In Defense of Getting Last Place
Today, I entered our small town’s Fourth of July annual trail running race and accomplished three things simultaneously:
1) 13th place overall, 4th place in the women’s division
2) 1100 feet of elevation gain over 1.2 miles
3) Dead last place
Because I was out there for about a half hour longer than anyone else, I had some extra time to think about the experience. And, I am firmly sold on getting last place. Here’s why.
No Pressure
When you’re in last place, you truly get to race your own race. This race was technical. Fairly straight up, seldom flat bits that were runnable, and lots of slippery pine needle debris. So, getting to race your own race here was really nice.
Also, I got to stop and catch my breath, take as many pictures as I wanted, and (because it was an out-and-back) cheer for everyone that was passing me on their way down.
Red Lantern
In the Iditarod dog mushing race, the final finisher gets a prize: the Red Lantern. It’s a point of pride to be awarded this prize - that racer is out there on the course the longest and has often had to endure some of the worst challenges. And, as I descended out of the trail and onto the road, I was informed by the mayor: keep running to claim my red lantern!
While there was not a physical red lantern waiting for me at the finish line, I was glad for the proverbial recognition - and even some distant alignment with the legendary Iditarod.
Enjoying a Nice Hike with the Sweeper
Even with a field of competitors this small, there’s a sweeper. For safety, the sweeper’s main job is to deter bears, ensure no one has fallen off the mountain, and keep track of people staying on trail. And this race’s sweeper did a great job of it.
Also, the sweeper never made me feel like power hiking was a bad thing! So, we had a nice hike, and I took some cool pictures, and we got to cheer on the racers.
DFL ≠ DNF
In races, DNF = Did Not Finish and DFL = Dead *ucking Last. And I am happy to report that DFL ≠ DNF. While today’s last place finish was a new accolade for me, I have still avoided a DNF. And that’s definitely something.
Inspiring Others to Race
I have no way of knowing if this will happen, but I really hope that at least a few people saw my joyful experience and choose to sign up next year. I know I’ll be trying to do this race again in the future. After all, if I hadn’t signed up for this race, the speedy winners would have only had a field of 12 runners to win against. What if we got this run up to even 50 racers?
Giving Yourself the Credit You Deserve
You may be thinking “ok, Kate, this is a fine if not slightly dull story about you being slow. How is this connected to nutrition and wellness in any way?”.
When it comes to pushing yourself to do something new, like decreasing soda intake, cooking more at home, or adding in a 10 minute walk in each day, it’s important to practice giving yourself credit. Be your biggest cheerleader. Find the good. And if you need some help getting started with this practice, reach out to me for Metabolic Coaching.
If you’ve gone from four sodas per day down to three, recognize that it’s a 25% reduction. If you wanted to cook five days per week but made it to two days per week, consider the 500 calories saved from not eating out. And, if you managed the walks on three days per week, that is the beginning of establishing a stellar new activity narrative for yourself.
So, when you get last place in a very small trail run on the Fourth of July, you’ll get to spend that extra half hour you’re out there thinking about all the good things you’re getting out of this experience. Hope to see you all out there next year!
As the last racer at the turnaround, I got to take a picture with the race volunteers!
