You never know what sort of experiences are going to change your life. Thinking back over the last 10 years, I had one of the biggest, life changing experiences when I hiked around Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France in 2008. I had gotten into the MBA degree program at the Richard Ivey School of Business (Ivey) with the University of Western Ontario. Ivey offered an optional, two week tutorial period before actual classes started. It was a fairly easy decision for me to use those two weeks to go on a vacation rather than use them for school. I had done well in my undergraduate studies and figured that it would be fairly easy for me to catch up. I was wrong, the first few weeks of school ended up being really tough and I can remember thinking that my vacation might not have been the best idea. Looking back now though, I realize that going on this vacation was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. This trip would have a huge positive influence on the next decade of my life.
I decided that I wanted to do a vacation where I could be active. I did some research online and I found a hiking trip in Chamonix, France. The hike was called the Tour du Mont Blanc and it started in France, brought you to Italy, then to Switzerland and then you finished back at Chamonix in France. It was a seven day, guided hike and you got to stay the night in mountain refuges which are small Inns that are high up in the mountains. I’m not sure what inspired me as I had never really been interested in hiking. I was immediately taken with the idea though, and decided to sign up for the trip.
I flew into Geneva and the tour company arranged for a small van to take me to Chamonix. I met with my tour group at our hotel that evening. Our group was mostly young Canadians who all had interesting careers and backgrounds. There were around ten of us in total and I could tell that we had a great group.
We got out on the mountain the next day and our tour guide set a brisk pace for us. We were all carrying heavy packs and it made for great exercise. I hadn’t ever exerted myself all day like this and I remember feeling a great sense of accomplishment at the end of every day. We were also staying in some amazing mountain refuges. Some of the refuges were at 2,000 metres of altitude but still managed to have delicious hot food, beer, wine and coffee. We made our way through France, Italy and Switzerland and sampled the food and culture as we went. We got back into France and I started noticing runners on the mountain. I was straining myself to walk the trails with my big pack but these runners were flying up and down the mountain. This was my first exposure to ultra trail running and it made a huge impression on me. I asked my tour guide about the trail runners and he told me that they run the same trails that we hike and that they cover over 100km in some of their races. He told me about a race called the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) which covers 106 miles and over 10,000 metre of vertical gain, the whole trek that we had just hiked. These racers finish the UTMB trail in two days or less, the same trail that took our group seven days to finish. I couldn’t really comprehend how these people were in good enough shape to run on the same trails that I was having a difficult time hiking. My first impression was that these runners were crazy and that there was no way that I could ever do something like that. This is a similar reaction that some people have when I tell them about my ultra-running experiences. There is disbelief and shock. Some people are even offended and write you off as crazy. I didn’t know it at the time but this experience planted the seed for ultra-running in my life. I hadn’t decided right away that I wanted to be an ultra-runner but I certainly knew that I loved spending time on the trails and I loved feeling exhausted at the end of the day from pushing myself.
Where do you get your motivation? It’s important to take the time to figure out what’s driving you to go on. Once you’ve determined what’s motivating you, you can go back to this when you’re in need of inspiration. I went to see Tony Robbins recently and he did an exercise where he asked the audience to note down all of the things in our lives that we once thought were impossible. For example, do you live in a big house that you never thought you’d be able to afford? Do you have children and you never thought that you’d be able to have any? Did you marry your dream woman or man after thinking that you’d never find the right person? Do you have a great career that you thought you’d never have? There are a number of significant achievements that I take for granted in my life that I thought would be impossible a few years ago. It’s very important to be grateful for the wonderful things in your life that you now take for granted. I often come back to my hiking experience in France when I’m running low on motivation to continue my training. I think about how far I’ve come with my fitness since that hiking trip ten years ago. I have made plans to run the UTMB in 2021 when I turn 40. I signed up for a race called the UTMB Val D’aran for this July, 2020 which is in the Pyrenees mountains in Spain. If I complete UTMB Val D’Aran, I’ll get guaranteed entry into UTMB Chamonix, in 2021. This is incredibly motivating for me. I used to think that running the UTMB race was impossible but I am now making plans to run it.
I am also grateful that I took a risk and went to Chamonix on vacation ten years ago. I have had a number of transformative experiences over the years and a lot of them have been on vacation. It could be from trying something new like hiking or from the time that you have to clear your mind and reflect when you are free from the distractions of your daily routine. I have realized how important it is to schedule these types of vacations for positive personal growth.
