I attempted The Ultra Marathon (50KMs)

About this video

Martell recounts attempting his first 50K ultra. He had trained for the Squamish Ultra, but devastating wildfires in the central Okanagan forced his family to evacuate their home, and worsening smoke in Squamish — which he describes as a 6 out of 10 air score heading to 7 — led half his group, and ultimately him, to decide the health downside was not worth racing. Unwilling to break his commitment to do a 50K that year, he messaged Dave on the Monday after and they designed their own roughly 54K mountain route, which he ran unsupported a week later. Dave surprised him with an aid station about 20K in and ran about 12K with him; around kilometre 30-32 his legs stopped responding on a long downhill and his left knee hurt, and the final stretch included a steep climb he describes as 300 metres of elevation at 47 km in. He says he ran for the BC firefighters, and his family — Renee, Max and Noah — surprised him near the end, with his kids running the last kilometre with him. He closes by urging viewers to add a little extra difficulty incrementally rather than comparing their ‘chapter 3’ to his ‘chapter 25.’

Key takeaways

• When the planned Squamish race became unsafe due to wildfire smoke, he chose not to race — deciding the health downside was not worth it.
• He kept the commitment anyway by designing his own roughly 54K route and running it unsupported the following Sunday.
• His stated ‘why’ for the run was the BC firefighters who had worked to save homes during the wildfires.
• The hardest parts came after halfway — legs failing around kilometre 30-32 and a steep final climb — which he frames as where he learns the most about himself.
• Apply the lesson incrementally: go to the gym a little longer or lift a little heavier, and don’t compare your early chapter to someone else’s much later one.

Episode details: published October 9, 2023 · 10:16 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dan Martell’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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