The Real Risk of Choosing an “Easy” Ultramarathon

You want to run the big races. The ones that light you up. The ones you don’t even confess to.

But then fear creeps in.

What if you don’t finish?

What if you’re not capable?

What if you’re way out of your depth?

So instead of going after what you want, you choose a race based on what you think you can do. You pick something “easier” and within reach. Something you don’t have to worry about finishing.

And it’s comfortable, so you do it again. And again. And you get in that habit.

But over time, you end up running races you don’t actually want to run.

They’re okay—but they don’t excite you. They don’t challenge you in the way you crave. You feel restless and frustrated, like something’s missing—because it is.

You’re trying to guarantee a finish.But an easier race doesn’t guarantee that.

You can DNF an easy race just like you can DNF a hard one.

I’ve seen it happen over and over—especially with runners coming off a DNF. They’ll tell me:

“I want to run a redemption race while I’ve still got this training in my legs. I need a finish, so I’m picking an easier one.”

And then… they DNF that one too. And it feels even worse.

Not just because they didn’t finish—but because they DNF’d an easy race. One they never even wanted to run in the first place.

And why? Because their heart wasn’t in it.

They signed up only to prove something. To erase the sting of the last DNF with a finish.

But when things got hard in that “easy” race (and they always do in any race), they had no reason to stay in it.

On the other hand, when they choose the race they really want, even if it’s hard, even if they’re scared, even if it seems out of reach—they show up with more purpose, more drive and more fire.

And no matter how it ends, they walk away proud.

Proud they went for it. Expanded in their capability.

So if you’re trying to decide on a race right now, here’s the better question to ask:

“I can DNF an easy race just like I can DNF a hard one…which one do I want to run?”

That’s the better decision compass.

That’s how you stop making decisions just to avoid failure and start making decisions that go after what you really want. The experiences that grow you. The reason you got into this sport in the first place.

It’s the going for it—more than the finish—that makes you the stronger, more confident runner you’re capable of becoming.