[Editor’s Note: This article was written by guest contributor Nickademus de la Rosa, a mental performance consultant with a master’s degree in Sports and Performance Psychology from the University of Western States. He’s also an accomplished endurance athlete, having placed second at Italy’s Tor des Géants in 2014 and winning the Barkley Marathons in 2013.]
If the mental game makes up a big part of finishing a 100-mile event, what portion do psychological factors play into the increasingly popular 200-plus-mile distance races? And more interestingly, what makes multi-day events psychologically distinct from their more common 100-mile counterparts?
Multi-day events, unlike most 100-mile races that require no more than one night of sleep deprivation, last for multiple days and nights. And unlike stage races, the clock never stops whether athletes are moving, sleeping, or resting. Some popular multi-day events include the Moab 240 Mile, Tahoe 200 Mile, Tor des Géants, and La Petite Trotte à Léon — commonly called the PTL. While stage races, such as the TransRockies Run, may cover similar distances as continuous multi-day events, they have distinct daily stages followed by a chance to sleep and rest, making them a whole different game.
There are several psychological aspects that make these non-stop multi-day events uniquely challenging. Many of these differences arise from the fact that most 200 milers, and events like Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra or the Barkley Marathons, can’t be completed in a single 24-hour period, which means athletes have to be awake and focused for multiple days and nights. Of the several challenges faced by athletes attempting multi-day events, sleep deprivation, isolation, and boredom are the most common and often felt at much a higher degree than in 100-mile events.
Ihor Verys wins the 2024 Barkley Marathons on his first attempt in a time of 58 hours, 44 minutes, and 59 seconds. Photo: Howie Stern
Sleep Deprivation
Though not by definition an aspect of psychology, sleep deprivation and its impact on the brain and cognitive function represent one of the biggest differences between multi-day events and other ultramarathon formats. Most human beings require between seven and nine hours of sleep per night for optimal health and functioning. In 2019, Corrine Malcolm wrote an in-depth piece on the importance of sleep in training, racing, and overall performance. However, in order to either finish the events before cut-offs or maintain a competitive edge, athletes in these multi-day events must go days without adequate sleep. While a single night of sleep deprivation during a 100-mile effort is one thing, a second night without a sleep is much more difficult to deal with.
Tolerance for sleep deprivation and individual sleep needs vary immensely between athletes. Some, like Ihor Verys, winner of the 2024 Barkley Marathons, are capable of running for nearly 60 hours straight with no sleep. Others, such as Jeff Browning, who placed second at the 2024 Cocodona 250 Mile and has won several 100-mile events, including the 2018 Hardrock 100, have a more integrated sleep plan for their events.
The principle impact of sleep deprivation on the brain arises from a disconnect between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala (1). The prefrontal cortex controls our ability to think rationally, make decisions, maintain motivation by remembering our “why,” and control our emotions. When we are sleep-deprived, the amygdala takes over, and our decision-making, connection to our “why,” internal motivation, and emotional control all plummet (1).
Rachel Entrekin, this year’s winner of the Cocodona 250 Mile, said upon reflecting on the psychological toll sleep deprivation on motivation, “I recall getting halfway up Mount Elden toward the end of the race and thinking, ‘I’m done.’”
Rachel Entrekin battling sleep deprivation on her way to winning the 2024 Cocodona 250 Mile. Photo courtesy of Rachel Entrekin.
“One little wrong decision due to sleep deprivation will cascade into a big mistake, which, in turn, can cost you the race,” says Verys. “Runners forget their what and their why. Some of them even end up forgetting their names.”
Sleep deprivation can lead to a loss of emotional resilience and may erode one’s original motivations for undertaking the event in the first place.
Isolation
Tolerating long periods of time alone, both physically and emotionally, is a critical component of multi-day events. Aid stations, crew, and pacers — if even allowed — are often many more miles or hours apart from more standard-distance ultras. Some runners thrive in this time spent alone, while others have to strategize in order to avoid intense feelings of loneliness.
Three-time Barkley Marathons finisher John Kelly said, “I actually enjoy the isolation most of the time, but this is where it’s sometimes difficult for me to keep competitive goals in mind.” He speculated on his ability to tolerate isolation, but also his struggle with it and said, “It’s one reason why I think I’ve done well on supported fastest known times and a reason I might lose any sort of competitive focus on loop five at Barkley [Marathons] where my “competition” is going the opposite direction.”
To combat some of the loneliness throughout these long miles, some athletes need to develop specific techniques to keep their focus on the goal. Kevin Goldberg, who has completed a dozen 200-mile races, experiences these acute bouts of loneliness. “I get lonely all the time out there,” said Goldberg. “A lot of these races are in very remote places. Luckily, it’s 2024, and oftentimes, I do have cell service. If I do, I like to call people and connect with friends and family I may not have spoken with recently.”
Kevin Goldberg will often call up friends and family during later hours of a multi-day effort to combat loneliness. Photo courtesy of Kevin Goldberg.
Boredom
Boredom, distraction, a wandering mind — none of these are unique to multi-day events, and they happen in to runners in ultras of nearly any distance. However, the duration of multi-day events, often lasting over 60 hours, often require a higher level of psychological resilience and a more robust skillset to combat the increased level of boredom that comes along with hours of movement. Many of the athletes interviewed for this article didn’t necessarily think a wandering mind was a bad thing.
Galen Reynolds, who placed second at the 2023 Tor des Géants, a 205-mile race in Italy, said of his wandering mind, “If it’s on a portion of the race that will require some focus, like running down a mountain, I’m happy for the mind to wander off to anything. This doesn’t impact my speed.” However, Reynolds noted that sometimes a wandering mind can result in a decrease in his pace, simply because his focus isn’t there.
Similarly, Browning stated, “I let my mind flow and wander where it may, as long as it’s positive. If I go negative, it’s time to refocus. Sometimes you need sleep, sometimes you need calories, and sometimes you just need to be tough on yourself and change it. No excuses.”
Mental Skills Development for Multi-Day Events
There are a couple of different techniques that can be useful for staying focused as the hours and miles add up in a multi-day event. Practicing these techniques in low-stress, non-race situations can help make them second nature and easier to employ when needed.
“Be Here Now”
Presentness, mindfulness — we’ve all heard these terms used in one context or another, but the importance of these skills in multi-day races cannot be overstated. Athletes at these events must remain present amidst an ever-ticking clock, declining cognitive function, mounting fatigue, sleep deprivation, out-of-control emotions, high-stakes competition, and seemingly endless miles.
Though difficult to mimic the exact circumstances of a multi-day event, the mindfulness “muscle” can be developed every day and in nearly every moment. When working with athletes, a technique I rely upon is the “think out loud” protocol (2). I advise athletes to go on a run, and during the course of the workout, record three 30-second videos voicing whatever they are thinking out loud. By practicing being aware of their thoughts, athletes can better understand what is going through their minds and whether it’s helping or hindering their overall performance.
Ihor Verys (left) starts another lap at the 2023 Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra. Photo courtesy of Ihor Verys.
Segmentation and Compartmentalization
Segmentation, the process of breaking down big outcome goals into smaller bite-sized pieces, is one of the most cited and utilized skills for getting through multi-day events.
“[Segmentation] is even more critical in multi-days than in ‘normal’ length ultras,” says Kelly. “Focus on the next checkpoint, the next hill, the next visible landmark. I also like to continually divide [a race distance] in half, and each time I hit that halfway point, pretend it’s a new race and don’t think about what I’ve already done. As I get more tired, those halves get shorter.”
Jonathan van Geuns, who was eighth at the 2024 Cocodona 250 Mile says, “Compartmentalization is a common tactic that works well for me, and I like to take that a few dimensions further by not only dividing the race up in pieces and focusing on the moment but also implement new strategies and making sections of the race different, like picking up the pace at more runnable sections.” Van Geuns further explained, “This means you have something to look forward to or something to mentally prepare for, and by doing so, stay in the moment.”
Process Goals
As I coach athletes preparing for multi-day events, I have them outline all of their outcome goals, and then we work together to break those down into actionable, controllable process goals that can be focused on in the moment. For example, an athlete may want to finish the Cocodona 250 Mile in under 80 hours, which is an outcome goal.
This can remain a goal, but I will also encourage the athlete to create process goals that maximize their chances of reaching their outcome goal. These process goals might look like eating 70 to 80 grams of carbohydrates per hour, practicing an active progressive muscle relaxation every 30 minutes, or thinking about the race in terms of running aid station to aid station, as opposed to start to finish.
John Kelly and Gary Robbins starting loop 3 of Barkley Marathons in 2017. Photo: Jessi Kelly
Overcoming Psychological Challenges
There are an immense number of psychological factors at play in multi-day events. When pushing the body through multiple days on end, most athletes will have to endure sleep deprivation, loss of motivation, boredom, and loneliness, among other factors. Luckily, there are adaptations, skills, and techniques that athletes can employ to overcome these psychological challenges and improve their performance. These skills include segmentation, compartmentalization, staying present, and creating process goals in addition to outcome goals.
Highly experienced with staying focused for long periods of time, Reynolds explains that while each of these skills requires different abilities, they all start with “staying calm, remembering what I’m doing, and refocusing on achievable goals.”
Call for Comments
- Have you personally used any of the above-mentioned psychological skills in your training or racing?
- What do you perceive your psychological strength at ultramarathons to be?
References
- Khan, M., & Al-Jahdali, H. (2023). The consequences of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance. King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, 28(2), 91–99. https://doi.org/10.17712/nsj.2023.2.20220108
- Ericsson KA, Simon HA. 1980. Verbal reports as data. Psychol Rev. 87(3):215–251. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.87.3.215.
