Willing to fail

I saw a documentary today on the Barkley Marathons, generally regarded as the toughest race in the world, though debating that claim here misses the point: it's really hard

The RD had an interesting take on the race's appeal. Basically, we go through life trying to avoid failure. To sign up for Barkley is to invite it. Just the signup process is no easy thing to get right. There are no instructions on how to register. No website to ask questions. No entry deadlines or lottery procedures. Basically, figuring it out is part of the race; if you're not tenacious enough to get past that hurdle, you don't have chance.

Come race day, you're faced with five nominally 20-mile laps (the actual distance is considerably longer) through some of the toughest wilderness in the world. The time limit is 60 hours. Very few even finish the third lap. In the 25 years it's been held, only 14 people have managed all 5.

Of course, people accept much longer odds all the time when they buy lottery tickets. But, failing to win the lottery is much different than failing to finish an ultra. In the former, you've invested very little and have absolutely no control over the outcome. In the latter, you've invested thousands of hours of training and the outcome is almost entirely up to you.

Any activity carries some risk of failure. The Barkley Marathons just move that needle way over to one side. It is at the very limit of what is possible, yet most of the 14 finishers are not truly elite athletes. They are just sufficiently fit and extremely determined.

Perseverance is the one thing that nearly all successful people have in common (regardless of how you choose to define success). It is not a sufficient condition, but it is necessary. Like all abilities, it is unevenly allocated by birth, but anybody can increase what they have through practice. And, the way to practice perseverance is to put yourself in a position where lack of it leads to failure.

I don't particularly want to run Barkley; it just doesn't sound like much fun. But, I do get it. While I like the risk/reward equation to be a bit more in my favor, I run 100's largely because they do force you to stare failure in the face and decide to either fight on or quit. Fighting on is hard. But it's also exhilarating. It becomes a habit, then a lifestyle and, ultimately, a part of our character. It is good.