The point was living with grace, decency, and attention to the world, and breaking free of the artificial constructs in your own life.

It's a hard, simple calculus: Run until you can't run anymore. Then run some more. Find a new source of energy and will. Then run even faster.

As powerful as our legs are, as magnificent as our lungs and arms and muscles are, nothing matters more than the mind.

Fear is what makes you come alive, the lure of the unknown - can I do this? - thats where the growth comes from, the pain. I dont remember the running effortlessly; I remember the hard times; adversity breathes transformation.

The point was living with grace, decency, and attention to the world, and breaking free of the artificial constructs in your own life.

We all lose sometimes. We fail to get what we want. Friends and loved ones leave. We make a decision we regret. We try our hardest and come up short. It's not the losing that defines us. It's how we lose. It's what we do afterward.

Most of all, the ultra distance leaves you alone with your thoughts to an excruciating extent. Whatever song you have in your head had better be a good one. Whatever story you are telling yourself had better be a story about going on. There is no room for negativity. The reason most people quit has nothing to do with their body.