Four Responses to “When’s Your Next Race?”
You’ve just finished regaling your family and friends with the story of your ultramarathon, complete with glorious mountain views, gastrointestinal pyrotechnics, battles with the local flora and fauna, aid station food bliss, and your tears and high fives at the finish line. You’ve relived every moment and are basking in the glory of finishing a very hard thing. Then someone drops a verbal bomb: “When’s your next race?”
You feel a whirl of emotions and possible responses, which usually takes the form of one of the following:
Excitement. “Well, this was just a training run for the Ultimate Rocky Death March 3000, and I’m so excited for that race in September!” You’ve put in the work, and you’re building towards your real A-Race.
Shock. “My next race? But… but I just… finished this one.” Is this one not enough for your fans? Don’t they understand how much work it takes?? (Likely, no.) You’ve got a hot date with your couch and Netflix for the foreseeable future, thank you very much. What did THEY do this weekend??
Disappointment. “Uh, well, I’m actually coming back from an injury right now, so I’m not really sure…” You want to run, and have to believe that running ultramarathons won’t perpetually break you. You cross your fingers that your IT Band/Knee/Funny Bone Syndrome-itis will only last a week or two and not the whole summer.
Indifference. “Honestly, I don’t know yet. I just want to run without pressure for awhile”. Frankly, you’d rather focus on gleefully counting marmots on your run instead of anxiously counting the minutes until the next cutoff. Training for an ultra is hard, time-consuming work, and sometimes you just want to run for fun and without an agenda.
I’ve felt all of these responses to the “when’s your next race?” question. This year, I’ve mainly been feeling Indifference. My two races this spring (Badger Mountain 50K and the Highland Fling 53 miler) went GREAT. I had fun, I finished both races, and I didn’t break myself (hooray!)
The thing is, every season a runner’s goals develop, grow, and change. In my first year or two of running ultras, it was all about proving to myself that I could go the distance. <cue dramatic music> Training and racing were exciting and even a little bit scary, in all the best ways. At this point, however, I have finishes at multiple distances, and races no longer motivate me the way they once did.
Now, instead of wondering if I can run the crazy distance, I find myself wondering why I run these crazy distances. That’s a significant question that deserves a bigger post, but suffice it to say that I don’t need another finishing medal to add to the bag of medals I store in a drawer. I run these distances to experience the adventure, the scenery, and the community.
So while I may not be running loads of races right now, I’m still doing the thing I like most. Enjoying mountain views, tough climbs, forested singletrack, wildflowers, with a fun and supportive community. With a dose of the occasional challenge like GI distress, wildlife encounters, and exhaustion to keep it from getting too boring. Seeking out these experiences can mean I run an organized race, or I run a self-supported adventure. Each option allows me to seek out beautiful trails and camaraderie, just in different ways.
So the next time you encounter a runner stoked from their last accomplishment, you’ll be prepared for the response of Excitement, Shock, Disappointment, or Indifference when you ask about their next race. Perhaps ask something else, though, just to mix it up. (I guarantee they’ll tell you if they’re signed up for race.) 😉 You could ask about their favorite anti-chafe cream. Or how many pockets they like in a hydration pack. Or their preferred post-run pizza and beer combo. Any of those work.
