It’s been a while since the last blog but I’m back!
This one will be a reflection on the Last Man Standing (LMS) race that I completed last weekend.
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For anyone reading this who has no idea what a LMS race is, here’s the Wikipedia definition:
The backyard ultra or last one standing is a form of ultramarathon race where competitors must consecutively run the distance of 6.706 kilometres (4.167 mi) in less than one hour. Each loop, commonly referred to as a “Yard”, has a distance equal to 100 miles divided by 24 hours, or 1/24th of 100 miles, so that a competitor would run 100 miles for a full day (24 hours) of competition. They must repeat this every hour until only one person completes a full lap – the last one standing. The backyard ultra format has gained a reputation for its grueling and unpredictable nature, as well as the camaraderie among participants. Challenges include sleep deprivation, exhaustion, and varying weather conditions.
Most of you reading either know that I’m crazy or you’re figuring it out for the first time right now and either way, I agree with you and wear the badge of “crazy” with pride. The entire reason for running this race was to push limits, do hard things and have the privilege of feeling pain and choosing to continue despite the discomfort (endurance). The initial goal that I had set out was 100 miles and while that didn’t happen (78.39 miles), I’m proud of the effort that I gave and I’m thankful for the growth, memories and lessons that were experienced.
The entire recap of the race can be found in podcast form (here) and the remainder of this blog will be a brain dump with no agenda so let’s see where it takes us!
I’m so used to pouring into those around me that I don’t often let others support me and in a wild plot twist, THAT might have been one of the hardest parts of this race (letting others help me). The messages of encouragement from clients, friends, followers and family mean the world to me and the physical support at the race from my wife (Michaela), friends and clients left me with a deep sense of gratitude (one that will take me a while to process). The thought of others sacrificing their time to help me do hard things is one that words don’t quite capture (yet). The race itself was HARD and that’s what I had wanted when I signed up. The course had a lot of elevation (450 feet per loop) and the terrain was a breeze to navigate with the stellar eyesight that I have (sarcasm) – it was tough to find good footing between rocks, roots, holes, etc. but I was able to make due with the help of some other runners who soon became friends. Speaking of the people, one of the best parts about this race was getting to meet and collaborate with some incredible humans out on the trails. I’ll stand with this statement forever but it’s almost impossible to meet bad people at an event like this. One of the more interesting observations for me was that I had trouble accessing “a dark place” to dig deep throughout the race. That’s not a bad thing (life is good) but it wasn’t something that I expected (I thought I’d be able to go dark). The race ended for me after 18 full loops (18 hours) just after 3:30 AM when I came back from an attempted 19th loop after struggling to cover ground due to a combination of dizziness and GI distress (that part was BAD). Once the crew broke down our tent area, we drove back to where we were staying and a hot shower never felt so good AND hurt so bad all at the same time. We slept for a few hours and then spent the remainder of that day (SU) resting before mustering up the strength to drive home and begin another week back in Philadelphia. The biggest lesson for me is more of a reminder and that is… it’s not always about hitting “the goal” but rather, it’s about pursuing something meaningful and growing through the process. I’m writing these words feeling an odd combination of gratitude, sadness, encouragement and smallness. I’m not sure what’s next in the realm of endurance pursuits for me (outside of the Philadelphia Marathon) but right now, I feel content to sit with these thoughts and process an incredible experience from start to finish.
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If you’re still reading at this point, thank you! I’ll wrap things up with one of the best quotes of all time….
“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
Theodore Roosevelt
Do hard things.
Joe Rinaldi
IG: @joearinaldi