My name is Lucy Bartholomew, and I am an ultra trail runner. However, I don’t sit in that box with the lid firmly secure. Most of the days I run, they aren’t ultra distances. Small crumbs of training runs have all been collected and mushed into a loaf of bread that I bake on race day. Sometimes I burn it, sometimes it’s got the perfect crust but a good race smells oh so good.
One of my favorite ways to support races, get hard training, see new places and run with friends is to enter smaller, sub-ultra races and have a short, sharp (maybe fast?) workout.
Recently, I did this at a race here in Australia called the Ultra Trail Kosciusko and there are race options ranging from 27k to 160k. I walked into registration and immediately was asked, “You’re here for the 160k?” I laughed and said I was running the 27k which was followed by, “That must be so easy for you.” I quickly replied it was anything but true. The thought of running longer with less emphasis on the word “running” means moving forward for a whole day and focusing more on the other elements of running that get exacerbated when you have so much time for things to go wrong: nutrition, mindset, gear, weather, etc. Foot on the gas during run-from-the-gun racing? Sounds scary.
I picked up my bib and spent some time talking to the community. This race falls in the second week of December and it’s a great way to finish the year with the community before the festive season launches, especially after spending so much time traveling and racing internationally.
“Oh, you’re doing the kids’ race.”
I’d be impressed if kids sent it for 27k in the mountains.
“Are you injured?”
If I were, I wouldn’t have a bib in my hands.
“Are you backing up with another race the next day?”
Nope, I plan to cheer on the other races with all the energy I have left.
“JUST the 27k?”
“ONLY 27k.”
I could go on and on.
It opened my eyes to how we create the illusion of being an ultrarunner. I wouldn’t bother getting out of bed, let alone traveling across states to run anything less than 50k.
Not true.
So, how did the race play out? I blew up.
I let those words get to me. The words “only,” “just,” a “short jog,” and I went out with an ego that said, “Full send to the end.” The thing is, 27k is a very long way, especially if you crumble (remember that bread analogy). Sometimes, those crumbs stay just that: respect is the binding agent that will bring a race together.
After the race, I hobbled around with beat-up legs and a bruised ego and had a good laugh. The next day, I watched and cheered the 100k and 160k races take off and followed them around the mountains for the next 30 hours. I went to aid stations where people sat eating noodles in the afternoon sun, and walked out of checkpoints chatting with a fellow runner. I was jealous of that setup.
Change is the spice of life. My favorite thing about running is the many forms it can take the shape of: track, road, trail, multi-day, ultra, vertical and sky running. You can dip your toe in it all and as usual, you’ll come out the other side with a new experience, a good workout, lessons learned and more memories. My goal for 2024 is to sign up for more of the shorter distance races that make me uncomfortable and get used to my heart beating in my ears, grimacing, chowing down gels while trying to breathe and resisting that urge to hike and find a drip more in my legs every time… at least if anything it will make the noodles, hiking and conversation pace feel even better when I find myself on a start line of an ultra.