Today I'm feeling light. My mind is happy and nothing can disturb this nice feeling. This is the result of running 50 miles at Cactus Rose (Bandera, TX). I could write a boring and technical report. A cold analysis of every single mile. I could, but I won't. I'm just saying that it was great. There are no words good enough to explain and describe it. ...and it doesn't matter how hard it was, how much I've suffered or how I felt during. Today I'm feeling a better animal being because I did it. That's what really matters. I challenged myself and I won.
"Ultra running is like a
spiritual experience—you get the most out of it when you approach with a pure
and humble heart. An ultra is something you can’t finish for anyone else. You
have to do it for yourself.
The runners who give off a vibe
of “Hey, look at me!” generally don’t stick with ultras. This is because if
your goal is social acceptance and praise, there are much easier ways to get
it.
When you run a marathon, all your
non-running family and friends think you’re a superstar. They might meet you at
the finish line, talk about you with pride, and tell you how awesome you are.
But when you run an ultra, you
are out on those trails by yourself. You’re facing your demons alone on a
terrain that is foreign. There are no motivational signs to lift your spirits.
There are no cheering fans to scream your name. If you’re lucky, you may get
some weak claps or cheers at the finish line.
But that finish is unlike
anything else. It’s yours and yours alone. Nobody can know what it took for you
to get there, and nobody can share in your glory. That finish line is where you
first realize that you can do anything.
You’ll go into the world the next
day to brag about your accomplishments, but instead of looking at you with
admiration, people will look at you like you’re insane. Your non-running
friends will not understand. Their first reaction will probably not be, “You’re
awesome!”
If it’s a nod from society you’re
looking for, run a marathon. But if it’s a life-changing experience of personal
strength and perseverance that you want, finish an ultra."
It doesn't matter for how long you're gonna suffer. It doesn't matter if you sweat, bleed or puke.
You have to cross the finish line, no matter what.
But there are two differences.
First: there is no finish line. You have a mirage of a finish line, but once you get there, you'll find out that someone has moved the line a little further. So you will keep going, until, eventually, you die.
Second: there is no cheering in your race. No happy faces high-fiving you or encouraging mottos for you. Just a bunch of assholes, ready to tear you down, drag you down, eat you, destroy and ruin you for no reasons. Just because you might step on their feet, or just because life has been bitter with them and they want to make you feel like what they feel. Or, (and this is the best one so far) just because -as they told me- "You're alone out there in this world, and nobody loves you".
But just like when you're running an ultra, you keep your pace. And you're doing it because you love it, just like running.
