Running is a vital activity that clarifies the mind and provides a necessary outlet for addictive energy.

“Running running saved my life. And then running gave me a life. I mean that's kind of where it evolved into.”

Ultrarunning can be used as a healthy tool for managing challenging emotions and processing grief.

“I'd find myself just getting my shoes and I'd do the the same route I was in the family home at the time small town in Bedford sh I'd run and do this 5K Loop over and over again”

Ultrarunning serves as a safe form of voluntary suffering that allows individuals in recovery to push their limits without the destructive consequences of addiction.

“voluntary suffering, you know, it's like you're you're putting yourself into a situation that you're you're suffering, but you always have the ability to tap out if you want to, is something that we can't do in real life, that we could never do when we were like in the addiction like phase of our li”

Shawn Livingston views running as an essential tool that provided him with a new, healthy way to channel his intense energy and improve his mental health during recovery.

“And so I just wanted to continue to keep doing it. And I can remember my story kind of getting out there a little bit in uh in the running world.”

Running serves as a tool for active meditation and a way to confront life problems.

“In some ways, you're turning your brain off and you're kind of letting go, and it becomes that active meditation state that allows some of those creative pathways to engage in a different way.”

He claims that ultramarathons are mentally challenging because they force participants to encounter moments of extreme desire to quit.

“I feel like with running and running a 100 miles, like you know that you're going to hit the darkness, right? Like that [ __ ] horrific moment of like >> I should quit, right?”

He suggests that the mental game is the primary differentiator in winning ultra races at the elite level because all top competitors have already reached similar levels of physical training.

“Right yeah ultimately I think the differentiator is in the mental game because everybody especially at the elite level is training really hard and there's only so much training that you can do before you get injured or you over train, right? So when you toe the line at the starting line you can be a”

She believes that as race distances increase beyond 200 miles, the performance gap between male and female athletes decreases because success becomes more dependent on mental persistence and problem-s

“I think as the distance increases it becomes a little more equal for sure because then it is a lot in your head and it's about persistence and problem solving and some stubbornness, all those factor in quite a bit as you're out there for over 24 hours.”

The athlete believes in prioritizing joy and maintaining a positive attitude as fundamental components of success in ultramarathon running.

“I'm propelled by joy. The joy thing is big, right? Yeah, absolutely. And it doesn't, it's very authentic to you. It's not like, oh, I'm trying to be joyful because if I'm joyful, then I'll be a better athlete. It's not, like, it doesn't work that way, but. I'm just a happy person.”