Early on in the pandemic, probably in March or April, I read an article cautioning that managing one’s mental health during Covid-19 would be a marathon, not a sprint. There would be highs and lows, a need for endurance and patience, and a feeling of “how in the world is this thing not done yet?”

As I’ve come to find out, this year is not a marathon at all, but rather a 100-mile race. It has required me to re-evaluate goals, to constantly check in with myself, and to continue on in times that have felt dark, unknown and downright impossible. But it has also taught me some invaluable lessons about resilience and the human spirit. Last week I ran my own 100-mile “race” (virtual, but I kept my watch going as if it was a normal event), and could not help but notice the parallels between that experience and my coping during this insane year. So, without further ado, I present Amy’s 10 Tips for Life (and Ultra Running).

1. Make a plan. Be prepared to change it.

Before Covid, I had never once run in my neighborhood, preferring instead a treadmill at the gym or a short drive to my favorite park. But since March, I’ve started 95% of my runs from my front door. For my virtual race, I picked my favorites of those routes and came up with a plan that involved them all, some more than once or with slight variations. On race day, I stuck to the plan - mostly. But I also turned left instead of right when I was tired of a specific street, and said “yes please” when my pacer Erica offered to show me a hidden greenway I’d never seen before. Because of that change we were able to experience one of my favorite moments of the race – a raccoon staring at us from the trees, illuminated by our headlights. Planning is good, but flexibility is great.

2. Do things that bring you joy.

Life is too short to engage in things that don’t make us smile. Which is why when my pacer Julie and I were running through the graveyard by my house and saw some clearings in the trees, we decided to investigate. What we found was a huge dirt clearing (which we now call the meteor pit) and a star full of skies without any light pollution from the city. Smiles were had.

3. Harness the power of community.

Running 100 miles is hard. Running 100 miles by yourself? No thanks. I knew I wanted to share this experience with the people I love, so I asked my husband and two best friends to crew me from the house, while some other amazing friends joined me throughout the day and night (on foot and on Eliptigo). As the saying goes: “if you want to run fast, go alone. If you want to run far, go together.” It is not an exaggeration to say I could not have done this without each and every one of them.

4. Listen to voices outside of your own.

This race took me 25 hours and 35 minutes, which was a PR of over 2 hours. That is a long time to be stuck in your own head, so in an attempt to push out any thoughts of self-doubt or giving up, I made sure to keep my brain full of music. My most listened to artists? The Menzingers, Taylor Swift, and Tom Petty. “Running down a dream…”

5. Focus only on what you can do in the moment.

This was my 3rd 100 mile finish and also my hilliest (7,100 feet of elevation gain). This meant there was a lot of walking. But instead of wishing I was running those hills (or at least going faster than a snail), I tried to just focus on moving forward, at whatever pace was possible at that time.

6. Practice aggressive self-care.

Ultrarunning, like life, is all about managing small problems before they become big ones. For me this meant two things: keeping enough food in my body and staying the right temperature. Fuel favorites were Fig Newtons, Spring Energy gels and Gnarly’s Strawberry Lemonade pre-workout. At nighttime, the MVPs were vegetarian Ramen and instant mac n cheese to help keep me warm. Given that the race started at 35 degrees, went as high as 68, and then dipped back into the low 40s at night, temperature regulation was no small feat, but we accomplished it with problem-solving and a lot of clothing changes. Laundry detergent companies, please sponsor me.

7. Engage in positive self-talk.

I named this race the Loch Ness 100 and my friend Lauren made shirts for the crew that said “The important thing is that I believe in myself.” That, my friends, is what I tried to do the entire time. Were there moments I didn’t think I would be able to finish? Absolutely. But I told myself I would believe in my goals until they became facts. I would try to not think negative thoughts, and if I did, I most certainly would not give them power by speaking them out loud.

8. Harness the confidence of past successes.

During those low moments, I didn’t think about previous DNFs or disappointments. Instead I thought: “I have done this twice before. I can do hard things, and this is no different.” So I put a smile on my face, texted my coach and let the knowledge that others believed in me carry me forward.

9. Persevere until it gets better.

At mile 29, Caity and Nikki joined me. I haven’t told them this yet (Hi Caity! Hi Nikki!), but the start of that leg was my lowest point of the race. I suddenly felt hot, dizzy and like I needed to sit down. But I knew that if I could find the strength to continue, things would improve. And improve they did! After sipping on some cold water and getting some calories in, I was moving and smiling again. Right now, in this scary and impossible year, we have to believe that things will get better, even when it doesn’t seem like they ever will. We have to hope.

10. Acknowledge the journey.

It’s now all too easy to tie my racing year up with a tiny little bow: I PRed the 100-mile distance. But summarizing it in such a way ignores the countless actions I took to get to that final step: the crummy workouts, the race in September that didn’t go as planned, the overwhelming anxiety, the medication changes, the trial and error of existing in a world I had never known before. The 100-mile finish and belt buckle are nice, but it’s just one sentence in a very long story.

So as we look back on 2020 and plan our perfectly crafted year-end Instagram posts, I would ask you to recognize not just the triumphs, but the struggles as well. Remember the moments you felt loved and understood just as much as you remember the moments of isolation and doubt. All of those little moments got you here, to the finish line, and we should acknowledge it all.

By: Amy McDowell