Understanding the Formula (Part III)
There is no chance, no destiny, no fate,
that can circumvent or hinder or control
the firm resolve of a determined soul.
Intrinsic motivation is the second basic ingredient of running success. Extrinsic motivation is much easier to fathom. I’ll give an example: my ultra-marathon in Colorado included a 3ish-mile climb with sections of 15-20%-ish grade. Diamond Peak. This started at about mile 23, so you summitted around the marathon. Approaching the summit, there were no switchbacks, and it was just a pure grind uphill. I looked around and my fellow runners were leaning on their trekking poles, crawling on their hands and knees, and one person was crying a little. This is the only time in all of my official races I’ve thought seriously about just calling it quits, no injury, just throwing in the towel and saying “this is just too hard”! I stood around (if I sat down it would be all over) and thought to myself, wait a minute…if I give up now, I still have to walk down the mountain anyway…
I resorted to counting my steps until I got to the top. Eight-hundred-and-ninety-seven, but who knows if that’s accurate. A race marshal was standing at the top with a “easy button” that you could click to trigger a cheery disembodied voice to announce “That was easy!”.
Intrinsic motivation is harder to wrap my head around. Am I intrinsically motivated to run Grandma’s? Who knows.
As for that ultra, I ended up getting medically ejected. I took a fall a couple hours later. As for why I signed up? A friend asked me if I would do it, and it sounded like fun. Extrinsic again. But, I’ll copy a note I wrote myself in my diary on July 22, 2025, a day or so before my ultra, entitled “Why am I running the ultra marathon?”.
At first, I had decided that I don’t know why I’m running the ultra-marathon, but that isn’t quite right. It think something closer to the truth is that I’m running the ultra arbitrarily. It is an end in and of itself. Although I do intend to challenge myself, do intend to enjoy the natural beauty of the course, and do intend to have a capstone to my training, when taken as purposes, they ring hollow to me. I will enjoy all these things, but not primarily. Primarily, I intend to blank my mind, go through the motions, and whatever happens will happen.
That’s not quite right either, since I intend to finish. An earnest attempt should be made at the race. So I’ll be treating the terrain and elevation, and the knowledge of my own limits, with a healthy respect. I do care about finishing, but it’s just not the purpose.
So I’m not just trying to see what will happen, but to the run the best race possible, for me, on the day.
- Mileage Today: 2.7 (tempo)
- Mileage This Week: 15.9
- Mileage on Lake Patrol: 43.8
- Mileage To Date: A lot.
About Me
Hey everyone! I’m John Christensen, the top-ranked non-finisher at the 2025 Never Summer 60k. I’ll be running the 2026 Grandma’s Marathon in support of the American Cancer Society, a nationwide non-profit in operation since 1913 dedicated to eliminating cancer.
The “Lake Patrol” blog will catalog my training and some of my pontifications and bloviations. I intend to use this as a form of self-coaching, as well as a record of my state of mind that I might appreciate re-reading one day.
If you enjoy the blog, consider making a donation to the ACS on my personal page, directly to the ACS, or to a charity of your choice.