Ultra
Marathon Man
Confessions of an All-Night Runner
pg. 12
"So dude, why are you're doing this?"
Where to begin? "Oh man," I replied, "I'll have to get back to you on that one."
pg. 23
If it comes easy, if it doesn't require extraordinary effort, you're not pushing hard enough: It's supposed to hurt like hell.
pg. 81
As for the car, it was never the same. But I began to appreciate the vehicle more now that it had been properly christened. We had lived through the worst, and our shared history brought us closer together.
Ch 6 Leaving Normal was amazing how CreveCoeur could so closely relate to the author's comments & reflections and previously Creve had expressed almost some of the same thoughts verbatim!...
pg. 83
To call running "fun" would be a misuse of the word. Running can be "enjoyable." Running can be "rejuvenating." But in a pure sense of the word, running is not fun.
pg. 84
I continued treading the delicate line between recklessness and responsibility, never letting on how much time and effort were being poured into this single dream.
pg. 85
His years of living so close to the edge had left him with a shamanlike wisdom.
... The Western States Endurance Run would be primarily about one thing: not giving up. It really didn't matter how long it took to get the job done; what mattered was getting it done. This was an exploration into the possibilities of self. Being a champion meant not quitting, no matter how tough he situation became, and no matter how badly the odds were stacked against you. If you had the courage, stamina, and persistence to cross the line finish line, you were a champion.
pg. 86
Some seek the comfort of their therapist's office, other head for the corner pub and dive into a pint, but I chose running as my therapy...
As Lily Tomlin said, "Exercise is for people who can't handle drugs and alcohol."
I'd also come to recognize that the simplicity of running was quite liberating. Modern man has virtually everything one could desire, but too often we're still not fulfilled. "Things" don't bring happiness. Some of my finest moments came while running down the open road, little more than a pair of shoes and shorts to my name. A runner doesn't need much. Thoreau once said that a man's riches are based on what he can do without. Perhaps in needing less, you're actually getting more.
pg. 87
Why was I So compelled to push beyond all plausible limits of physical endurance to complete an endeavor that seemed so obscure and, some might say, irrational? I wasn't entirely sure myself. It's not that extreme athletes lack introspection; most whom I've encounter are quite reflective. It's just that question of "Why?" is not a simple one to answer...
More often than not, the person asking "Why?" is looking for a brief psychobabble cliché to adequately explain the phenomenon, something like: "I run because when I was kid, my father chased me out of the house and down the street with a belt in hand."
To those who asked me "Why?" I would frequently offer up some shallow explanation like "I enjoy running." What I guess I should have said was, "Go out and run fifty miles, then you'll have your answer."
Because I was still searching for mine.
pg. 101
"For those of you who do make it, you will cross that finish line as a different person. You will be forever changed by the experience. You will learn more about yourself in the next day than you have previously known in an entire lifetime."
My body may have been conditioned like a thoroughbred, but it was evident from his words that this would be more than a physical journey.
"God's will, I pray thee, not one more man. For I am not covetous for gold, nor care I for material flourishments... We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother."
pg. 123
A positive outlook was my greatest asset at this point. Despite being in the best shape of my life, no amount of brawn could carry me through another 40 miles. The real battle was inside my head.
pg. 129
...I've entered a world of hurt since. The pain is getting intense.
"... That is to be expected," he said, continuing to scan the sky. "Pain is the body's way off ridding itself of weakness."
pg 139
Most dreams die a slow death. They're conceived in a moment of passion, with the prospect of endless possibility, but often languish and are not pursued with the same heartfelt intensity as when first born. Slowly, subtly, a dream becomes elusive and ephemeral. People who've lost their own dreams become pessimists and cynics. They feel like the time and devotion spent on chasing their dreams were wasted. The emotional scars last forever.
pg 152
"If you can't run, then walk. And if you can't walk, then crawl. Do what you have to do. Just keep moving forward and never, ever give up."
pg 158
Everything took on new meaning. My demeanor grew more carefree, as if the important things in life had become clearer. My outlook became more expansive; my shortcomings, less significant. Others were treated with greater compassion, increased tolerance, broader humility.
pg 176
... running, to me, remained the purist form of athletic expression. It was the simplest, least encumbered sport there was, and the definitive measurement of raw stamina.
pg 206
I realized that going close to the edge gives you a new found appreciation for the familiar. Nothing gets taken for granted, and you see the world through fresh eyes. Running beyond the limits was my form renewal.
pg 208
Runners are real people. They don't run for money or recognition, they do it out of passion.
pg 220
People think I'm crazy to put myself through such torture, though I would argue otherwise. Somewhere along the line we seem to have confused comfort with happiness. Dostoyevsky had it right: "Suffering is the sole origin of consciousness." Never are my senses more engaged than when the pain sets in. There is a magic in misery. Just ask any runner.
pg 235
The highest form of competition is self-competition, and I was proving to be the cruelest of opponents, ruthlessly demanding more of myself, relentlessly doing battle with the road, with my own body, with my mind.
Pain was my weapon of choice.
Yet even in the midst of the tremendous punishment being dealt to my body, I absolutely thrived on the raw intensity of the moment. Beneath the feeling of hopelessness and despair, never have I felt so alive, despite- or perhaps because of--the pain.
pg 237
Sometimes you've got to go through hell to get to heaven.
pg 250
I wasn't born with any innate talent. I've never been naturally gifted at anything. I always had to work at it. The only way I knew how to succeed was to try harder than anyone else. Dogged persistence is what got me through life. But here was something I was half-decent at. Being able to run great distances was the one thing I could offer the world. Others might be faster, but I could go longer. My strongest quality is that I never give up.
pg 263
Most people never get there. They're afraid or unwilling to demand enough of themselves and take the easy road, the path of least resistance. But struggling and suffering, as I now saw it, were the essence of a life worth living. If you're not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you're not constantly demanding more from yourself--expanding and learning as you go--your choosing a numb existence. Your denying yourself an extraordinary trip.
As a running buddy once said to me: Life is a not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: "WOW!! What a ride!"
Endurance running was my passion, my ride.
