Revitalized

“He thought if he were God he would have made the world just so and no different”

- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Some days serve as reminders of how much good is in the world. Saturday was one such day for me. I spent the day in the Lake City area for the San Juan Solstice 50 mile – my favorite fifty of all time. But this year I was just a volunteer, which allowed for a new perspective on ultras. The people in this sport are amazing.
So often I get caught up in the competition at the front of a race and never consider those behind me, unless I’m worried they’re catching up. My focus is completely centered on myself and the finish line. But today the people who mattered were the people in the back of the race. The front-runners bust right through aid stations without hardly stopping, so the volunteers are of little help. The people in the back, however, are generally more open to assistance. Sometimes they are hurting and need serious help. Other times they are demoralized and want some encouragement. Many times they just like to come in and talk to someone after a long stretch alone on the trail. But what really struck me was that every person was psyched about what they were doing. A general recognition of the inherent difficulties and ultimate rewards of this sport persisted throughout the whole crowd of runners. Even those who dropped out understood that they were merely having a bad day and would be back again. Ultrarunning really attracts a set of amazing people.
I had the opportunity, on the final miles of a run with Scott Jurek, to run past about half of the racers climbing up the third long hill of the race. In truth, very few of them seemed to be feeling very good. Yet they all continued moving forward. I want to understand what drives these people like that. I have it in me as well, but cannot describe it. This impulse of determination is difficult to isolate, most likely because it is derived from many sources, all of which are particular to the individual. But despite the specific differences, everyone was marching forward with the same grim resolve. What makes people continue to move through exhaustion when the finish line offers almost nothing of material value? Why do the beauty of the mountains, the challenge and the companionship impel people to voluntarily place themselves in such taxing conditions?
Ayn Rand wrote of “Prime Movers”, or those individuals who, through sheer force of willpower and determination, bring their dreams to reality. Rand’s heroes worked alone to construct a better world. But Rand overlooked one important facet of human nature: the recognition of beauty in an insubstantial realm. She valued hard work when it produced a recognizable product, whereas ultrarunning to her would be a waste of time. Sure it’s hard work, but nothing worthwhile or usable is produced. She would be unable to accept the idea that not everything worthwhile can be quantified. The products of ultrarunning are much better described in just four words by the great French mountaineer Lionel Terray, the title of whose autobiography – Conquistadors of the Useless – handles the productivity issue with a subtle irony. He knew that though climbing mountains produced nothing of value, the benefits are priceless. Just so with ultrarunning.
Congratulations to all the runners at the San Juan Solstice 50 mile run this weekend. Make sure to come back next year for the awesome regular course, which is apparently easier than what you all had to run on Saturday. And as for me, I’ll be running today in all the fresh snow that fell in the San Juan’s last night.