How the ultradistance seed got planted in my head

A quote from Sir Edmund Hillary “In some ways I believe I epitomise the average New Zealander: I have modest abilities, I combine these with a good deal of determination, and I rather like to succeed”

 

I love this quote, it so accurately and cleverly describes quite a large portortion of people who take part in crazy ultraendurance events (and the first successful accent of Everest is definitely one of them!). 

 

In fact, on of the main reasons that I entered into the world of ultradistance racing 10 years ago came about by spending time with the folks at Odyssey Adventure Racing.  These people no only put on double and triple Ironman distance races, multiday adventure races, but at the same time raced in similar races around the world.  As I helped set up races, look after aid stations (sometimes for days on end in the middle of nowhere), and man the radio, I watched the others involved in the management of the races.  In that setting, they came across as normal people, different sizes and shapes, they had regular full time jobs that they went to when they weren't out in the wilderness.  But then, on other occasions, they would themselves be racing, and these seemingly normal people would somehow transform themselves and be able to perform what seemed to me to be superhuman feats of strength and endurance. 

 

I began to wonder whether I could me mentally and physically strong enough to compete in races that went on day and night for up to 5 days at a time.  I would like to think that I was mentally tough enough – getting a PhD was a mental ultraendurance feat in itself.  So I figured I would approach ultradistance racing in the same way as I had my PhD – with a good deal of determination and a strong will to succeed.

 

I have to say, that when I started ultradistance racing, I would not necessarily have described my abilities as “modest”, I think I would have chosen the words “non-existant”, at school I was the chubby uncoordinated child at school, picked last for every sports team, and actively discouraged from participating in sports by my physical education teachers. But that did not deter me, after all, I knew a lot about hard work, and I now saw that all these other seemingly normal people were able to do remarkable things.

 

Ten years on, people are frequently surprised; those that know what I do are surprised  when I tell them that I have very little in the way of natural sporting ability and that most of what I do is through sheer hard work and determination, and others, that aren’t aware of my crazy adventures are surprised, that given my short stature and “plentiful curves” that I can actually do what I do. 

 

At the end of the day, being successful in ultradistance racing, is so much about having modest abilities and combining them with a good deal of determination, and a desire to succeed”.  Many would call this goal setting!