This past weekend was the Western States Endurance Run, the oldest 100 mile race in the United States. I watched as much of the livestream as I could- I saw the beginning before I went to work on Saturday, and as soon as I got home I watched again until I went to bed. Then Sunday morning I watched AGAIN until the last runner crossed the finish line at 2 pm.
When it was over, I felt so sad- it’s over for another year! I didn’t want it to end. And I wasn’t even running! Let’s imagine for a moment how the runners must feel…
This race is VERY hard to get into. Most runners are selected through a complicated lottery system, after waiting and dreaming of the race for years. Then there’s the months of training, the logistics of organizing crew and pacers, traveling out to California, and then the epic adventure of running this iconic race. I would imagine that, as they approach the finish line, quite a few runners are thinking “Oh NO… it’s over.”
Elisabeth wrote about this same feeling after completing her epic European adventure, and I always feel like this after my big races. I wish I had a solution, but I don’t. I mean- what are we supposed to do- NOT take the family on a 3+ month unforgettable experience, or NOT run the race you’ve been dreaming about? No!
I love these words of wisdom from Joe Corcione, host of the Everyday Ultra podcast. He ran Western States this year, and did a pre-race episode talking about his thoughts and intentions leading up to the race. One thing he said was, ‘The dream is never about achieving the dream…It’s about the person you become along the way. We want the dream not because the outcome is freaking awesome, but because we want to be the person that’s capable of getting the dream.”
When I trained for and ran my big race in March, I became a person capable of running 60 miles on her 60th birthday. Elisabeth became a person capable of taking her entire family to Europe for 100 days, and curating an incredible experience. The actual experience is over, but we’re still the people we became along the way.
My post- Western States letdown is lingering. Maybe I need to find the next dream…
Link Up With Tuesday Topics
Welcome back to Tuesday Topics, as Jenny, from Runners Fly joins Jenn at Runs With Pugs to co-host this link-up! Please join us every week for a new topic! Write on our weekly prompt or choose your own topic! Make sure to add your post to the link up, link back to your hosts, and comment on the other shared posts!
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26 Responses
I think that’s such a comforting way of looking at it. The event ends, but the person who got there doesn’t disappear.
My solution to the post-race letdown is to dream up the next dream. After London, I had Cape Town in my sights. After Cape Town, I’m thinking about how to get into Tokyo. It seems to be a never-ending stream of goals! I’m not entirely sure how sustainable that is, but it definitely keeps me motivated and happy.
I also love Joe’s quote because it reminds me that the races themselves aren’t the whole story. The growth that happens along the way stays with us, no matter what happens next.
I think a never-ending stream of goals sounds pretty good! I need to get something else in my sights.
I remember feeling that post-race letdown after my marathons. I always reminded myself that it was all about the journey, not the destination. We put so much into meeting our goals that when we get there, there’s nothing left to look forward to. I guess that’s why we all find new goals to chase!
Yes, I guess that’s what Joe was getting at, just saying it in a different way- it’s not the destination, but definitely the journey.
I like that quote too. I ran 3 marathons and if I never run another. I am a marathoner.
I’m always sad after a big race. I rarely not have another on my calendar.
Not a challenge. But I’ve realized that staying healthy and running is a big enough one.
So many runners I know have stopped running.
Yes, you’ll always be a marathoner. And yes- just continuing to run is enough of a goal. Also, you do have certain races that stand out to you as goal races, and that keeps you motivated and happy.
I don’t think that there is any cure for the post race/event sads, but it’s so fun to be on the journey and then to look back at it.
Here is to the next dream!
Yes, the journey!!! And you’re right- there’s no real cure except to find the next dream.
I do love thinking that we all change with every experience. Every day is an opportunity for growth and change! Theoretically, anyway. I think I’m wired differently from you, Jenny, because I don’t share these same feelings of sadness when something is over. Now that I’m looking over the comments, I see EVERYONE is sad when something is over. Yikes, what is wrong with me? Well, we are all different, I guess.
Really- you don’t get sad when one of your huge trips is over? I guess what this means is, your everyday life is pretty great. That’s a good thing!
No, I don’t! I am always ready/ happy to go home.
I love that statement and it has so much truth – how a big challenging project like that changes a person, and becoming the person who is capable of doing that thing is a goal in itself. And YES you should plan for your next big project!
Yes, Joe really nailed it on the head. Now I’m looking forward to his post-race recap!!!
I am like Nicole and do not generally feel sad when things are over. Like when our wedding was over, I did not have any post-wedding blues. The wedding was amazing but I was so glad to return to normal life and ditch the color-coded excel spreadsheet list of things to do! I think I am just not a very sentimental person and am less prone to sadness when things are done. There were 2 exceptions – coming back from studying abroad in Australia when I was 21 and coming back from my 30th birthday trip to Paris. The Australia thing wasn’t surprising and is very common for study abroad students. I grew and changed a lot and met really great people and was sad to say goodbye. I came back from my Paris trip to my suburban condo where I couldn’t walk ANYWHERE and I was studying for my CFA which was NOT fun stage of life. But those sad feelings prompted me to rent out my suburban condo that I owned and rent a condo in downtown Minneapolis. Some times sad/depressed feelings are instructional. That is not the case for post-race blues. But they might be instructional for Elisabeth, for example, as she is coming home to a house that doesn’t feel like a sanctuary since she has a bad neighborhood situation that weighs on her family.
It sounds like you and Nicole are overall very happy with your everyday lives, which is a great thing. Or if you’re not happy, you decide to make a change. i’m already having post-wedding blues for Paul’s wedding in a month, like i’m imagining how I’ll feel sad when it’s all over… so maybe I take this to the other extreme.
Yes! I love this! It’s kind of like the idea I had after my one and only marathon. Was it hard to run 26.2 miles? Sure. But I was there with my friends and all the people who came to support us at the stops and all the energy of the organized race and it was a whole thing. But going out to run 18 miles by myself Thanksgiving weekend might have been harder. When I look back at my marathon it’s the training I remember most. The days I had to run in the rain. Or the run where we had to turn back for a mile in the middle of a 6 mile out and back trail to make sure we hit 14 miles instead of just 12. I remember the training runs more than the actual marathon, because getting up and doing the thing that prepares you for the big event is what shapes you, it’s what makes you the person who is able to do the hard thing.
I say this to my kids all the time. It’s not how the big event turns out, it’s how preparing for it changes you. I don’t know if they believe me about it yet, but someday they’ll understand that it’s true
Yes, you totally get it. And I’m not sure our kids will be able to get it until they experience it themselves… but they will, eventually.
Jenny, you know I am feeling all the feels right now so this post was ON THE MONEY for me.
Re-entry/post event blues are hard and I know we’re kindred spirits with struggling over this sort of thing.
I do think having something else on the docket to look forward to really helps, but even still, unfortunately the only solution I’ve found is to keep going. I also find that listening to my brain (read: emotions) and body (energy levels) is the safest bet to getting to the other side. Right now I have a dozen things I could do, but I have zero energy left in my tank after a busy day. So… I’m reading blogs for a bit. I know eventually my mojo will come back and, when it does, the giant piles of things to go through in my basement will still be there. Unfortunately.
I love to plan, and so I think the sense of no concrete “big” plans throws me for a loop a bit. But, on the other hand, I need a bit of time to just let life happen around me. Not sure if any of this makes sense, but know I’m muddling along right beside you and loved this post <3
Yes Elisabeth! i also keep thinking about our post-Christmas depression. I guess some people are more susceptible to it… but I think in your case, your adventure was so long and epic, there was bound to be some sense of disorientation at the end of it.
That’s a great quote and a good way to look at things! I always feel a bit of a letdown after accomplishing a big goal race, I think it’s only natural. Before I started doing races and was just running for fun, I never understood why so many runners signed up for a race right after finishing one. Now I get it! It’s nice to have another goal to chase.
I’m currently struggling with this a bit though, as I’m still very excited for my next race, my first timed one coming up in late September. I hoped by now to start ramping up training, but with losing my dog, training has taken a backseat. I’m still running, just not the mileage I had hoped for. I know I still have time and I’ve done lots of races before so I know I’m capable of it, I just don’t know how motivated I am to do long runs right now. The summer heat adds another layer of don’t wanna hahaha! I’m just doing what I can for now and hoping I’ll feel good enough to focus more on training in the comings weeks.
Well, that’s the other thing. Sometimes life circumstances dictate our training. I think you’ll be fine, you’ve still got plenty of time. ALSO, if it’s a timed race does that mean you’re just going to run as much as you want to/can in a certain time frame? That takes some of the pressure off. A couple year ago I signed up for a 12-hour event, then had a calf issue all summer. I still showed up, but only ran for six hours (or something like that- I can’t exactly remember) and I was fine with it.
As long as you don’t stop running entirely (which I don’t think you will) you’ll be okay. You can always ramp up your long runs in a month or so.
There are definitely blues after a big event. Like you spend all this time planning or training or getting excited… and then what?
What’s next?
GREAT question, Jenn! I have a big race next March but that’s pretty far away. I need something sooner…
Wow, that Joe Corcione quote gave me chills. I have heard platitudes about how it isn’t the finish line, it’s the journey that counts, and yes, I get that. But I LOVE his framing of the real achievement being the kind of person who can make that dream a reality. Thank you for sharing this!
I haven’t accomplished a whole lot (yet?), but I am trying to think about things that were really exciting and involved a lot of anticipation, like getting married or going on our big anniversary trip to Europe. I don’t know if I felt sad after the fact as much as I felt relieved? Delighted by the memories of the experience, but glad that the planning/anticipation was over? I do know that my main goal is getting a book out into the world, and when I finished my first novel, it felt a lot less exciting than I thought it would. There’s so much left to do after typing “The End,” you know? And so far I haven’t managed to get past that point, at least with that one. If I were to ever achieve the dream of publication, I wonder if it would bring its own set of “letdowns”? Man, I am a real negative nelly about this!
That finish line is always bitter sweet but would you ever trade in the weeks of getting there? It’s always the journey, the finish line is always the cherry on top of having accomplished and experienced something huge!
love your reflection and Joe’s reflection on the process of conquering the dream. It describes so well my love for training for a big goal race.
what’s your next Jenny?