Last weekend I was glued to my computer following the progress of a few friends that were running the mother of all ultramarathons, Western States 100 Endurance Run. I ran this very race a few years ago, and it never seems to amaze me how the human body can do such a thing, what is even more striking, how could I have done such a thing?
This year, in particular, I was following with interest a few friends, especially Erika Lindland. She came in 10th with a blistering time of 21:07:40. Yep, 21+ hours of constant running, 21+ hours of endurance and grit.
Whenever I talk to people about this, I get two responses, A) wow, that is amazing, how could somebody run that far?, I don’t even drive that far. B) 22 hours that is a long time, how many minutes per mile is that? Really? That is kind is slow isn’t?
Most people when learning of things like these; really know only 1% of the story, the end result. They don’t know nor care to learn about the other 99% of the time, the time it took to get there. People don’t just run 100 miles and place top 10 right away, it takes years of preparation, it takes consistency, it takes passion, it takes grit.
The road to this year’s top 10 by Erika started years ago. I remember when I met her, running her first trail runs around 2008. Since then she has put in a few miles, improving and getting better all the time, yet she remains humble and down to earth. The pure definition of GRIT is Passion and Perseverance to achieve your goals. Those are evident in Erika’s performance, and she has gotten where to buy finasteride propecia better, she has the results to prove it.
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Take my friend Norbert Leinfeliner, he also ran Western States 100 this year, but it took him seven years to get there, again Passion and Perseverance, a man of grit.
Passion and perseverance for very long-term goals are the main components of grit. And ultrarunners and endurance athletes seem to be excellent at it, although brain tumor survivors are also up there. Showing grit is about living life and your goals like it is an ultramarathon, not a sprint. Grit is getting up to run and train, spending hours practicing with a purpose. Grit is sticking to your goals, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality.
I have seen some people quit because they are not having the perfect race. You see this with Elite triathletes when they are not racing well; some quit the race. But in general, gritty people don’t seek perfection; they want to get better at what they do, and they eventually get better. Ultramarathoners take pride on the races they finish, but also on the ones they don’t. So grit is about seeking to get better not to be perfect, it is about being resilient it is about being courageous and following your goals thru the long haul not matter what. We all can learn something from ultramarathoners, to achieve our goals we got to get gritty.
Reading to my two-year-old at night one of her favorite books “The Little Engine That Could,” which gives meaning to the best grit mantra ever, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can."
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