CEO @ The Atlantic | Co-Founder, Keynote Speaker
Last Saturday, I ran my first trail ultra-marathon: the Twisted Branch 100k up in the Finger Lakes region of upstate NY. It’s a different, more animal, race than what I normally do. I slept in a tent at the start and got up at 3 to race at 4 with my headlamp on. We hustled down single track trails through beautiful hardwood forests. We ran through pastures and across streams. We ran up hills so steep I felt like I could stretch my hand out in front of me and touch the ground. I started cautiously, watching my heart rate and trying not to fall on my face. At the first aid station, I was in about 25th place. Halfway through, my head started to spin. I’d been running for six hours and I still had 32 miles to go. What on earth was I doing? Then I remembered the wisdom of one of my favorite ultra runners: Suprabha Beckjord. Don’t ever think, she told me, of how far you have to go. Just think that you are a child running for joy. I turned off my heart rate monitor and switched my watch to a view where I couldn’t see my pace or how far I had to go. I just imagined I was young Nick running in the bird sanctuary or at my grandparents farm. The miles went by much quicker now. I moved through aid stations eating whatever I wanted and slowly moved up the race. I finished in 8th place, in 12:22. When I crossed through the grass to the end, I exclaimed: “I can’t believe I just did this.” Thank you to all the beautiful people who put this race on and manned the aid stations.
Dave Cox
2w
Nicholas Thompson and that just won my favourite post of 2024 so far. I absolutely love this quote 'Don’t ever think, she told me, of how far you have to go. Just think that you are a child running for joy'. Congrats on the position, but more importantly, congrats on having the clarity of thought mid-race to focus on what really matters. That's the big win right there. 🏃♂️ 😀
Tim Wilcox
2w
Nicholas, how old are you if you don’t mind me asking? I always think I’m too old to run at age 53 but, I think it’s just me crapping myself and avoiding pain. Thanks. Love the imagery of your past & turning off the thinking. Boyish fun
There is no better feeling in the world than "I can't believe I just did this" and truly surprising yourself, especially later in life. At some point in "growing up" we get small. Always great to bust out of self-imposed beliefs. Marathoner who hasn't tried an ultra yet but certainly thinking about it!
Congratulations! How about putting Comrades on your list? Mark Bloomfield , “US Comrades Ambassador “ and avid Atlantic reader . Please contact me me at [email protected]
That's truly amazing. Well done. You should write an article for Simon Freeman Run Like the Wind journal!
Beautiful places. Adirondacks was my favorite place in the US to run back in the early 80s while stationed at Ft Monmouth. The air was so fresh and nature pristine. Don’t know if it is still like that but it was a paradise for runners and hickers. I went out every Saturday. I once ran out to see a Bill Monroe concert before he died. Bluegrass seemed so natural up there.
Congratulations, Nicholas. I fell three times on my first 100k run, twice in the first mile and once in the last.
The beauty is in the suffering, bravo!
Next year you need to come run the Broken Arrow Skyrace at Palisades Tahoe (previously Dquaw Valley). 46k, 10,000+ ft of climbing, $60k in prize money, and part of the World Mountain Running Association World Cup. Congrats and welcome to the club!!!
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2wI'll be honest with you buddy, I find this to be one of the weirdest human behaviors. Can you describe to me your motivation in doing something like this? Anticipatory sentiments - it's not about being in shape of course. It's not about hitting a personal best or something of that ilk. It's something only people with money can do, or are into. And it's very extreme. Is there something about the extreme factor that draws you in? Like let's see how far I can push this body? I ask not from a place of judgement but from genuine curiosity. And also, congrats! It sounds hard AF. Gowing up there I've never heard of the Finger Lakes region of the Adirondacks. Where was this exactly? These two areas are distinct. Maybe you started at the lake furthest east and ran northeast?