In August, I completed a goal I had been chasing for six years.
I had wanted to podium at the Leadville 100 ever since I DNF’d the race in 2018. I hired a coach. I trained consistently. I earned a gold coin to race…, and then covid happened. Finally, this August, I had a shot at redemption – and a podium finish.
What is one to do after they’ve met a huge goal they’ve been working towards for years?
My radical proposition: nothing.
Well, not exactly nothing. But, a temporary shift in my approach to training. After years, and months, and training cycles of intense focus on improving everything from my stride, to my nutrition, to the strength of my big toe (seriously), I’m adopting a new focus.
Fun!
Not productivity. Not growth. Not the small satisfaction of seeing the small orange line of my Strava chart trend ever upwards. Running…for the love of it.
One of my favorite books, How to Do Nothing, by Jenny Odell offers a challenge to our cultural fixation of growth.
“The practice of doing nothing has something broader to offer us: an antidote to the rhetoric of growth. In the context of health and ecology, things that grow unchecked are often considered parasitic or cancerous. Yet we inhabit a culture that privileges novelty and growth over the cyclical and the regenerative. Our very idea of productivity is premised on the idea of producing something new, whereas we do not tend to see maintenance and care as productive in the same way.”
I’m still running. I’m still training consistently. I’m still working with a coach. Not much about the logistics of my training has changed – but embracing a season of training that’s not entirely premised on MORE and BETTER feels exciting. Scary. Challenging.
It feels like nothing. And I have a feeling it just might lead to something even better.
Read More of The Aid Station By Zoë Rom
-
The Importance of Celebrating Microwins
It’s good to set big, ambitious goals. Just make sure you celebrate the little wins along the way. -
Embracing the Uncool as Trail Running Evolves
Trail running is suddenly cool, but you don’t have to be. You just need to keep showing up however you are. -
Retracing Steps: Why You Should Repeat Races, Workouts, and Anything That Makes You Happy
Here’s why repeating a race is less like running it again and more like actually running it for the first time. -
In Praise of Doing it The Hard Way
In a world where we constantly strive to make things easier, automated, and painless, Zoë Rom ponders her love of ultrarunning, a sport of maximum inconvenience. -
The Case for Not Starting Over
It’s tempting to look at your calendar early in 2026 and, in the gaping expanse of the future, only see the things you have yet to do. But here’s what I’ve been thinking about: What if January isn’t a reset? What if it’s just… a continuation? -
An Immaterial Gift Guide For Runners
Holiday gift guides are inescapable, insufferable, and mostly useless. So instead of hawking stuff you don’t need, here are eight immaterial gifts every runner should put on their wish list this season.
RELATED: The Importance of Celebrating Microwins
RELATED: Embracing the Uncool as Trail Running Evolves
RELATED: Retracing Steps: Why You Should Repeat Races, Workouts, and Anything That Makes You Happy
5 comments
Jean-Yves Renaud
I live in Montreal and am 72 years old. I’ve been running for 4 years now and ran with objectives and a watch and statistics and target to do better at each of my 10k runs. At the Canada game in september I could not finish my run. The system was empty, no more energy after 5k. My mind was deserted.
Conclusion I took a month off, ask myself a lot of questions about my performance to realize that a return to fun and pleasure in running was the answer. No more stats sheet.
Chris Jaworski
Zoë, congrats on hitting that podium!
Your “do nothing/have fun” focus rings a bell. On July 7, I completed my pandemic-prompted project of running all ~6000 streets in my county. Even before finishing (after 4+ years), I was saying I wouldn’t be making any grand running plans for a while. No commitments! I wanted to be free to run with friends, to follow my nose, to get off the roads and back onto trails — whatever the day brings! So far, so good.
Denise Vine
Thank you. I really needed to hear this at this moment. I am an old runner. Lately, my motivation has been lacking and I have been skipping my runs. I was constantly concerned with the Strava numbers. I’m slower than I used to be, heat and humidity hit me harder. So when I didn’t like what I saw in Strava, I was hard on myself and thought maybe I should just give it up. I have lost running for fun. I think it is time to leave my watch at home and do what I used to do; just go run. Congrats on your awesome achievement!
Buzz Burrell
Excellent plan!!!
Kristen Klink
I love this. After dnf’ing western states in 2018 my primary focus was getting back into the race and finishing. I did just that in 2023 and felt lost afterwards because my main focus was training. My entire life, spiritually, mentally and physically was surrounded in that goal. Afterwards I was lost and realized that I didn’t have to do “anything”. I am still running and training, much like you, but it looks different. And it’s ok. Thank you