Lessons Learned from Ultra-Marathons that will Help During this Pandemic

(March 2020)

One of the most valuable lessons I have learned from completing ultra-marathons and grueling trail races is that while I always feel excited and enthusiastic in the beginning, I know that some pain and despair will come my way. But I have learned mental games which I play to overcome those tough times when quitting seems like the best option.

Technically ultra-marathons are anything longer than a marathon –26.2 miles – but typically they are 50 or 100 miles. I have participated in 50-mile ultra-marathons.

I have seen runners approach ultra-marathons as if they were doing a long half-marathon. They don’t have the right gear or they didn’t really train for the length of the race. They start fast and strong, then suddenly are they completely overwhelmed. They are in pain, extremely tired and they realize they still have another twenty miles to go, and perhaps it is raining or colder than expected. Their biggest problem is that they are mentally drained; they are not prepared for the mental aspect of the race and how long and tough it will be.

We are only about 12 days into the COVID-19 shutdown as I write this and I hope people realize that we are all running an ultra-marathon, not a 5k or even a marathon.  My fear is that many of us are not.  We feel good because we have enough food, drinks and toilet paper .  We feel healthy and we have the ability to work from home, so we are confident. 

If we are working from home, we should pause and think of the people we know who are out of work because of this pandemic.  Those individuals and those close to them have already taken a surprise hit and, believe me, it takes a toll on you mentally when you don’t know if you can pay your bills.  While my wife and I are okay for now, my daughter’s employer had to close, so she is temporarily unemployed, which affects my wife and I.

I am in the field of public education and our state’s schools went to virtual classes almost overnight.  While this system is not perfect, for now it looks as if it is working well enough. Where I work, we did the same thing –most of us transferred to working from home, and we are rightfully proud that we can continue to serve our members. But I would caution all of us that we are only a few miles into a 50-mile run and there are many other obstacles to overcome. It is likely we have not had to face the toughest ones yet. 

As with ultra-marathons, the mental obstacles may well be the steepest ones.  It is one thing to be hunkered down for a week or two it is quite another for it to be doing this for several months—or longer. We are working on adrenaline now, but when that wears off the mental game starts.  People who live alone may find the lack of direct human contact more difficult sooner than people who are cloistered with other family members. After 12 days I know I already miss the human interaction that I had not only at work, but with people at the coffee shop I stop at every morning; or at the various pizzerias and delis where I regularly get lunch.  I am a bit worried that these businesses may not even be there when this is over.

I am sure a lot of kids are already missing the social aspects of school.  They can’t even participate in playdates.  If the adults in the house start to falter under the stress then so will the kids.

I keep praying that all the reports I read of 40%-50% of the population being infected are wrong but if it is even half that, the implications are terrifying.  If that is true then we all know someone close to us who will be directly affected whether that be a work colleague, friend, or family member.  That will add to our collective stress.

I have painted a pretty grim picture, but we can and will get through this.  Here are some of the things I have learned from completing ultra-marathons that may help right now:

·         Know it is going to be very difficult  The basic premise here is that you must have a realistic idea of the difficulties in order to prepare for them.  I know there will be times on an ultra-marathon that the hills will sap my energy, that I may be in some pain, and I may feel down.  I also know that it is temporary and it is not a surprise, which means that I persevere.  The people who falter are the ones who are surprised by the difficulties, which makes them harder to manage. During this time, we will all feel down and detached, but this is not a surprise and it is temporary, so we will persevere.

·         Have the right gear During a race I always need to make sure I have the right gear especially if the weather is bad.  Luckily, most of us have the right gear at home, which includes the technology to get through this.  We have also had the ability to stock our cabinets, so our trips to the grocery store are less frequent. Social media and technology at this time is such a godsend since it allows us to stay in touch with friends and family.  It also allows many of us to continue working.

·         Reach out to those who are struggling In one of my first ultra-marathons, I noticed a woman on the trail who was having extreme difficulty. I shared some water with her, and ran with her, urging her on. She told me later how much this helped her. But it also helped me.  I felt part of a larger effort. During this pandemic, not everyone has the right gear or provisions at home.  Many people have lost their jobs and are running low on money.  Children may be at home in a very dysfunctional family.  These are the people we need to reach out to – for their sake and for ours.

·         Take time to reflect and smile  When I am on an ultra, which is almost always held in beautiful natural areas, I always have my phone on me and take pictures to document the beauty of nature.  I also joke with other runners and volunteers at aid stations.  The same applies here—you have to be appreciative of the people you are sequestered with.  Humor makes it easier to deal with the day.  One positive about Facebook during this crisis is that people have not lost their sense of humor. Call a friend, particularly someone who is alone.  It will make you both feel better.

·         Trick your brain When running an ultra-marathon, being cold and sore can wear on you mentally.  You think “I can’t do another 30 miles!”  Yet what I have found is I don’t think of the whole race distance.  I think of going ten miles to the next aid station.  I break the race up into legs.  I am doing the same thing with this quarantine. I’m taking it week by week.  When I think of the end date it scares me, but if I think of doing it for a week, I’m ok.   

·         Get by with a little help from your friends—and strangers  While I like to think of myself as a badass for running fifty miles, I know I couldn’t do it by myself.  There are numerous aid stations along the way that supply me with food and water, which are manned by total strangers.  We all are in the same boat and the strangers who work in grocery stores, hospitals, pharmacies, and liquor stores –not to mention friends and neighbors—are all helping us too.  At those ultra-marathon aid stations I always make it a point to thank the volunteers.  Maybe we should do the same with the workers we encounter.

·         At the end, you will be stronger  It is difficult to describe the feeling of finishing an ultra-marathon. But I can tell you this from my own experience and that of others I have talked with. When you finish, even though you are sore and exhausted, you also feel like you can do almost anything in your life.  At the end of this pandemic ultra, I believe we will all be feeling a bit stronger because we overcame what may be one of the biggest challenges we will ever face.