“
I'm convinced that a lot of people run ultramarathons for the same reason they take mood-altering drugs. I don't mean to minimize the gifts of friendship, achievement, and closeness to nature that I've received in my running carer. But the longer and farther I ran, the more I realized that what I was often chasing was a state of mind - a place where worries that seemed monumental melted away, where the beauty and timelessness of the universe, of the present moment, came into sharp focus.
”
”
Scott Jurek (Eat & Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness)
“
Thresholds don’t exist in terms of our bodies. Our speed and strength depend on our body, but the real thresholds, those that make us give up or continue the struggle, those that enable us to fulfill our dreams, depend not on our bodies but on our minds and the hunger we feel to turn dreams into reality.
”
”
Kilian Jornet (Run or Die: The Inspirational Memoir of the World's Greatest Ultra-Runner)
“
That’s one of the many great pleasures of an ultra-marathon. You can hurt more than you ever thought possible, then continue until you discover that hurting isn’t that big a deal.
”
”
Scott Jurek (Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness)
“
Let us live so that when we come to die, even the undertaker will be sorry,” Mark Twain
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
dark light. [Not actually an oxymoron. It's the color past ultra-violet. The technical term for it is infrablack. It can be seen quite easily under experimental conditions. To perform the experiment simply select a healthy brick wall with a good run-up, and, lowering your head, charge. The color that flashes in bursts behind your eyes, behind the pain, just before you die, is infra-black.]
”
”
Neil Gaiman (Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch)
“
The question became less and less theoretical in Vermont, where I started to come up against my own limits. I've heard it said that ultra marathons are 90 percent mental. And the other 10 percent? That's mental too. I was in the thick of that other 10 percent.
”
”
Scott Jurek (North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail)
“
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.
”
”
Vanessa Runs (The Summit Seeker)
“
To live with ghosts requires solitude.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and turns into a racket.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon. If you want to talk to God, run an ultra.
”
”
Dean Karnazes (The Road to Sparta: Reliving the Ancient Battle and Epic Run That Inspired the World's Greatest Footrace)
“
Wilt Chamberlain, all seven feet one inch and 275 pounds of him, had no problem running a 50-mile ultra when he was sixty years old after his knees had survived a lifetime of basketball.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen)
“
You were amazing,” Scott said. “Yeah,” I said. “Amazingly slow.” It had taken me over twelve hours, meaning that Scott and Arnulfo could have run the course all over again and still beaten me. “That’s what I’m saying,” Scott insisted. “I’ve been there, man. I’ve been there a lot. It takes more guts than going fast.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
Perhaps the pain of running helps numb the pain of the past. In all those hours pushing yourself on the trail, perhaps the feelings of despair, loss, rejection, whatever they are, start to soften, and things get put into perspective" (The Rise of Ultra Runners, 75)
”
”
Adharanand Finn (The Rise of the Ultra Runners: A Journey to the Edge of Human Endurance)
“
The repentant, run-to-seed ultra-Leftists who have converted to humanitarianism, artificial inseminators of the widow and the orphan, themselves orphans of reality and malades imaginaires of politcs, premature ejaculators of posthistory and hypochondriacs from the dead body of ideology and morality.
”
”
Jean Baudrillard (Fragments)
“
I had never felt more alive, more happy to be living in the moment. My suffering stood on the horizon, like the mountain, contrasting comfort. It stood starkly against familiarity, above old limitations, and towered over complacency. The mountains added the beauty and depth to the landscape around me. I was pushing into a totally new realm and pushing towards my dream of testing my limits. It did not feel pleasant, not in this hour, but I forced myself to run the last mile.
”
”
Rob Steger (Training For Ultra: Ultra Running Stories From the Middle of the Pack)
“
Distance running was revered because it was indispensable; it was the way we survived and thrived and spread across the planet. You ran to eat and to avoid being eaten; you ran to find a mate and impress her, and with her you ran off to start a new life together. You had to love running, or you wouldn’t live to love anything else.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
The death toll had gotten so bad, Mexico would eventually rank second only to Iraq in the number of killed or kidnapped reporters.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
Once you master breaking down the mental wall of running, there are no limits. When you both see and believe that you can run further, run faster, you can.
”
”
Rob Steger (Training For Ultra: Ultra Running Stories From the Middle of the Pack)
“
In a sprint, if you don't have perfect form, you're doomed. The ultra distance forgives injury, fatigue, bad form, and illness. A bear with determination will defeat a dreamy gazelle every time.
”
”
Scott Jurek (Eat & Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness)
“
I once lived a life almost ruled by anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and paralyzing fear. I spent years looking for the thing that would release me, and when I finally found it, it wasn't medication or therapy. It was running.
”
”
Stephen Morley (Too Old to Ultra: When a marathon is just not enough)
“
We either don’t run, or if we do then running has become an ‘exercise’, something that either we are told to do, or we tell ourselves to do. Something that is measured in terms of value and benefit, rather than being an expression of feeling.
”
”
Lizzy Hawker (Runner: The Memoir of an Accidental Ultra-Marathon Champion)
“
Pessimism is a towering skyscraper eighty stories high in the suburbs of the soul at the end of a long avenue with waste ground on either side and a few poorly-stocked little shops. Several ultra-fast staircases give access to the building, running up from the cellars to the roof-gardens. The comfort of this place leaves nothing to be desired and only the greatest luxury is acceptable, but every Friday the residents gather on the ground floor to read from a bible bound in the skin of a blind man. The psalmic words they intone rise up through the pipes, sigh in the stoves and sweep the chimneys coated inside with black grease which leaves dirt on the skin. Water runs constantly in the bathrooms and the showers beat down on the numbered bodies, peppering them with sand. On Sundays the bed linen unrolls by itself and nobody makes love. For this tower block, like an obscure phallus scraping the vulva of the sky, is usually a hive of sexual activity. The most beautiful woman lives there, but no-one has ever known her. It is said, that dressed in furs and feathers, she keeps herself shut away in a first-floor apartment as if in a white safe. Her windows are scissors which cut short both shadow and breath. Her name is AURORA.
”
”
Michel Leiris (Aurora)
“
this ninety-five-year-old man came hiking twenty-five miles over the mountain. Know why he could do it? Because no one ever told him he couldn’t. No one ever told him he oughta be off dying somewhere in an old age home. You live up to your own expectations, man.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
Running has often been the tool that I use as a way to explore, to learn, to live. It takes me to a place of balance – physical, mental, emotional. Running or not is irrelevant. It is the finding something that lets us delve deeper into our own story that matters.
”
”
Lizzy Hawker (Runner: The Memoir of an Accidental Ultra-Marathon Champion)
“
Chasing is in police DNA memory, like Labradors running after sticks,” said Serge. “They probably don’t even know why they do it. They just put the lights on and go, and a while later the partner who isn’t behind the wheel says, ‘Why are we stopping?’ ‘Something inside just told me to because there’s a really cool crash up ahead. It’s weird; I can’t explain it.
”
”
Tim Dorsey (The Riptide Ultra-Glide (Serge Storms #16))
“
The turmoil of emotion that permeates my every day – the doubts, the fears, the hopes, the apprehensions, the joy – is held in suspension. There is a quiet within my movement. I think. But my thoughts are not my master. For the moment I am simply running. Identity and purpose are irrelevant. To be running is enough. Because if I am running then I am alive. And to be alive is everything.
”
”
Lizzy Hawker (Runner: The Memoir of an Accidental Ultra-Marathon Champion)
“
Many many millions of years ago a race of hyperintelligent pandimensional beings (whose physical manifestation in their own pandimensional universe is not dissimilar to our own) got so fed up with the constant bickering about the meaning of life which used to interrupt their favorite pastime of Brockian Ultra Cricket (a curious game which involved suddenly hitting people for no readily apparent reason and then running away) that they decided to sit down and solve their problems once and for all. And to this end they built themselves a stupendous super computer which was so amazingly intelligent that even before its data banks had been connected up it had started from I think therefore I am and got as far as deducing the existence of rice pudding and income tax before anyone managed to turn it off.
”
”
Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide, #1))
“
Think Easy, Light, Smooth, and Fast. You start with easy, because if that’s all you get, that’s not so bad. Then work on light. Make it effortless, like you don’t give a shit how high the hill is or how far you’ve got to go. When you’ve practiced that so long that you forget you’re practicing, you work on making it smooooooth. You won’t have to worry about the last one—you get those three, and you’ll be fast.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
On the contrary, I have seen big winners, individuals who have overcome themselves and have crossed the finish line in tears, their strength gone, but not from physical exhaustion—though that is also there—but because they have achieved what they thought was only the fruit of dreams. I have seen people sit on the ground after crossing the finish line of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, and sit there for hours with blank looks, smiling broadly to themselves, still not believing that what they have achieved isn’t a hallucination. Fully aware that when they wake up, they will be able to say that they did it, that they succeeded, that they vanquished their fears and transformed their dreams into something real. I have seen individuals who, though they have come in after the leaders have had time to shower, eat lunch, and even take a good siesta, feel that they are the winners. They wouldn’t change that feeling for anything in the world. And I envy them, because, in essence, isn’t this a part of why we run? To find out whether we can overcome our fears, that the tape we smash when we cross the line isn’t only the one the volunteers are holding, but also the one we have set in our minds? Isn’t victory being able to push our bodies and minds to their limits and, in doing so, discovering that they have led us to find ourselves anew and to create new dreams?
”
”
Kilian Jornet (Run or Die)
“
Wilt Chamberlain, all seven feet one inch and 275 pounds of him, had no problem running a 50-mile ultra when he was sixty years old after his knees had survived a lifetime of basketball. Hell, a Norwegian sailor named Mensen Ernst barely even remembered what dry land felt like when he came ashore back in 1832, but he still managed to run all the way from Paris to Moscow to win a bet, averaging one hundred thirty miles a day for fourteen days, wearing God only knows what kind of clodhoppers on God only knows what kind of roads.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
Now imagine an ultra-headstrong five-year-old, who never tires of whining, whose whining can’t be avoided, and whose behavior can’t be modified. The parents of such a child would quickly realize the futility of resisting the child’s entreaties. They would realize that in the long run, their life will be tolerable only if they give the child what he wants most of the time and save their energy for a few well-chosen battles. These parents will quickly get into the habit of saying yes to their child. Indeed, so quickly will they say yes that we—and maybe they as well—might forget that they have the power to say no.
”
”
William B. Irvine (On Desire: Why We Want What We Want)
“
We all have one. It is that run. Its physical location may change as we move house, region, country, continent. But it is the run that is always with us. It is the run that we can trust ourselves to. It is the run that is waiting to enfold us back again after injury, absence or discouragement. It is where we go in the cool of the early morning, in the heat of the day, in the fading light of a setting sun. It is a place we go to in all seasons, observing and feeling the changes, until the rhythm of the earth becomes our own, a comforting reminder of the impermanence of all things. It is where we go to seek solace, to seek challenge. It is where we go when we need to push, to hold back. It is where we go when we need to find a fragile peace.
”
”
Lizzy Hawker (Runner: The Memoir of an Accidental Ultra-Marathon Champion)
“
Now Justin stood in our reading room, leaning up against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. He was tall, with a wiry athletic build. Usually, he was Mr. Ultra-Casual, with sun-kissed blond hair that he kept out of his eyes by pushing his sunglasses up on his forehead. Today, that messy blond hair was clean-cut, and he’d traded his typical board shorts and loose T-shirt for a striped shirt and khakis. His father, the mayor of Eastport, was running for re-election. Since the campaign started last month, Justin had become the mayor’s sixteen-year-old sidekick. I’d heard he was spending the summer working for his dad down at the town hall, which would explain the nice clothes. What sucked for me was that the new style fit him. He looked even better, the jerk.
“I heard you and Tiffany got into a catfight over me at Yummy’s,” Justin announced with an overconfident grin that pissed me off.
I slammed the door behind me. “First off, I dumped a soda over her head. That was it.”
“Damn, a catfight sounded much hotter. I was picturing ripped shirts, exposed skin.”
I rolled my eyes. “And second, it wasn’t over you, egomaniac. You can date every girl in town as far as I’m concerned. I hate you. I pray every night that you’ll fall victim to some strange and unusual castration accident.” I pointed to the door. “So get the hell out.”
His lips twitched, fighting a smile.
Ugh. I was going for “crazy ex filled with hate” not “isn’t she cute when she’s mad?”
“Feel better after getting all that out?
”
”
Kim Harrington (Clarity (Clarity, #1))
“
The Messianic Wall and the Ultra-Loyal Base First published in 2019 There is much talk of Trump’s ultra-loyal political base, and rightly so. That base, or at least the most passionate element of it, consists of angry people who feel spurned by the political establishment. The base showed its psychological and political clout when Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, who claimed to speak for it, denounced Trump for “caving” to a unanimous Senate decision to keep the government running, which caused Trump to reverse himself and create a disastrous partial government shutdown. Yet that same base could play a large part in removing Trump from office. People who submit themselves to an omnipotent guru can be especially passionate in their support of all that he says and does. But this cultism can also be a source of vulnerability for both. Leaders and followers can become antagonists rather than mutual nurturers.
”
”
Robert Jay Lifton (Losing Reality: On Cults, Cultism, and the Mindset of Political and Religious Zealotry)
“
One has but to consider the phenomenon of fashion, which has never been satisfactorily explained. Fashion is the despair of sociology and aesthetics: a prodigious contagion of forms in which chain reactions struggle for supremacy over the logic of distinctions. The pleasure of fashion is undeniably cultural in origin, but does it not stem even more clearly from a flaring, unmediated consensus generated by the interplay of signs? Moreover, fashions fade away like epidemics once they have ravaged the imagination, once the virus has run its course. The price to be paid in terms of waste is always exorbitant, yet everyone consents. The marvellous in our societies resides in this ultra-rapid circulation of signs at a surface level (as opposed to the ultra-slow circulation of meanings). We love being contaminated by this process, and not having to think about it. This is a viral onslaught as noxious as the plague, yet no moral sociology, no philosophical reason, will ever extirpate it. Fashion is an irreducible phenomenon because it partakes of a crazy, viral, mediationless form of communication which operates so fast for the sole reason that it never passes via the mediation of meaning.
Anything that bypasses mediation is a source of pleasure. In seduction there is a movement from the one to the other which does not pass via the same. (In cloning, it is the opposite: the movement is from the same to the same without passage via the other; and cloning holds great fascination for us.) In metamorphosis, the shift is from one form to another without passing via meaning. In poetry, from one sign to another without passing via the reference. The collapsing of distances, of intervening spaces, always produces a kind of intoxication. What does speed itself mean to us if not the fact of going from one place to another without traversing time, from one moment to another without passing via duration and movement? Speed is marvellous: time alone is wearisome.
”
”
Jean Baudrillard
“
The introduction of networked lights is happening because of another trend. Manufacturers have been replacing incandescent and fluorescent lights with ultra-efficient LEDs, or light-emitting diodes. The U.S. Department of Energy says that LEDs had 4 percent of the U.S. lighting market in 2013, but it predicts this figure will rise to 74 percent of all lights by 2030. Because LEDs are solid-state devices that emit light from a semiconductor chip, they already sit on a circuit board. That means they can readily share space with sensors, wireless chips, and a small computer, allowing light fixtures to become networked sensor hubs. For example, last year Philips gave outside developers access to the software that runs its Hue line of residential LED lights. Now it’s possible to download Goldee, a smartphone app that turns your house the color of a Paris sunset, or Ambify, a $2.99 app created by a German programmer that makes the lights flash to music as in a jukebox.
”
”
Anonymous
“
while Jack Kirk—a.k.a. “the Dipsea Demon”—was still running the hellacious Dipsea Trail Race at age ninety-six. The race begins with a 671-step cliffside climb, which means a man nearly half as old as America was climbing a fifty-story staircase before running off into the woods. “You don’t stop running because you get old,” said the Demon. “You get old because you stop running.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
ripping thru the atmosphere
”
”
Brian Burk (Running to Leadville: Life, Love, Loss and a 100 Mile Ultra Marathon Through the Colorado Rockies)
“
Scott was a hero for a very different reason among back-of-the-packers too slow to see him in action. After winning a hundred-mile race, Scott would be desperate for a hot shower and cool sheets. But instead of leaving, he’d wrap himself in a sleeping bag and stand vigil by the finish line. When day broke the next morning, Scott would still be there, cheering hoarsely, letting that last, persistent runner know he wasn’t alone.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
My arms floated until my hands were rib-high; my stride chopped down to pitty-pat steps; my back straightened so much I could almost hear the vertebrae creaking.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
Months later, I’d learn that iskiate is otherwise known as chia fresca— “chillychia.” It’s brewed up by dissolving chia seeds in water with a little sugar and a squirt of lime. In terms of nutritional content, a tablespoon of chia is like a smoothie made from salmon, spinach, and human growth hormone. As tiny as those seeds are, they’re superpacked with omega-3s, omega-6s, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, fiber, and antioxidants.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
But I never did much running again until I signed up to do an ultra-marathon when I was on Blue Peter in 2008. 78 miles in 24 hours. At the time I wasn’t really running at all. I had never done a marathon, but I think that was good, because I didn’t realise how hard it would be to do three.
”
”
Vassos Alexander (Don't Stop Me Now: 26.2 Tales of a Runner’s Obsession)
“
Everyone can be a runner, all ages, all levels, because a runner is not defined by how fast you are, but how much you love to do it. Your passion for running can have different motives, exploring a place, being outside, staying fit and healthy, social happening, way of peace and meditation, exploring your own capacity, reaching goals and dreams or a professional way to make money.
”
”
Rob Steger (Training For Ultra: Ultra Running Stories From the Middle of the Pack)
“
When I’m out on a long run,” she continued, “the only thing in life that matters is finishing the run.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
This is a seam that will run throughout this book, confronting and dispelling the culturally ubiquitous idea that genes are fate, and a certain type of any one gene will determine exactly what an individual is like. That this is a fallacy is universally known among geneticists, yet it is still an idea that carries a lot of cultural significance, fueled frequently by the media and an ultra-simplistic understanding of the absurd complexities of human biology.
”
”
Adam Rutherford (A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes)
“
extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
The past is never dead. It’s not even past.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
You don’t stop running because you get old, the Dipsea Demon always said. You get old because you stop running… .
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
Ultra god Scott Jurek summed up the Young Guns’ unofficial creed with a quote from William James he stuck on the end of every e-mail he sent: “Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction.” As
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen)
“
Later, when Dusty thought I had more speed in me, he told me that two women were in the top ten, approaching fast. “They’re gonna chick you, Jurker! Do you want to get chicked?” (Dusty had coined the term when he was in high school. It’s now part of the ultra-running lexicon). I
”
”
Scott Jurek (Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness)
“
They’re gonna chick you, Jurker! Do you want to get chicked?” (Dusty had coined the term when he was in high school. It’s now part of the ultra-running lexicon). I
”
”
Scott Jurek (Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness)
“
Just move your legs. Because if you don’t think you were born to run, you’re not only denying history. You’re denying who you are.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
90% of the time when you think you can't go any faster, you probably can.
”
”
Travis Macy (The Ultra Mindset)
“
In an ultra marathon, at some point along the way you cross a line where pain becomes your companion. Suffering becomes part of the journey. Sometimes the suffering is minor, and other times it is nearly unbearable...but it always comes.
”
”
Cory Reese (Nowhere Near First: Ultramarathon Adventures From The Back Of The Pack)
“
Racing ultras requires absolute confidence tempered with intense humility. To be a champion, you have to believe that you can destroy your competition. But you also have to realize that winning requires total commitment, and a wavering of focus, a lack of drive, a single misstep, might lead to defeat or worse.
”
”
Scott Jurek (Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness)
“
I called a team meeting (of one) and we decided I would run with the head torch around my neck and have my drop bag (jacket and painkillers) taken to the foot of the mountain. I couldn’t help but thinking that I was steadily becoming a knowledgeable ultra-marathon runner…
”
”
Nicholas Turner (How Not To Run 100 Marathons)
“
However, the world being what it is, not five miles later, on that same highway, a beat-to-shit pickup crept alongside me. I turned and glanced at the kid in the passenger seat just as he hollered, “Nigger!” I shook my head as they drove on, but his ignorance didn’t fuck with me. That was his problem. In fact, the word he’d hoped would wound me bounced right off me. I was on the verge of running five hundred miles of ultra races in less than six weeks. That is a monumental output, and the reason I pulled it off is because I am focused on being my best at all times. When you live that way, there is no time to donate to small-town racists or anyone else whose perspective is defined by their narrow minds. At this point in my life, the supposedly offensive, unspeakable word with its dark, violent history has been reduced to a chain of harmless symbols: consonants and vowels that don’t mean a damn thing.
”
”
David Goggins (Never Finished: Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War Within)
“
Dateline, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Approximately 11:00 P.M. In fewer than seven days and on five separate islands, Jason Lester and Rich Roll successfully logged 12 miles of swimming, 560 miles of cycling, and 131 miles of running—703 miles in total.
”
”
Rich Roll (Finding Ultra: Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of the World's Fittest Men, and Discovering Myself)
“
I want to show you something,” he said, his voice dropping a little lower than usual and causing a shiver to run down my spine.
“What?” I asked.
“I said show, not tell. You have to come with me.”
Curiosity nagged at me and the champagne urged me into recklessness. He’d promised to be nice after all, so why not? And even though I’d said I wanted to go back to the snooze fest party, I didn’t really. Given the choice, I’d just head back to the Academy.
“You’d better not be about to whip your junk out again,” I warned. “Because I’ve seen way too much of you for my liking.”
“Oh I think you liked it just fine,” he countered and the heat that flooded my cheeks at his tone stopped me from raising any further argument on the subject.
He stepped a little closer to me and I fought against the impulse to lean in.
“Come on then, don’t keep me in suspense,” I demanded though a little voice in the back of my head wondered if I meant something else by that statement.
Darius’s mouth hooked up at one side and he inclined his head to yet another door on the other side of the room.
I followed him as he led the way through the manor to a grand atrium before opening the door onto a dark stairwell which led down to what must have been an underground chamber.
I eyed him warily but at this point I was pretty sure he’d have attacked me already if he was going to. Darius Acrux may have been a lot of things but it seemed he was a man of his word; he’d promised to be nice to me tonight and that was what he was delivering. I’d have to keep an eye on the time though, at midnight his Cinderella spell might come undone and he’d turn back into an asshole shaped pumpkin.
Lights came on automaticaly as we descended and at the foot of the stairs, he opened another door and led me out into into an underground parking lot.
I eyed the row of flashy sports cars in every make and model imaginable but he didn’t pause by them, instead leading me to the far end of the lot.
A smile tugged at my lips as I spotted the lineup of super bikes. They were all top of the range, ultra-sleek, ultra-beautiful speed machines. My fingers tingled with the desire to touch them as the tempting allure of adrenaline called to me.
“You said you could ride,” Darius said, offering me a genuine smile. “So I thought maybe you’d like to see my collection.”
Damn, the way he said ‘my collection’ made me want to punch the entitlement right out of him but I didn’t miss the fire burning in his eyes as he looked at the bikes. That was a passion I knew well. He was a sucker for my kind of temptation too.
“Have you done any modifications on them?” I asked, reaching out to brush my fingers along the saddle of the closest red beauty.
“They’re top of the line,” he said dismissively like I didn’t know what I was looking at. “They don’t need any mods.”
I snorted derisively. So he liked to ride the pretty speed machines but he didn’t know how to work on them. “Figures pretty boy wouldn’t know how to get his hands dirty,” I teased.
“Maybe the kinds of bikes you’re used to riding need work to make them perform better but this kind of quality doesn’t require any extras. Besides, I could just pay someone to do it for me even if they did.”
“Of course you could. That’s not really the point though.” And he was wrong about the kinds of bikes I was used to riding. I spotted four models amongst his collection which I’d ridden within the last six months. The others could easily be mine with a little bit of time and a tool or two. Not that I felt the need to tell him that.
“You wanna take one for a ride?” he offered. “You can test your supposed skill against mine; there’s a circuit to the west of the estate.”
My eyes widened at that offer. I’d missed riding since coming to the Academy and I hadn’t really thought I’d be able to get out again any time soon. ...
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Ruthless Fae (Zodiac Academy, #2))
“
Don’t get easily discouraged and don’t worry about what others think. We can tell you straight away that when you slow jog, surprised walkers may overtake you and hard-core runners may laugh. What counts is that you’re out there realizing your goals. You’re much more likely to achieve them jogging at an ultra-slow speed than sitting on your couch.
”
”
Hiroaki Tanaka (Slow Jogging: Lose Weight, Stay Healthy, and Have Fun with Science-Based, Natural Running)
“
Answering the ultra-literalists The fundamental error these ultra-literalists make is they fail to recognise how Jesus and the Apostles reinterpreted the Old Testament. Instead texts are made to speak about present and future events almost as if the New Testament were never written. The implicit assumption is that somehow Old and New Testament run at times parallel into the future, the former speaking of Israel and the latter of the church, almost independent of one another (see Figure 2.2).
”
”
Stephen Sizer (Zion's Christian Soldiers?: The Bible, Israel and the Church)
“
Running an ultra is 90 percent mental, and the other 10 percent—that’s mental too!
”
”
Hal Koerner (Hal Koerner's Field Guide to Ultrarunning: Training for an Ultramarathon, from 50K to 100 Miles and Beyond)
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
The ultra distance forgives injury, fatigue, bad form, and illness. A bear with determination will defeat a dreamy gazelle every time.
”
”
Scott Jurek (Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness)
“
Flashing over the images were motivational messages: “Your feet are your foundation. Wake them up! Make them strong! Connect with the ground… . Natural technology allows natural motion… . Power to your feet.” Across the sole of a bare foot is scrawled “Performance Starts Here.” Then comes the grand finale: as “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” crescendos in the background, we cut back to those Kenyans, whose bare feet are now sporting some kind of thin little shoe. It’s the new Nike Free, a swooshed slipper even thinner than the old Cortez. And its slogan? “Run Barefoot.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
Make friends with pain, and you will never be alone. —KEN CHLOUBER, Colorado miner and creator of
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
Have you ever been curious to know how someone can run such a long way? Have you ever wondered what must go through their mind and emotions, what they must think about and feel for all those hours? Whether you race or not, whether you run or not, you are
”
”
Lizzy Hawker (Runner: The Memoir of an Accidental Ultra-Marathon Champion)
“
If I can harness my concentration and focus when I run then my challenge is to learn how to direct it to good effect in my daily life. Therein being the value in my daily run – apart from bringing me to physical health and a point of balance – it presents me with an opportunity to learn, to grow, to change in my every day.
”
”
Lizzy Hawker (Runner: The Memoir of an Accidental Ultra-Marathon Champion)
“
Racing can give me a focus. It can give a direction to and motivation for my daily run. There is, of course, a time for everything. And racing will only ever be a part of my running. But sometimes I need what it is a race can give me – something to absorb my effort, my attention – moments where I am forced to step outside what is comfortable, time after time after time. I’m forced to focus on what I am feeling, on what I am enduring in the here and now, whether that is keeping warm in the cold, keeping cool in the heat, eating, drinking and looking after myself. Despite my physical effort, sometimes during a race I experience the moment where I am resting in stillness; I’ve stopped doing and I’m focused instead on being. And that is when I feel free. But of course the race itself is the smallest part of the story. It is the journey that is important; the everyday, the day in, day out. Start and finish lines are just steps on that journey. The prize is not a position, or a time; instead the getting to know myself, the work and the training must be its own reward.
”
”
Lizzy Hawker (Runner: The Memoir of an Accidental Ultra-Marathon Champion)
“
The Buddhist doctrine of impermanence teaches that one of the truths about life is that nothing lasts. Everything will pass. Everything indeed has to. It is in the nature of things. We cannot fight against the tide of life. In running, and in life, we have to reach deep within ourselves to find an equanimity that allows us to flow through the good and the not so good.
”
”
Lizzy Hawker (Runner: The Memoir of an Accidental Ultra-Marathon Champion)
“
Florida City?” Coleman dropped a Vicodin. “So that’s what that string of motels is called?” Serge nodded. “Actually a funny story. Used to be called Detroit.” Coleman swigged a pint of Rebel Yell. “Now you’re making fun of me because I’m wrecked.” “Swear to God. You can look it up,” said Serge. “I wouldn’t shit you.” “I know,” said Coleman. “I’m your favorite turd.” “And naming it Detroit wasn’t even an accident, like the other times when two pioneer families set up shop in the sticks and there’s no one else around to stop them, and they’re chugging moonshine by the campfire, ‘What should we call this place?’ ‘Fuck it, I already spent enough effort today running from wild pigs,’ and then you end up with a place called Toad Suck, Arkansas—you can look that up, too. Except modern-day Florida City started as an ambitious land development with hard-sell advertising and giant marketing geniuses behind the project. Then they had the big meeting to concoct a name: ‘I got it! What do people moving to Florida really want? To be in Michigan!
”
”
Tim Dorsey (The Riptide Ultra-Glide (Serge Storms #16))
“
At that moment, I honestly didn’t believe that I was physically or mentally able to run a marathon. But the only way out was through.
”
”
Rich Roll (Finding Ultra: Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of the World's Fittest Men, and Discovering Myself)
“
Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up,” Bannister said. “It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a lion or a gazelle— when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
HEROPANTI MOVIE REVIEW & RATING
Movie Name: Heropanti
Director: Sabbir Khan
Producer: Sajid Nadiadwala
Music Director: Sajid-Wajid, Manj Musik
Cast: Tiger Shroff, Kirti Sanon, Sandeepa Dhar
‘Heropanti’, a love story is directed by Sabbir Khan and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. It is the debut movie of Tiger Shroff (son of superstar Jackie Shroff) and Kirti Sanon, both starring in lead roles alongside Sandeepa Dhar featuring in a pivotal role. Overall it is a remake of Telugu movie ‘Parugu’ starring Allu Arjun.
‘Heropanti’ is all about another new gem in Bollywood industry. Big launch with hit songs. New faces- heroine as well as hero. Does it work? Let’s go through to know it…
‘Heropanti’ borrows half of its title from Sr. Shroff’s breakout film and is also having the signature tune from ‘Hero’ (1983) which is being played in the background repeatedly. The action movie is not as terrible as Salman and Akshay films. The newcomer Tiger Shroff has done amazing stunts in the film.
The story is set in the land of Jattland in Harayana where Chaudhary (Prakash Raj), the Haryanvi goon is completely against love marriages. He has two daughters- Renu (Sandeepa Dhar) and Dimpi (Kirti Sanon). Chaudharyji’s elder daughter Renu’s marriage is held, but on the wedding night she elopes with her boyfriend Rakesh. Her step results in a frantic search for her across the village. Chaudharyji launches a manhunt to track them down and eliminate them. Now Haryanvi goon’s men suspects Rakesh’s friends and thinks that they may know where Renu is. So the goon decides to kidnap the buddies of his daughter’s lover.
Bablu (Tiger Shroff) turns to be one of the buddies with ultra muscular head and shoulders model who falls in love with Chaudharyji’s younger daughter Dimpy (Kirti Sanon). The goons manage to trace Bablu who has actually helped Rakesh and Renu in escaping. Bablu, meanwhile in captivity, shares with his pals about his love interest.
Bablu falls in love at first sight with the pretty younger daughter of Chaudharyji’s, Dimpy. He comes to know quite early that it is none other than the Harynavi goon Chaudharyji’s daughter.
The movie tries to end up in a ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ style where Bablu uses his superpowers and figures out to be with his love but without offending her father.
launch pad for Shroff to show his acting and dancing skills. Plan to watch it, if nothing left to do.
Tiger Shoff is a great action hero. When it comes to action, he is a star but comparatively his acting skills are zero. Kirti Sanon requires a little brushing up on her acting skills she reminds us somewhere of young Deepika Padukone who is surely going to have a good run in the industry someday.
Verdict: It’s the most masala-less movie of this year with more action and less drama. But the movie is a perfect
”
”
I Luv Cinems
“
I’m convinced that a lot of people run ultramarathons for the same reason they take mood-altering drugs. I don’t mean to minimize the gifts of friendship, achievement, and closeness to nature that I’ve received in my running career. But the longer and farther I ran, the more I realized that what I was often chasing was a state of mind—a place where worries that seemed monumental melted away, where the beauty and timelessness of the universe, of the present moment, came into sharp focus. I don’t think anyone starts running distances to obtain that kind of vision. I certainly didn’t. But I don’t think anyone who runs ultra distances with regularity fails to get there. The trick is to recognize the vision when it comes over you.
”
”
Scott Jurek (Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness)
“
By unspoken agreement, we all picked an invisible line in the cracked asphalt and toed it.
”
”
Chistopher McDougall
“
Ask nothing from your running, in other words, and you’ll get more than you ever imagined.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
Racing ultras requires absolute confidence tempered with intense humility. To
”
”
Scott Jurek (Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness)
“
The world she lives in is not mine. Life is faster for her; time runs slower. Her eyes can follow the wingbeats of a bee as easily as ours follow the wingbeats of a bird. What is she seeing? I wonder, and my brain does flipflops trying to imagine it, because I can't.I have three different receptor-sensitivities in my eyes: red, green and blue. Hawks, like other birds have four. This hawk can see colours I cannot, right into the ultra-violet spectrum. She can see polarised light, too, watch thermals of warm air rise, roil, and spill into clouds, and trace, too, the magnetic lines of force that stretch across the earth. The light falling into her deep black pupils is registered with such frightening precision that she can see with fierce clarity things I can't possibly resolve from the generalised blur. The claws on the toes of the house martins overhead. The veins on the wings of the white butterfly hunting its wavering course over the mustards at the end of the garden. I'm standing there, my sorry human eyes overwhelmed by light and detail, while the hawk watches everything with the greedy intensity of a child filling in a colouring book, scribbling joyously, blocking in colour, making the pages its own.
”
”
Helen Macdonald (H is for Hawk)
“
LOW-DENSITY-GRAZING SYSTEMS CAUSES:
1. Stock to graze re-growth.
2. Stimulates bush-encroachment and more bare soil.
3. The quality and quantity of grazing to deteriorate.
4. Carrying capacity to decline.
5. Run-off to increase.
6. Severe erosion to occur with accelerating top-soil losses.
7. Recovery to become virtually impossible.
LDG causes a cycle of
destruction.
”
”
André Lund (The Wonder of UHDSG (Ultra High Density Strip Grazing): Elandsfontein Beaufort West - Central Karoo South Africa)
“
Question #95 You are being chased by rabid wolves and the road you're running on reaches a trident with 3 routes you can take to escape. The first route is a trail riddled with land mines. The second route is a road littered with ultra-fast and strong zombies like those from World War Z and Train to Busan. The last route is a stream filled with Piranhas that haven't eaten in 20 years. Which route is the safest?
”
”
Linda Nguyen (Hard Riddles For Smart Kids: 400 difficult riddles and brain teasers for kids and family)
“
You must train regularly and there are rarely any shortcuts.
”
”
Rob Steger (Training For Ultra: Ultra Running Stories From the Middle of the Pack)
“
I believe we are missing the root cause. Most fundamental to our health are the habits we form. Food is fundamental. Exercise is essential. Together they are a powerful combination. It seems incredibly basic, but we seem to have forgotten the basics. I know I did.
”
”
Rob Steger (Training For Ultra: Ultra Running Stories From the Middle of the Pack)
“
And thus I kept doing it. Mile 20 passed. Mile 23 passed. Mile 26 passed. Running an ultra is simple; all you have to do is not stop.
”
”
Dean Karnazes (A Runner’s High: My Life in Motion)
“
You have to give your heart to the Goddess of Wisdom, give her all your love and attention, and the Goddess of Wealth will become jealous, and follow you.” Ask nothing from your running, in other words, and you’ll get more than you ever imagined.
”
”
Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen)
“
it! Your nutrition and hydration plan The optimal nutrition plan will depend on race conditions and will vary among runners. The best nutritional plan is the one that works for you. It is also one that you have practiced during your training runs. Never try anything new on race day! Try keeping the food you eat during an ultramarathon like the food you normally eat. Remember your body and gut are already going to be stressed. Try to minimize additional stress by eating like you normally do as much as possible. A general guideline is to eat between 150-300 calories per hour. Start eating early in the race and eat at regular intervals. Setting
”
”
Terry Gebhardt (Minimalist's Guide to Running an Ultramarathon: Finish Your Ultra by Training Smarter, Not Harder!)
“
Ultra running isn’t a mystery—it’s hard work and human nature. I believe anyone can do it. If it’s in you, if you want it, you can do it. You can run 30 miles, 50 miles, 100 miles. You don’t have to look like a runner—anyone can be a runner. You don’t have to be fast, you don’t have to know anything. You just have to start small and break it down.
You will be afraid. You’ll worry about wild animals and strangers and getting injured and losing everything. This is natural. This is resistance. You’re stronger than you think you are. Keep going.
”
”
Katie Arnold (Running Home)
“
the lab’s essential public health functions could be compromised during the move and if the lab had fewer employees.
The lab, now at a former Devon Energy Corp. field office building next to a cow pasture in Stillwater, has struggled to keep its top director and other key employees. Delays to get test results for basic public health surveillance for salmonella outbreaks and sexually transmitted infections have shaken the confidence of lab partners and local public health officials. As a new coronavirus emerges going into winter, the lab ranks last in the nation for COVID-19 variant testing.
Many employees, who found out about the lab’s move from an October 2020 press conference, didn’t want to relocate to Stillwater. Those who did make the move in the first few months of 2021 found expensive lab equipment in their new workplace but not enough electrical outlets for them. The lab’s internet connection was slower than expected and not part of the ultra-fast fiber network used across town by Oklahoma State University. A fridge containing reagents, among the basic supplies for any lab, had to be thrown out after a power outage.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized a correction plan after federal inspectors, prompted by an anonymous complaint, showed up unannounced at the lab in late September. “Although some aspects of the original report were not as favorable as we would have liked, the path of correction is clear and more than attainable,” Secretary of Health and Mental Health Kevin Corbett said Tuesday in a statement about the inspection. “We are well on our way to fully implementing our plan. (The Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services) has confirmed we’ve met the requirements of being in compliance. We are looking forward to their follow-up visit.”
In an earlier statement, the health department said the Stillwater lab now “has sufficient power outlets to perform testing with the new equipment, and has fiber connection that exceeds what is necessary to properly run genetic sequencing and other lab functions.” The department denied the lab had to throw out the reagents after a power outage.
”
”
Devon Energy
“
We hear all the time about how important it is to be physically fit. Our society has become ultra-focused on fitness and health. Our Facebook feeds are filled with seven-minute workouts. There are YouTube videos galore on seven days to rock-hard abs. The radio plays ads to lose ten pounds in ten days, but only if you call in the next ten minutes.
Even the president told us to be physically fit. Remember the Presidential Physical Fitness Test in elementary school? A quick shuttle run, the dreaded flexed arm hang. It tested strength, endurance, flexibility, and agility. All different ways to prove we were physically fit. Or not.
As a matter of fact, Americans now spend more on fitness than on college tuition.1 Over a lifetime, the average American spends more than $100,000 on things like gym memberships, supplements, exercise equipment, and personal training.2 Seems shocking, right?
But where are the training programs for the thoughts in your head? Those thoughts that tell you that you have no choices when bad things happen. Those thoughts that try to convince you everything is out of your control in difficult situations. Where do you go if you want to be Thoughtfully Fit?
Right here in this book.
”
”
Darcy Luoma (Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success)
“
PhD, identifies self-control as a foundational element of reaching success. Attaining a goal, at the most fundamental level, essentially requires doing, in a given moment, what you often don’t feel like doing, or feels like you are not capable of doing. That’s where training in self-control kicks in. When I have already run 60 miles and have 40 more to go, do I feel like running 40 more? I love running, but of course I don’t feel like running 40 more miles after running 60! No one does. However, I have reached the point where my self-control is such that, unless I’m suffering a serious physical injury that prevents me from taking a step, I know I’m not going to stop; I know I’m going to continue on for 40 miles, come hell or high water.
”
”
Travis Macy (The Ultra Mindset: An Endurance Champion's 8 Core Principles for Success in Business, Sports, and Life)
“
Amelia Boone (TW: @ameliaboone, ameliabooneracing.com) has been called “the Michael Jordan of obstacle course racing” (OCR) and is widely considered the world’s most decorated obstacle racer. Since the inception of the sport, she’s amassed more than 30 victories and 50 podiums. In the 2012 World’s Toughest Mudder competition, which lasts 24 hours (she covered 90 miles and ~300 obstacles), she finished second OVERALL out of more than 1,000 competitors, 80% of whom were male. The one person who beat her finished just 8 minutes ahead of her. Her major victories include the Spartan Race World Championship and the Spartan Race Elite Point Series, and she is the only three-time winner of the World’s Toughest Mudder (2012, 2014, and 2015). She won the 2014 championship 8 weeks after knee surgery. Amelia is also a three-time finisher of the Death Race, a full-time attorney at Apple, and she dabbles in ultra running (qualified for the Western States 100) in all of her spare time.
”
”
Timothy Ferriss (Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers)
“
Moments of doubt are unavoidable when we take on any strenuous task. I've used the One-Second Decision to regain my composure and win hundreds of small battles during ultra races, on the pull-up bar, and in stressful work situations. And the first step is to mentally take a knee.
The best person in any combat scenario is the one who is composed enough to take a knee when the bullets are flying at them. They know they need to evaluate the situation and the landscape to find a way forward and that it's impossible to make a conscious decision if they or their team is running around like fire ants. Taking a knee in battle is not as easy as it sounds, but it's the only way to give yourself time to breathe through the panic and rein in your spinning mind so you are able to operate. The battle hasn't stopped. Gunfire is still lighting up the night, and you dont have any time to waste. In that one second, you must take a breath and decide to bring the fight.
When you are in the grip of life and in danger of losing your shit, just think, It's time to take a knee. Get a couple of breaths and flash to your future. If you fold, what will happen next? What's your plan B? This is not some deep contemplation. There is no time to order a pizza and hash it out with your people. This must happen in seconds! p90
”
”
David Goggins (Never Finished: Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War Within)
“
The Dunkin Donuts slogan “America runs on Dunkin” scares the hell out of me. The suggestion that a country prides itself on being “nourished” on donuts and lattés is rather curious.
”
”
A. Breeze Harper (Sistah Vegan: Black Women Speak on Food, Identity, Health, and Society)
“
Later, when I thought about this story, it occurred to me that almost all long-distance races take place outdoors. Other than the occasional fundraiser, people don’t run ultramarathons on a treadmill. They roam wild terrain, follow the path of rivers, climb mountains, and descend through canyons. What separates even the most punishing ultra-endurance events from masochism is context. The events are not about suffering for suffering’s sake, but suffering in a natural environment that invites, almost guarantees, moments of self-transcendence. If endurance training is in part about learning how to suffer well, it helps to put yourself in surroundings that inspire awe or gratitude. Outdoors, you can be stunned by a sudden change in landscape or enthralled by the appearance of wildlife. You can find yourself entranced by the stars at night or heartened by the first light of dawn. These transcendent emotions put personal pain and fatigue in a different context. It is impossible to understand what ultra-endurance athletes are doing without taking this into account. Experiencing a state of elevation during a moment of deep exhaustion provides a reminder that flashes of pure happiness can take you by surprise even when things seem the most bleak. Knowing this is possible is how we survive our worst pain. Finding a way for suffering and joy to coexist—that is how humans endure the seemingly unendurable.
”
”
Kelly McGonigal (The Joy of Movement: How exercise helps us find happiness, hope, connection, and courage)
“
One of the first scientific papers to write about exercise-induced myokines labeled them “hope molecules.” Ultra-endurance athletes talk about the metaphor of putting one foot in front of the other—how learning that you can take one more step, even when it feels like you can’t possibly keep going, builds confidence and courage. The existence of hope molecules reveals that this is not merely a metaphor. Hope can begin in your muscles. Every time you take a single step, you contract over two hundred myokine-releasing muscles. The very same muscles that propel your body forward also send proteins to your brain that stimulate the neurochemistry of resilience. Importantly, you don’t need to run an ultramarathon across the Arctic to infuse your bloodstream with these chemicals. Any movement that involves muscular contraction—which is to say, all movement—releases beneficial myokines.
It seems likely that some ultra-endurance athletes are drawn to the sport precisely because they have a natural capacity to endure. The extreme circumstances of these events allow them to both challenge and enjoy that part of their personality. Yet it’s also possible that the intense physical training contributes to the mental toughness that ultra-endurance athletes demonstrate. Endurance activities like walking, hiking, jogging, running, cycling, and swimming, as well as high-intensity exercise such as interval training, are especially likely to produce a myokinome that supports mental health. Among those who are already active, increasing training intensity or volume—going harder, faster, further, or longer—can jolt muscles to stimulate an even greater myokine release. In one study, running to exhaustion increased irisin levels for the duration of the run and well into a recovery period—an effect that could be viewed as an intravenous dose of hope. Many of the world’s top ultra-endurance athletes have a history of depression, anxiety, trauma, or addiction. Some, like ultrarunner Shawn Bearden, credit the sport with helping to save their lives. This, too, is part of what draws people to the ultra-endurance world. You can start off with seemingly superhuman abilities to endure, or you can build your capacity for resilience one step at a time.
Months after I spoke with Bearden, an image from his Instagram account appeared in my feed. It was taken from the middle of a paved road that stretches toward a mountain range, with grassy fields on either side. The sky is blue, except for a huge dark cloud that appears to be hovering directly over the person taking the photo. I remembered how Bearden had described his depression as a black thundercloud rolling in. Under the Instagram photo, Bearden had written, “Tons of wind today, making an easy run far more challenging. So happy to be able to do this. Every day above ground is a good day.” Below, a single comment cheered him on, like a fellow runner on the trail: “Amen to this! Keep striving.
”
”
Kelly McGonigal (The Joy of Movement: How exercise helps us find happiness, hope, connection, and courage)
“
A goal is an amazing thing. If harnessed properly, it can boost us out of bed on the days that we want to pull up the covers and keep our eyes squeezed shut. It can motivate us to aspire beyond our comfort zones. I enjoy setting goals that seem out of reach because I do not fear not accomplishing them.
”
”
Rob Steger (Training For Ultra: Ultra Running Stories From the Middle of the Pack)
“
Most ultramarathons are a sufferfest. I have concluded that it does not matter who you are or how much training you have completed, everyone suffers at some point during an ultra. What differentiates ultrarunners is how they handle themselves in the low moments.
”
”
Rob Steger (Training For Ultra: Ultra Running Stories From the Middle of the Pack)
“
It was only sifting through depths that deep that I was able to uncover my soul. Maybe it was not really about this race; it was about finding those few thoughts that transcended the darkness, the ones that would only be conjured up within my head during times of need. Maybe it was finding a spiritual level of flow while running, floating down the trail like I’ve never experienced before, finding myself running within ultra.
”
”
Rob Steger (Training For Ultra: Ultra Running Stories From the Middle of the Pack)
“
Visualizing a positive outcome is a powerful tool to produce positive outcomes. Visualization can make something that seems statistically improbable and turn it into a reality.
”
”
Rob Steger (Training For Ultra: Ultra Running Stories From the Middle of the Pack)