Why is it that I'm having trouble accepting that "only" 50 miles could be the longest race of my season?
I don't know, something in my brain is pulling back and forth. You need to do more... 50 miles is tougher than hell, just focus on that...
Weird. Sort of an existential moment. Why are ultrarunners so focused on 100 miles and not 110 or 120 or 100k?
Perhaps it's because I feel my body is better suited for longer than 50 miles, that I don't have the legspeed to keep up in shorter events. Perhpas not; sort of a odd moment right now for me.
6 comments:
It's the symmetry of 100 miles that makes it so appealing. It sounds so big. Same reason 10-year anniversaries feel bigger than nine year anniversaries.
I don't think that is a weird or odd thought. For me, maybe you, and probably many other fellow adventure-minded peeps, it's the pure desire to explore the unknown. Before you ran 50, that was the unknown...now 100 remains as an unexplored territory. Completely separate from wanting to kick butt (and you will!) at 50K and 50M...
Aside from the NF50 in December, it's the 100's that get all the attention and seem to be leading the ultra explosion. On Saturday, 559 people were vying for 102 available spots in the Hardrock lottery. I'm sure that number will keep growing as more people enter the ultra scene and set their sights on a 100.
To add my two cents, I think boasting about a 100 mile run is more than twice as satisfactory as proclaiming a 50 mile run. People view 100 miles as a rediculous feat. Since most people can comprehend a 50 mile distance since they may commute it daily, 100 mile drives are reserved for long weekends. (Let alone to run that distance!)
haha...its funny because I have the same feelings a lot of the time. Hellgate has been my longest race each year for the past 5 years and I keep feeling like I need to step up and do something 'bigger'... at least until I toe the line at and realize that 100k it still pretty darn long and that its gonna be a long night. Good luck sorting it all out.
I don't see anything wrong with your line of thinking. Me personally, whenever I finish a race, two things pop into my head. 1) How can I run that same distance faster. 2) What do I need to do to run a further distance. As trail runners, that bar of 100 miles has been set as the ultimate distance and is probably the reason we tend to focus on it so much.
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