How I chose my 2025 Race Calendar
The importance of aiming with deep values
A peak behind the curtain
I want to take a different route with this article and dive into my own process of how I use athletics as an orienting activity.
There’s value in chopping up ideas and seeing how to truthfully put them into interesting combinations (we call that ‘synthesis’ in the academy) but without a way to appreciate how to live those idea through positive action, philosophy can never be a moral pursuit.
By taking a look behind the curtain of my own decision making about races, and by extension how I integrate and harmonize those choices with my family’s needs, my wife’s work obligations, my own business growth, and my body’s capabilities to achieve peace in the home and the heart.
My hope is that you’ll begin to see how training and competing doesn’t ‘take away’ from these other areas of your life but how they enhance the things that matter most to you.
How to select races
There are 3 main reasons that I want to keep racing into 2025 and beyond.
Continue to increase my presence as a coach inside Tribal Training, the endurance training and personal development team I’m an assistant coach on
Continue to step into my own athlete identity as a distance runner who tackles ultramarathons with grace, poise, and talent
Finally have my family attend a race to cheer me on and see me cross a finish line
Luckily, belonging to and coaching on the Tribal Training team gives me the opportunity to accomplish all of these aims.
We have created an incredible 2025 Team Race Calendar. These are events where 10+ Tribal Athletes will all compete together, travelling to the same location, sometimes all staying in the same house/area, and making the even stretch beyond just race day (pre race training sessions, mindset development, team hangs, post race refelction work, etc…)
Here you can see our awesome and evolving roster.
I already have two big dates lined up for ultramarathons, our team ultra 50 miler at Elephant Mountain and team backyard ultra at the Prairie on Fire. Additionally, we are hosting our first ever trail fest in late July/early August and I plan on burning up one of those races as well (likely the Trail Half Marathon if we have one of those!). I’m also planning on attending the Team Ironman competitions as a coach, busy year!
Having 3 calendar anchors by belonging to the team takes a lot of the decision fatigue out of having to select from the wide array of racing options.
But that’s not enough and I want a bit more.
My performance goal for this year is to run 100 miles in two different race formats, a traditional trail ultra and a backyard ultra. This would be my ‘arrival’ as a distance runner with some talent and runway to grow and make an impact in the sport.
Just like the team races hit a few aims at once, I also need that 100mile trail race to hit more than one aim. So I’ve picked a race close to our new home in North Chicago about an hour drive, that way my family can watch me, support me, and witness what these races are all about.
When I pick a race, it can’t just be directed towards one aim only. It has to hit a number of deep aims, otherwise I won’t be maximizing the experience.
Ultimately, that’s what these races are all about. Serving others, coaching them, pushing ourselves, challenging the limits, inspiring others, and realizing our true potential through honest struggle and sacrifice. When many aims align, you get the conditions for transcendence.
Why those aims
When you select an athletic competition as an adult, you don’t just get to pick a race without consequence. There are so many competing variables at play. You need some orienting principles.
A few of the motivations why people sign up for endurance:
travel
vacation
challenge
community
redemption
cost
logistics
scheduling
support
You don’t just get to put a date on the calendar and expect all of the other obligations in life to bend towards that decision. Thats how you end up picking a race that causes resentment, frustration, disappointment, and regret. Imagine spending 1000s of dollars to travel to a race, but your family isn’t happy because it’s a busy time for them and you just split. You might spend the entire time worrying about them, not focusing on yourself, and then losing the willpower to truly push through in times of adversity.
So when selecting any race, I think it’s prudent to weigh all the variables against your deeply held values. You need to locate your deep why and then align that to the correct race. Otherwise you run the risk of going against yourself. Your family won’t be too happy if you are seen to be racing away from them and your obligations. Instead work to have the most important things integrated into each race.
The importance of scheduling
But it’s not just the time that makes sense for your family you need to be concerned about, it’s the toll of races on your body that you need to consider as well.
I don’t want races back to back on my calendar. At 38 years old, I want to be in this game for decades, not just this year. My body requires rest and recovery after big efforts. For example, it took about 6 weeks for my sleep and heart rate data to normalize after running 87.5 miles at the 2024 Prairie on Fire Backyard Ultra. And that’s not counting the sore muscles either.
There was a 100 mile race in Southern Illinois that I first wanted to sign up for in 2025. I was drawn to that race because of the beautiful terrain that weaved throughout incredible rock formations unique to that area of the United States. But logistically it didn’t make much sense. First it was over 5 hour drive from where I’ll be living in North Chicago. But most importantly it was only 2 weeks before one of the races I’d already identified as an ‘A’ race, the 2025 Prairie on Fire Backyard Ultra.
If I want to hit my goal of running 100miles in 2 formats, 3 weeks is no where close to enough recovery time. Also, that race in Southern Illinois doesn't have a team component, nor is it easy for my family to attend.
It’s likely we will be back in Ontario for all of August visiting family so this would further take me away from the people I demand to spend the most time with. Despite it being a more ‘exciting’ race for my own personal interest, it doesn’t align with any of the deep values I want my racing to reflect.
The logistics of putting a race on the calendar are not easy, and each detail needs to be carefully observed and evaluated.
This is how you make sure each race builds you up, not setting you up to be torn down in the future.
Team efforts always
So what’s the big takeaway lesson from a detailed look into my decision making process for putting races on the schedule?
It’s not just about what you want, it takes an entire TEAM to make these happen.
Even if you just wanted to sign up for a race on your own, it’s not something you accomplish by yourself. You have to get the time off, you have to travel, you have to train, you have to depend on others to help you.
If you decide to run an ultra marathon, you need a crew chief and pacers to help get you through the ordeal. If you decide to do an Ironman or 70.3 going at it alone might work, but you’ll be left without anyone to share the accomplishment or struggle with.
Notice how two of my variables take into account the community and family support it requires for me to sign up for races that challenge me. If I don’t put those at the heart of my decision making, I’m not going to be setting myself up for success in any race.
Because I anchor my races around TEAM events, I have an entire community ready to support me if and when I decide to put an individual race on my calendar. Already, 2 of my teammates, both guys I coached as individuals before joining the Tribe, have offered to travel to Wisconsin to crew and pace my 100 mile trail run effort. And because it’s so close to home, I’ll have family support as well, my kids and wife and the finish line acting as a magnet to pull me to completion.
How do you apply?
So if you are someone who wants to get into the world of racing but worry about how that will affect your ability to meet your other obligations, my advice to you is simple.
Think about WHY you want to race → And then match the event to the answers
This way you’ll always be aiming correctly when you put an event on the calendar
I’ve seen it too many times.
The big race doesn’t deliver the breakthrough because the aim was completely off. And then regret, cynicsm, and excuses fill that person up after the race instead of all the positive things they hoped for.
This is how you make racing work for you!
Part of my 1 on 1 coaching deals directly with aiming towards the correct race. It’s the proper crucible to anchor self development through sport and physical training.
I’ve helped non runners smash ½ trail marathons. I’ve paced clients to massive brick sessions and cheered them on at their very first local races. I’ve helped people who blew up on marathons pass 50K and 100K in races.
But they only won big because these races were the proper ones for them, their families, their schedules, and their individual journeys in sport and life.
I’d be honored to help you put the right date on the calendar and work with you to achieve that transcendence we all desire when crossing the finish line.
Use the button below, send me a message, and let’s get to work together. If you have any questions about selecting races leave a comment below and I’ll help out too!