Getting Through the Rough Spots

One of the things I got in my bag of schwag from Skyline was a copy of the latest issue of Ultrarunning. I've never looked through one of these before so doing so was kind of interesting and pretty good reading.

One thing that stood out was a fantastic article written Gary Cantrell called "Quitpoint". Basically it talks about how running an ultra marathon is not a matter of persevering continuously for 30 or 50 or 100 miles. It's a matter of persevering through a finite set of rough spots, or what he calls "quitpoints". These are points in the race where quitting looks like an extremely attractive option when compared with not quitting.

As an example, unless forced to by serious injury or health concern, nobody quits a race out in the middle of nowhere, miles in either direction from an aid station. People quit at aid stations, where the volunteers are warm and helpful, their families and friends are present, food and drink is abundant, and a free car ride to the finish is available. Aid stations are classic quitpoints.

The article is strictly about ultra running, and that aspect of it resonated with me as I know that had my injury flared up just before or after an aid station, I would have had more options avaible, one of which would have been the aforementioned car ride to the finish.

But what I really enjoyed thinking about was how this way of looking at races might apply to other aspects of life. We all have many struggles that we go through, big ones and little ones. Challenges with work, school, relationships, family, friends, health. There are times when we think about throwing in the towel, and there are especially arduous times when throwing in the towel would be easy, or at least seemingly more attractive than the alternative. Success in a lot of areas isn't about working through problems day-in and day-out. It's about working through those few times when giving up is simple and means and end to the hardship, while forging on promises more pain and suffering.

But at the end is the gratification that one can only know after having suffered. That's why you thank the volunteers for their kindness, you wish your family and friends well, you take some food with you to go, and you push thoughts of a soft seat in an air conditioned vehicle out of your mind.