Before you think that today’s column was brought to you by Captain Obvious, let me explain. Of course it gets darkest at night with the exception of some parts of Alaska and a few other places on the planet. It is not only a matter of physical darkness but there is a mental aspect that kicks in when one pushes their limits in the dark.
Recently I paced a friend of mine in a 100 mile race. The race held at a farm in Vermont and repeated a .87 mile loop that he would need to circle 115 times to complete his challenge. While the pastoral scenery was beautiful for the first five hours, the mind-numbing experience was accentuated around hour twelve. My friend ran much of the race without a headlamp as he normally enjoys running in the dark. This turned out to be a detriment making his world closing in around him and making the task much harder to conquer. Sometimes we create our own obstacles.
After a few hours of running in circles in the dark, he opted to use a headlamp and his pace and spirit improved finishing 100 miles in just under 26 hours. Badass!
The Daily Digest of Marc Grabowski 