A few weeks back, I participated in the Broken Anvil Backyard Ultramarathon race. An old friend who had run it before invited me to join. Without a year-end goal on the books and with the race being in an area of the country near and dear to my heart, I signed up and set myself the arbitrary goal of reaching 50 miles, or 12 “laps” (“yards” as they’re called in the backyard ultra world). I’ll leave you to read about the rules and regulations if you are so inclined and want to sign up for your own adventure.
It was a great event, if you’re anywhere smack dab in the middle of the Midwest I can’t recommend it enough.
Lessons From the Field
You only ever have to complete the next lap.
Who you’re with is more important than where you are or what you’re doing.
There are worthwhile goals outside of proving your worth to the world.
You have to wear Satisfy and Bandit to run any somewhat long distance.
You only ever have to complete the next lap.
“Nothing is particularly hard when you divide it into small jobs”
– Henry Ford
Any goal, large or small, becomes immediately more manageable if you’re able to divide it up into chunks. This may not be the case for all; it certainly is for me. Tell someone they have to go run for 12 hours and it sounds like a lot. Break it down into four three hour sections, or two six hour sessions, etc. and it’s not as bad. This lesson has applied in my personal and professional life countless times over.
Who you’re with is more important than where you are or what you’re doing.
This feels like a recurring theme at Relay. I’ve written about it before because of another foot race (go out and run with people you like). When it has been raining for the better part of six hours, you’re soaked and running on fumes, it really helps when you can complain to your partner about how bad you both feel.
There are worthwhile goals outside of proving your worth to the world.
This one is mainly due to the fact that I redownloaded X (to the chagrin of my girlfriend) recently to find new content and memes for all of you dear readers. In the circles the algorithm is feeding me, you’d think every person on there works 25 hours a day and has no hobbies outside of professional development. I’ve noticed a growing sense of fear in myself about falling behind if I’m not always furthering myself professionally.
This event, and the training leading up to it, were a great reminder of this lesson. Sports, hobbies more generally, are like a microcosm of life. There is much to be learned in things that on the surface might not necessarily look like they’re going to bump you to the next level in your career.
You have to wear Satisfy and Bandit to run any somewhat long distance.
I’m trolling, but I had to get a dig in at the MothTech.
Thanks for reading — or for mega scrolling all the way down here.
The internet is an overwhelming mess of headlines, ads, and mid takes from the worst people you know. Big Tech owns our attention spans. Everything is content. Nothing makes sense.
We’re not here to “fix discourse” or “build a better internet.” Relay is just our attempt to riff on what we’re already talking about at happy hour without feeling like we’ve been hit by a content truck. Some analysis, some memes, call it a day.
You might like it. Tag along.
We also have Quick Reflections you can check out:
can’t believe you casually dogged 50 miles