Racing Thoughts

Photo by Jacob Banta

Racing is opportunity. It is a chance to push ourselves to go as fast as we can on the day. It is quite simple in many ways. But racing is also vulnerable. Training for endurance sports is often done alone. Even if we occasionally train with people or groups, the bulk is a solo effort. We challenge ourselves in training, but racing puts it on display for a larger audience. It doesn’t change what we do, but it certainly can feel like we are opening ourselves up. Putting our training and effort for anyone to see. Someone can look up results and see the summary of our effort. They will not know what went into that effort, or how hard we may have fought to earn that result. It is just the effort of that day. No more. No less.

When I was coaching one of the best junior cross-country skiers in the country, they won multiple national-level races. After one, another coach remarked that “they made it look easy.” It was an innocent and positive comment. They were in control of the race. They dominated. But it underscored how little one race day actually shows. It eliminated the hours of training. The sweat, tears, self-doubt, fear, determination that went into the day. The athlete put themselves on the line and won, but the result didn’t change the preparation. Sometimes it can feel as if the outcome determines our dedication. Our ability. This is why we need to frame racing as opportunity. Maybe not for the whole world, but certainly for ourselves.

Racing is an opportunity to push as hard and as fast as you can on the day. Some days, that might feel incredible and put you in 20th. Some days that might feel terrible and get you the win. It’s why when we look at the results, it only tells part of the story. It doesn’t show the whole world what went into that day. It doesn’t even tell us the whole story. Every race day is a new opportunity to challenge and push ourselves. And that’s what actually matters.