with this. Everyone's journey is different!

The "Nano" Journey

Unpacking the journey of the race itself is worthy of a movie, and not just for me but for anyone who's gone on that adventure. The amount of highs and lows in that 24 hour (19:54 to be exact) period is out of this world. Once we arrive at the starting line our training is fully baked and we rely solely on our pacing and fueling. While fueling specifically in terms of calories, hydration, and electrolytes is important, I believe what we're fueling our minds with (positive or negative thoughts) is even more important.

We start this race, each day, each week, our lives, with a finite amount of brightness in our light. How we choose to recharge that light and increase our ability to shine bright matters. For me that is relying on love and Jesus as much as I possibly can. In the dark forest at 2 AM, being guided by the halo of a dim headlamp, 18 hours deep into journey, there's very little that can get you through that moment. Being present and being able to appreciate the beauty that is God's green earth is fuel source numero uno for me. Coupled with the gratitude that we GET to be (not have to be) out on that trail, running, breathing, moving, is enough fuel to move a tank across Antarctica. There are way too many people who’d give anything to be out there running and being free. The second key fuel source is our relationships out on the trail. Whether with fellow runners, aid-station volunteers, or seeing the smiling face of your crew, all of these are instant charges to our continuously draining battery.

While fueling is probably the most important aspect, pacing can never be ignored. Just like in the "macro" and "micro" journeys, pacing’s main focus is on sustainability and longevity. In a race as long as 100 miles, coming out to hot is even more detrimental than in other journeys or areas of life. Blowing up can result in issues like cramping or stomach issues so severe even hours of rest and refueling cannot overcome, resulting in a DNF. There's more truth to "slow and steady wins the race" than we will ever know!

Finishing The Race

And just like that, the race is over. Anti-climatic huh? Just kidding, just kidding. Relish in the accomplishment that you just set out on a journey of a lifetime and did something that very few people in the world have done or will do! Even if it's a 50K or a triathlon or a half-marathon, you've still accomplished something over 95% of people will never even attempt and that is purely amazing. With that said, there are consequences to coming to the end of a journey like this. Mostly tying it back to where your "why" and purpose were placed. Was it purely on the outcome or did you embed yourself in and enjoy the process, the journey? If you were chasing an outcome, the high will wear off faster than you can sit down, trust me. In all my races and journeys leading to the 100 mile finish line I had truly appreciated the journey that I was on and was able to be satisfied where I was at in that moment. Transitioning to finishing 100 miles, with a goal of sub-20 hours, my focus shifted more towards the outcome and that made training leading up to the race and the overall satisfaction of finishing not what I was hoping for. Lesson number one, know your "why" and why you want to do what your "success" is in the journey formula.

Lesson number two is more of a consequence of accomplishing something of this magnitude. Whether you like it or not, you will be given a platform to be noticed and talked about. I hate talking about me, but the fact is, when you have coworkers, friends, and family who know you're doing this, you become the "crazy" person everyone wants to talk about it or tell other people. I don't know how many times at work or church I've had peers introduce me as the "crazy guy who runs ultras and ran 100 miles". It used to drive me insane, but now I've realized that's my identity and I should own it. While "platform" can be misleading, a platform still exists even when one person is listening or wanting to learn from you. This is exactly the opportunity we have to shine our light and help others brighten theirs. How you show up, how you love, how you interact with strangers who connect with you purely because you are the "100 mile ultramarathoner" is what matters most and how we bring more love into this world. It starts conversations and discussions that would have never happened if you hadn't taken the journey to where you are now. My advice is to own it! You're not a narcissist or someone with an inflated ego, you're special and your journey can help someone whether you believe it or not.

Let's love and grow together.

- DDD