I gave up on road running time goals a long time ago. Trying to hit an arbitrary number just to compare myself to others kept leaving me disappointed.
It’s funny though as I’ve just gone through that bigger step after bigger step on the ultra side.
Last year was a huge year for me and I fully committed to two races that called me and they both really broke me. I think this year is going to be a bit of a reset year with nothing too crazy in distance and prepare for the next round of huge events on my list.
Ultra running has an extra layer of emotionality. Ultra goals are bigger and feel more threatening. At the same time reaching them can be very fulfilling. If not life-changing. For me it's much easier to separate my own goals and dreams from the external in ultra running than it was in road racing.
There's a lot of wisdom here, and some good questions. I have to admit to sometimes trying to plant goals in other people's minds... maybe they've just finished their first 100k, and I say "you know, 100k's are a gateway drug...". I say it lovingly, as a congratulatory joke, but it implies that they need to go further, and maybe they don't. It really is better to be called into your next Hard Thing than to be pushed into it by other people's expectations.
I've been that guy, too. It took me many years and many half-assed races to realize that goals are extremely individual and should always come from the heart. I'm much more cautious now when talking to other / new runners.
Right now I am preparing for a 100 KM Stadium Run(250 laps of 400 meter). I am hoping to run it under 7 hours 30 minutes in order to get a qualifier for Team India for 100 KM World Championships 2026.
If you just back track it, where did this goal/target came from? Simply put this is the benchmark to get a qualifier for Team India for 100 KM World Champs this year.
From where did the thought of running 50 KM under 3 hours came to Des Linden even though had no experience of ultras? It straight away came from that no women had run it under 3 hours as Emane Seifu (Ethiopia) had the WR with a time of 3:00:30.
Why did Jim Walmsley decided to run 100 KM under 6:09 at the Project Carbon X2 in 2021 because Nao Kazami(Japan) had the WR with a time of 6:09:14 & he missed it by 12 seconds.
Why didn't he decide to run some arbitrary number such as 6:05 or 6:10 or 6:15. All of athletes goals are construed from some predecessor be even the World Records. It can be construed from either other athletes/benchmarks set by the media of that particular sport but it is just that it has been present there in this world. There is no such thing as novelty in these numbers, it is just borrowed. This is what I think brother.
I'm not a runner – you know that – but cycling has the exact same borrowed dreams problem.
There's the Festive 500 (ride 500km between Christmas and New Year, originally a Rapha marketing thing). Then Everesting became a trend – people grinding the same climb until they hit 8,848m of elevation, just because someone said it's "a thing." Or YouTube being full of "I rode from in the middle of nowhere to France for a croissant" content. Or if you're bikepacking, of course you need to ride all the way up to North Cape.
All of it: external. Borrowed. Someone else's idea of what makes a ride "count."
What gets lost is the simple question you're asking: Why am I even riding? Does this make me happy?
I'm not the competitive type, so maybe I don't count in this conversation. But I see it everywhere – this pressure to chase goals that came from outside. Strava segments. Brand challenges. The next "logical step."
Meanwhile, the rides that actually matter? They're the ones where I forgot to track anything. Where the point was just... riding.
Your piece made me realize how much I've internalized those borrowed dreams too. Even when I think I'm not chasing them.
Thanks for writing this. Really needed to read it.
Thanks for sharing this and the inside-view into the cycling world. I can totally imagine that it's all the same as in running. I think it is ESPECIALLY the non-competitive athletes who are most affected by borrowed goals and dreams. The subtext our sports offer us is always the same: you have to do this or accomplish that to be a part. It's hard to escape this hamster wheel because a lot of these goals are over-romanticized through excellent video footage and photography (duh....). Really hard to separate what comes from you own heart and what's external.
Zu den fast „unmenschlich“ erscheinen Läufen, die jeder in seinem Rahmen absolviert , gesellen sich die schönsten, tieferen Erkenntnisse…wie schön und menschlich
I gave up on road running time goals a long time ago. Trying to hit an arbitrary number just to compare myself to others kept leaving me disappointed.
It’s funny though as I’ve just gone through that bigger step after bigger step on the ultra side.
Last year was a huge year for me and I fully committed to two races that called me and they both really broke me. I think this year is going to be a bit of a reset year with nothing too crazy in distance and prepare for the next round of huge events on my list.
Ultra running has an extra layer of emotionality. Ultra goals are bigger and feel more threatening. At the same time reaching them can be very fulfilling. If not life-changing. For me it's much easier to separate my own goals and dreams from the external in ultra running than it was in road racing.
There's a lot of wisdom here, and some good questions. I have to admit to sometimes trying to plant goals in other people's minds... maybe they've just finished their first 100k, and I say "you know, 100k's are a gateway drug...". I say it lovingly, as a congratulatory joke, but it implies that they need to go further, and maybe they don't. It really is better to be called into your next Hard Thing than to be pushed into it by other people's expectations.
I've been that guy, too. It took me many years and many half-assed races to realize that goals are extremely individual and should always come from the heart. I'm much more cautious now when talking to other / new runners.
Right now I am preparing for a 100 KM Stadium Run(250 laps of 400 meter). I am hoping to run it under 7 hours 30 minutes in order to get a qualifier for Team India for 100 KM World Championships 2026.
If you just back track it, where did this goal/target came from? Simply put this is the benchmark to get a qualifier for Team India for 100 KM World Champs this year.
From where did the thought of running 50 KM under 3 hours came to Des Linden even though had no experience of ultras? It straight away came from that no women had run it under 3 hours as Emane Seifu (Ethiopia) had the WR with a time of 3:00:30.
Why did Jim Walmsley decided to run 100 KM under 6:09 at the Project Carbon X2 in 2021 because Nao Kazami(Japan) had the WR with a time of 6:09:14 & he missed it by 12 seconds.
Why didn't he decide to run some arbitrary number such as 6:05 or 6:10 or 6:15. All of athletes goals are construed from some predecessor be even the World Records. It can be construed from either other athletes/benchmarks set by the media of that particular sport but it is just that it has been present there in this world. There is no such thing as novelty in these numbers, it is just borrowed. This is what I think brother.
Man, this hit hard.
I'm not a runner – you know that – but cycling has the exact same borrowed dreams problem.
There's the Festive 500 (ride 500km between Christmas and New Year, originally a Rapha marketing thing). Then Everesting became a trend – people grinding the same climb until they hit 8,848m of elevation, just because someone said it's "a thing." Or YouTube being full of "I rode from in the middle of nowhere to France for a croissant" content. Or if you're bikepacking, of course you need to ride all the way up to North Cape.
All of it: external. Borrowed. Someone else's idea of what makes a ride "count."
What gets lost is the simple question you're asking: Why am I even riding? Does this make me happy?
I'm not the competitive type, so maybe I don't count in this conversation. But I see it everywhere – this pressure to chase goals that came from outside. Strava segments. Brand challenges. The next "logical step."
Meanwhile, the rides that actually matter? They're the ones where I forgot to track anything. Where the point was just... riding.
Your piece made me realize how much I've internalized those borrowed dreams too. Even when I think I'm not chasing them.
Thanks for writing this. Really needed to read it.
Thanks for sharing this and the inside-view into the cycling world. I can totally imagine that it's all the same as in running. I think it is ESPECIALLY the non-competitive athletes who are most affected by borrowed goals and dreams. The subtext our sports offer us is always the same: you have to do this or accomplish that to be a part. It's hard to escape this hamster wheel because a lot of these goals are over-romanticized through excellent video footage and photography (duh....). Really hard to separate what comes from you own heart and what's external.
Zu den fast „unmenschlich“ erscheinen Läufen, die jeder in seinem Rahmen absolviert , gesellen sich die schönsten, tieferen Erkenntnisse…wie schön und menschlich
Ja so ist es. Manche Läufe sind einfach unfassbar prägend. Welche das sind, weiss man oft vorher gar nicht.