There is almost nothing worse than missing a cut off time during a race. I’ve done it and it sucks and it leaves you wondering what went wrong and looking at all the places where you “know” you should/could have picked up the pace, but couldn’t get out of the mental funk you were in.
Cut offs are not put in place by race directors just to encourage runners to move their butts. They set an end time for the race for both runners and race staff/volunteers. Race costs can increase when emergency and safety personnel are required to be out there for longer periods of time. It also becomes problematic if there are any road closures or access restrictions put in place due to the race event. Liability increases as participants cognitive and physical abilities diminish with the length of time they are out on the course. And lets face it, we are more cautious about jumping into a race if we think the time lines are not within our ability or we really focus our training to make sure we’re in the best possible condition to make those cut offs.
The ultrarunners who chase cut off times throughout a race are some of the strongest among us. They keep their head in the run and keep moving forward as quickly as they are able too. It takes a significant amount of fortitude and determination to keep going when you’re barely making cut offs. In my personal opinion, ultrarunners who chase cut offs or who are out there for more than two sunrises are stronger than those who finish under 20 hours.
I’ve run sub 24 hour 100 mile events and I’ve run 35 hours and 46 minutes (36 hour time limit) 100 mile events. Give me the 24 hour finish any day. Sure you get a big energy boost when the sun comes up on day two, but after two hours that’s totally gone and putting one foot in front of the other becomes more difficult with each step.
Running a 100 is hard and you’re going to suffer on some level, but the longer you’re out there the more suffering there is and the longer you have to endure it. Runners who chase cut offs are inspiring. They give me strength to push hard when I want to quit because I know they are still out there and I know they are not quitting.
So for all of you who have chased cut offs and those who will chase cut offs in the future, please know, you give us all strength. Don’t give up, a finish is a finish even if you make it by a fraction of a second.
ultrarunningmom 