As I begin to shut the (mental) door on my first 50-mile ultra, I decided to reflect upon the 5 most important things I had learned from the journey. I had originally written this post the day after the race, but wanted to wait and come back to it to see if these lessons still rang true a few weeks later – and they do. Needless to say, below are the 5 most important things I learned from running my first 50-miler.

Respect the distance

I have no doubt you’ve heard those words many times before. The truth is, they take on a whole new meaning with you’re talking distances of 30, 40 … 50 miles. You can pay your respects in many ways: by constantly being aware and of—and honest with—your pace (both during your race and in your training), making sure your weekly mileage and long runs have…