It has been said of the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Race that you run the first fifty miles with your legs, and the next fifty miles with your mind. The very notion of running 100 continuous miles through the mountains of the Sierra Nevada, on a steep and rocky trail, seems unfathomable, something not humanly possible. In tackling endeavors like these, you prove to yourself that you’re better than you think you are, and you can go further than you thought you can.
Yet even the most highly conditioned body can carry you just so far. At a point, going beyond is a mental challenge more than a physical one.
In my passion to accomplish the seemingly impossible—such as running 50 marathons, in all 50 states, in 50 consecutive days—I’ve learned to celebrate failure. Most people are afraid to fail, but unless you push yourself beyond the breaking point, you’ll never know how far you can go. I’ve discovered far more from my failures than my successes. Failure provides you with invaluable lesson on how to succeed in the future.
Something else I have learned in my quest to test and expand the limits of human endurance: There are no shortcuts on the road to success. No matter how talented you may be, no matter how vast your ability, you’ve got to pay your dues. When things get tough, and you begin to question your power to get through, you will invariably look back on your training and preparation and either say, “I skimped and didn’t do everything I should have to overcome this challenge,” or you will say, “I paid the price in blood and sweat, commitment and sacrifice; I can do this!” You can’t fool yourself. You know in your mind’s eye whether you compromised or whether gave everything in your training and preparation. Having that confidence makes the difference.
“I didn’t run a thousand miles, I ran one mile a thousand times.”
Finally, I have learned that taking baby steps can result in giant leaps. When asked how he ran 1,000 miles, the legendary ultramarathoner Stu Mittleman replied, “I didn’t run a thousand miles, I ran one mile a thousand times.” By breaking larger, seemingly impossible goals into smaller more manageable pieces, one can accomplish extraordinary things.
I encourage you to wakeup every morning with the same commitment, that today you will be the very best that you can be. With resolve, discipline and unwavering focus, it is possible to break through barriers that you once may have thought entirely impossible.
To find out more about Dean, visit ultramarathonman.com.
