I started ultrarunning in college. That was a long time ago — something I am acutely aware of, since I interact with college students daily. They did not live through Y2K and do not know the word “Tamagotchi.”
My students part their hair in the center, not on the side. They were raised with iPhones coextensive with their hands, and they reference music I have never heard of (1). They are wonderful, thoughtful people, and I love them very much. But they are of a decidedly different generation than I am, raised under different digital and social conditions. Our differences remind me that college was many years ago — and that I have been ultrarunning for a long time.
Presentism animated my training and racing in my early days in the sport. I wanted to maximize my efforts in the moment and to compete at every race I could feasibly attend. My training was often an erratic process of running more than I could possibly sustain, being felled by injury, and then repeating my error. I did not stretch or recover adequately, and I chose my racing schedule based on what my friends were doing, rather than in accordance with any systematic plan. In short, I was a novice and made a series of avoidable mistakes.
The author early in her ultrarunning career. Photo courtesy of Sabrina Little.
My Best Advice
Sometimes, we need to make our own mistakes to learn. But if you can heed my advice, I hope it will help you avoid some of my pitfalls. Here are four cautions I wish I had received at the outset of my ultrarunning career.
1. Be Careful Who You Emulate
There is a pattern in ultrarunning: An athlete enters the sport and trains in impressive yet unsustainable ways. They become an ascendant figure, winning races and commanding media attention. Then they burn out or suffer a career-ending injury and quietly exit the sport.
This athlete’s career would be a cautionary tale if the story ended here. But there is a steady stream of these athletes entering the sport, flying too close to the sun. They train heroically and unsustainably, accomplish impressive feats, and then disappear. But insofar as they are always present — commanding attention, one at a time — we hear a consistent narrative of needing outsized training methods to accomplish great feats.
To be clear, it is certainly an athlete’s prerogative if they want to train like this — to maximize the present moment and shine brightly, potentially at the cost of future running. But I worry about the message it sends to new runners.
If you are a new runner, you might think excessive training is required to succeed at the highest levels of the sport. It is not. There are plenty of examples of ultrarunners who have been competing for a long time, working hard within their limits, and experiencing success. So, my first piece of advice is to pay attention to these athletes. Emulate the runner with the long and successful career, not just whoever is the fastest in the moment. Otherwise, you may be imitating a training plan that will lead to your premature destruction.
2. Run the Races That Excite You
Sometimes, in my ultrarunning career, I selected races based on where my friends would be. Other times, I selected races that other people said were important. Later in my career, I selected races based on what my sponsors incentivized. Now, I regret the fact that I wasted some of my best years of running answering to other people’s proclivities and agendas.
I missed opportunities to compete in races that suited my interests and competencies, and I can’t get those moments back. So, my advice is to run races that are important to you, regardless of what others think. The sport is hard enough without having to dig deep for races that do not matter to you.
A more mature Sabrina Little, having won the 2018 Cayuga Trails 50 Mile. Photo courtesy of Sabrina Little.
3. Perseverance Is Not Always a Good Thing
Perseverance is the virtue of “persisting long in something good until it is accomplished (2).” It is an excellence characterized by “staying in place,” toward good ends, and it is likely the single most important virtue in endurance running. We grow better at ultrarunning by learning how to persevere.
However, perseverance is only a virtue when we persist toward good ends, and when we persist in the right ways. If completing a race crowds out worthier commitments — such as family or work responsibilities — or if we are bullheaded and “hold on imprudently (3),” running through injury or illness to complete a race, this is not praiseworthy.
I think this is an important reminder in a sport that sometimes celebrates endurance without qualification. Not all finish lines are good ones.
4. Define Excellence Broadly
Some of the people I admire most in ultrarunning are not fast. They are ordinary people challenging themselves within rigid time constraints, or they honor their families well while trying to compete at a high level. Some of the people I admire in the sport have tremendous work responsibilities, in tandem with running goals.
Others wake up early — so early! — to complete their daily runs. They demonstrate admirable consistency. And some of them are great encouragers — investing time and attention into other athletes, building community, and welcoming others into the sport. All these people are excellent members of the sport.
There are many ways to be a “good” runner besides being maximally fast. My advice is to figure out what excellence means in your context and consider how you can aspire greatly and invest in the sport, with integrity to your personal limits.
Eszter Csillag with her daughter after finished fifth at UTMB in 2022. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Final Thoughts
My qualification for giving advice is that I have made, and continue to make, many mistakes as an ultrarunner. I hope that reading these cautions will help you to avoid some of my pitfalls from over the years.
Call for Comments
- What advice would you give to someone starting out in ultrarunning?
- Was there any advice given to you when you started running that has stuck with you?
Notes/References
- Admittedly, this was also true when I was a college student, living among other college students. Do people read footnotes?
- “Summa Theologiae” II.2.137.1.
- “Summa Theologiae” II.2.138.2
