Reflections on the Mountainman

Three weeks have now passed since the completion of the Swiss Mountainman Ultra.  The week after the ultra was spent mostly relaxing in Luzern.  It took me a good four days before my legs felt anything close to normal.  For three days I hobbled around like an old man, and by the fourth day there was just some mild residual stiffness left in my legs.  Fortunately, Luzern is a pleasant place to kill a few days, with enough interesting museums and galleries to keep Ruth and I occupied, and more than enough cafes to keep my cake stomach replenished.

Of course, now that three weeks have passed my memory of how hard the Swiss Mountainman Ultra was is starting to fade.  I’m starting to think that the 100km CCC race around Mont Blanc shouldn’t be too much of a challenge (one of my goals for next year).  Having done the 80km Swiss equivalent, the extra 20km should just be a formality! Right?  Every now and again I have such thoughts and then I have to remind myself that there were times when I doubted if I’d finish the Swiss Alpine run.  I thought I’d share with you what helped motivate me through those dark passages when my legs and feet throbbed with pain and all I wanted to do was find some form of transport to carry me to the finish.

The thing that kept me going was actually the thought of just how much Ruth has sacrificed so that I could run in this event.  As a runner it is easy to focus on one’s own efforts; the hours of training, the nights of declining drinks from friends, or even not going out at all, the watching what you eat and the early mornings.  It’s easy to forget that our commitment to our hobby has an indirect effect on our partners, i.e. the impact it also has on their social calendar and the not being there to help with household chores.  In Ruth’s case my running obsession meant she was not involved in deciding where we’d spend our summer holiday.  Fortunately, she was more than happy to visit Switzerland.  But once on holiday my race affected what we’d do from one day to the next.  If I hadn’t been running we would have walked more in Grindlewald.  The trip we did to the summit of Pliatus to check out the race finish was pretty much just for my benefit.   Ruth then lost most of one day of her holiday by coming with me to race registration, and then she lost another day by spending several hours on the summit of Pilatus waiting to see me finish. 

Whilst I was suffering on the run I realised just how much I owed to Ruth for me even being there and that if I didn’t finish I would be letting her down as much as myself.  This was my primary motivation that helped me push through the pain barrier and drag my body to the finish line.  If Ruth hadn’t been waiting at the finish I’m not sure I would have made it.  Of course, I have thanked her many times since finishing the run, but I thought I should share these thoughts with you.  And if you also have a partner that puts up with your running obsession (or golf, football, needlework, etc) maybe you should also remember to thank them every now and again.