This article outlines Allie Bailey’s thoughts on why you should take your time to build up to longer and tougher races.
In January 2026, Arc of Attrition by UTMB had a 37% finishers rate this year but why! Arc has attracted a lot of influencers and relatively inexperienced runners drawn in by UTMB’s marketing. A lot of them couldn’t do it. A lot of them said it wasn’t their day. It wasn’t their fault. It was the weather. There are many opinions about the race. Many YouTube opinions that probably don’t reflect reality. These opinions are there to attract subscribers. These sometimes unreal opinions might have led to lots of people entering races that are not right for them, failing and not going back to ultra running. From getting stuck in precarious situations to feeling outright terrible or scared and not enjoying it. Whilst inspiring athletes like Damian Hall believe you can do anything you want, you have to work for those dreams and that takes time. Allie’s view is perhaps more ‘cautious’: some call Allie the ‘dream crusher’ because she doesn’t sugar coat things. She says it as it is. She asks difficult questions and makes you think! But it comes from a place of love and compassion and ultimately wanting what’s best for runners.
Here’s what Allie’s got to say about your great expectations.
- Start from where you are. It’s very important to start from where you are when you are looking at looking at races, not where you want to be, and not where you think you should be or where ‘Ultra Dave’ on Instagram is. You have to be really honest with yourself with what you are capable of, your experience, the money and time you have and where you are at with your running life. Allie thinks most women tend to take the more cautious approach of going from 10k to half marathons and gradually increasing the distance. Some people however (especially younger runners and male runners) jump straight into ultras and make big jumps in distance and terrain. Each race should have a developmental benefit to you. You should come in with some skills and maybe you build on those skills by 10%/15% each race to increase your toolkit. For example take Dragon’s Back race: an unmarked course over six days in remote areas. You need to learn the navigation and personal management skills in the build up and not on the race. Have you ever experienced horrific weather? Do you know if your kit works? Do you know how to navigate in that weather? Those cannot be seen in a 2 minute Instagram reel. Those videos are marketing videos to make you want to do it but actually doing it will take time.
- Be honest with yourself and the people around you. Be honest about how much time you have, how much money you have, your ability and what you really want. Achieving something will not change who you are. If you are sad or have imposter syndrome, holding a medal will not change who you are but the process of getting there will change who you are. Don’t do this for others. Do it for you.
- Why are you doing it? Would you do this if nobody was watching or if you couldn’t post it on Instagram. Don’t do it to prove yourself to someone else. That’s not a reason. That means you don’t believe yourself, you don’t trust yourself, you don’t have self-confidence. This is just putting pressure on you. If you want to do this, you have to have absolute belief that you have done everything you can do to get to the start line because it’s not about the race. It’s not about the outcome. It’s about the process of getting there. Years and years of mastery of something you really enjoy and not just one training block. It shouldn’t be stressful. It’s a hobby. It’s something that can (and should) benefit your physical and mental health and that you should great joy in. Self confidence comes from believing in yourself – not from someone else’s opinion of you. Maybe you are a 50km runner or a 50 mile runner. Maybe 100 miles is your thing (or not). You don’t have to do it all. Only a tiny fraction of the general public actually do ultras – its not ‘normal’. Kirsty Reade of Vertebrate publishing once said “if you have one eye on the result , you only have one eye on the path.” Meaning you are not focusing on the job at hand. You might make mistakes. All the development happens on the way there. Don’t focus on the result. Focus on the process of getting there. The outcome is the icing on the cake.
- “Fuck about and find out” said the legend Hannah Rickman! Don’t think there’s a precise ladder to get to a particular race. Do lots of short races before you decide to take on a massive race. Go and find out if you actually like that particular type of race. Walk the Pennine Way. Hike in the Beacons to see if that terrain gives you joy. Go out in the night in miserable weather and see if you can hack it. The information you trust is what you gain in real life. Every person will have a different experience of the race. Don’t think about what the elites do – they are out there for way shorter time with lighter packs. It’s about finding out about you and how you perform in those circumstances. It’s not about following the crowd or benchmarking yourself against someone else.
By rushing through the process of increasing distances or the challenges of the races without gaining the relevant experience, you might be putting yourself in danger. Needing medical attention or rescue you are taking that support from others who may need it more.
Races are not going anywhere, the mountains will always be there. If you see a race and you like the look of it, research what it takes to do it. Most big races have webinars. It might take a year or two. Building the knowledge base by volunteering, pacing, crewing, reading and researching about the event. Talk to people who’ve done it. Perhaps doing the shorter version of the same race to see it it’s something you really want to do. Make a plan! And master what you want to do! And most of all, take your time.