Reasons why you might DNF (Did Not Finish) your next ultramarathon
While a DNF (Did Not Finish) is not the type of outcome goal you want to be setting on race day the reality is, if you have been around for long enough the chances of a DNF increase in probability, statistically speaking of course.
Some ultramarathons historically have a higher DNF rate than others, partly due to the difficulty of the event itself and partly because of a more relaxed set of entry requirements allowing lesser experienced athletes onto the start line.
Either way there are a multitude of reasons for a DNF and no matter how well you prepare for your ultramarathon, whether it’s your first or you’ve lost count, the reality is things rarely go to plan. But the purpose of training and my role as your Ultra Running Coach is to help you try to mitigate as many of these issues as possible or alleviate them altogether.
Let’s look at the reasons why you might DNF your next ultramarathon:
1. Injury/illness
The reason for my very first DNF back in 2017. I was on day two of a four day stage race, the Ultra Tour Monte Rosa. A long-distance trail encircling the second highest mountain in the European Alps.
Barely 10km into the second day, I'd reached the highest point on the course at 3,000m/ 10,000ft. Leaving the refugio and the Aosta valley behind me, I was entering the Piedmont region of Italy bordering France and Switzerland when I heard a notable “pop”.
After being whisked downfrom 3,000m on a quad bike by mountain rescue the outcome was a ruptured ligament, some broken bone and a bruised ego. Winter was a long road of rehab and slowly building my confidence back up again.
But if there’s one takeaway I've had from this DNF it’s that ultramarathon training isn’t just about running all the miles. That’s why when you come onboard with me either one-to-one or inside of my Breaking 250 programme, you’ll receive ongoing holistic support with my partner Strength & Conditioning Coach and Chartered Physiotherapist.
2. Risky race strategy
Ultimately setting and achieving your ultramarathon goal no matter how big or small, has everything to do with risk management and how much risk you as an athlete are willing to take. Taking that leap and shooting for a big scary goal of course carries risk, there is a chance you might fall short and fail.
But always doing events where you finish feeling comfortable and never really challenged, also comes with risk. The risk that in twelve months time, you’ll have spent another year doing exactly the same sh** and never find out what you’re truly capable of.
Adopting an aggressive race strategy is never something I would encourage if you are at the start of your ultrarunning journey since merely “just finishing” is a huge achievement itself. But if you have some experience under your belt and shooting for the stars forces you to DNF, it’s nothing to be ashamed of.
3. Undertrained/ under prepared
From a coaching standpoint, this is one of the number one reasons I see across social media with lesser experienced athletes.
Two years ago, I was getting ready to toe the line at my second 100 mile race, Lakeland 100. A 100 mile circular route, encompassing the whole of the Lakeland fells in the UK, including 7,000m/ 23,000ft of ascent. Packed with unforgiving terrain, darkness, and tricky navigation, I’d have 40 available hours to complete the course.
At the race briefing you are told to turn to the person next to you and introduce yourself. Before deciding which one of you will finish. Because 50% of runners would not finish. So much can happen during an ultramarathon and that year, the odds were against me.
The reality is that I wasn’t ready. I had deep “hot spots" on the inside of both heels that started surfacing before the halfway point. By mile 83 the pain was excruciating, they had become infected and I couldn’t stay warm even with the mandatory gear I was carrying.
A 2011 study by Hoffman and Fogard looked to assess what factors impacted ultrarunners in 100-mile ultramarathons and whether they finished or not (2009 Western States and 2009 Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Race).
In the study, ‘inadequately trained’ was only cited by a relatively small number of athletes, however for me now I know those blisters or “hot spots” on my feet were preventable and weren’t the true reason for my DNF. I could have spent more time on the race terrain, had longer days on my feet, taken above and beyond the mandatory gear and so much more.
4. Unsafe conditions
A reason typically associated with more mountain ultramarathons where you can expect to visit all four seasons in one day. Volatile weather conditions that can make you liable to hypothermia or hyperthermia isn’t worth risking your personal safety for.
In those cases most event organisers will reroute to a lower level bad weather course, pause until better weather conditions resume or be forced to eventually cancel the race and safely evacuate you off the mountain.
From a coaching standpoint, this is less uncommon but something one of my more experienced athletes has faced recently. As your Ultra Running Coach I would never advocate for anyone to put themselves onto a start line without the proper level of experience. One of the reasons why a more rigorous qualification criteria exists at many longer and more technical events such as the UTMB or Spine Race.
So, in short ultra running is about putting it all on the start line, trusting the process and accepting the uncertainty that lies ahead.
Maybe you’ll have to DNF. Or maybe the odds will be in your favour. The good races matter. Celebrate them. But the bad races are where the magic happens, where you learn, grow and dream bigger to come back stronger.
In the words of Elizabeth Day,
“Adventures do by definition involve risk, but not having an adventure means missing out on life, a far greater risk.”.
Something tells me you’ll be back. Am I right?