This past weekend, we witnessed one of the dramatic finals ever at UTMB.
This, in many ways, comes down to the evergrowing quality of the competition.
The World Championships has only started to gain credibility in the last few iterations, and so an unofficial world championship like the UTMB Finals has served as the hallmark event for long course trail runners across the last decade – similar to the space Golden Trail has occupied for short course specialists.
But with the growth of the sport and more Golden Trail athletes stepping up in distance, the UTMB weekend really has become the most competitive racing weekend in our sport. More than Golden Trail. More than Western States. More than World Championships.
And that makes it one of the greatest opportunities to study the mentalities of some of the very best in our sport – the cream of the crop, at the top of the top.
When it comes to that top 0.1% in our sport, they are not only better athletes, but better at maintaining the right mentalities.
The best in our sport can somehow intermix those survival instincts and that drive to win with the air of a buddhist. They’re simply unaffected by the things that go wrong, and able to channel negative situations into positive ones.
Perhaps the most striking example of this came at the finale of the men’s OCC. After several rounds of not being able to locate water at under-prepped aid stations, Jim Walmsley eventually had his lead taken away by Cristian Minoggio.
With less than 10K to go and a sizeable two-minute gap, most runners at any level would have settled for second, or completely capitulated.
But Jim isn’t like other pro runners. Instead of becoming frustrated with his lead being blown by things outside of his control, Jim channeled his energy toward catching Cristian.
He kicked it into high gear, rolled into his galloping stride, and clawed his way back with just a few kilometres to go. Most dramatically, winning the race by only twenty seconds.
In the same race, another striking moment came when Judith Wyder and Sara Alonso found themselves stuck at a train crossing.
At the time, they were F3 and F4, fighting for the podium and trying to maintain viewing distance of first and second. The leading ladies didn’t have to stop for a train, and likely, neither did fifth and sixth.
Most runners at any level, including the pros, would have become frustrated by this moment, and charged ahead immediately after to try to decrease the lead that they just lost.
But with complete and utter poise, after the train, Judith stops again. Only this time, to fill up her water. Instead of charging ahead, she made the conscious decision to slow down and take care of herself.
She then battled with Maude and Sara all day, eventually fighting her way onto the podium.
The ability of these runners to remain relaxed when external odds are stacked against them shows a level of psychological strength that few others have.
I know this too, having taken a wrong turn at Nationals this year due to a badly marked trail, and letting it capitulate my race. Unlike Judith, I tried to make up all the time that was lost by going faster. Unlike Judith again, I paid the price, and my legs exploded.
17th was the most embarrassing result of my trail running career so far, and disappointing. But also motivating, given the reminder of what it truly takes to not just be in the top 1%, but to be in that top 0.1-0.4%.
Someone who I think is a perfect example of the utimate pro is Patrick Kipngeno.
Patrick has this incredible ability to be one of the best the sport has ever seen, without caring about being the best.
At the Golden Trail race in Mexico this year, Patrick had to stop for several seconds to tie his shoe.
He only lost to Elhousine, classically, by seconds. But with a smile on his face, Patrick celebrated just like he does every single time he crosses a finish line. Just happy to be there and finish on another podium. And after finishing third at Broken Arrow, this is essentially what he said too. He didn’t care about not being the victor. He was just happy to finish on the podium.
This mentality is exactly the mentality that allows Patrick to tie his shoe mid-race and then carry on like nothing happened, only to lose the race by seconds and still smile.
As trail running becomes more and more serious and the athletes become more and more serious in everything they do, I think it’s important to continue not to sweat the little or the seemingly big things and continue to not take things so seriously all the time.
Had Patrick taken this moment seriously and let it get to him, he wouldn’t have been able to close the gap on Elhousine. Instead, he might have fallen further back.
This is what allows the likes of Patrick, Jim and Judith to win races, and to have the sort of longevity at the top of the sport that they have. When things happen in races that you can’t control, you need to stay present, and continue fighting the smart fight.
You need to make conscious decisions to attack at the right moment like Judith and Jim at this week’s OCC, and remain unaffected by all the things that might be thrown your way.
Thanks for reading and see you soon!
Rhys Desmond 