Dealing With Bad Race Days

We talk a lot about the good race days.

The PBs, the podiums, the course records, the perfect weather, the races where everything just seems to click. But we don't always talk about the other side of racing - the days where nothing goes to plan.

And the reality is, you can do everything right and still have a bad race.

You can train consistently for months, nail your nutrition, get your kit ready, arrive well rested and have a solid race plan… and then, for whatever reason, your body or your head just doesn't want to play ball.

I've had plenty of those days. And while they're frustrating, they've probably taught me more than some of my best races.

Accept that bad days happen

The first thing is accepting that they're part of the sport.

There are so many variables that we can't control on race day. Weather, sleep, your stomach, how your legs feel, the terrain, your mental state, or simply how your body responds that particular day.

Sometimes there isn't even an obvious reason.

That's hard to accept when you've invested weeks or months into a race, but one bad result doesn't mean the training was wasted or that you're suddenly a worse runner.

It just means you had a bad day.

Don't write the race off too early

This is particularly important in ultras.

You can feel absolutely awful at one point in a race and completely different a few hours later. I've had races where I've been convinced I was done, only to eat something, slow down, get through a difficult section, and suddenly start feeling good again.

When things aren't going well, I try to stop thinking about the finish line.

Just get to the next aid station.

Then the next checkpoint.

Then the next climb.

Break the race down into manageable pieces rather than trying to solve the entire problem at once.

Go back to the basics

When you're having a bad day, it's very easy to overcomplicate things.

Instead, go back to the basics.

• Have I eaten enough?

• Have I drunk enough?

• Am I going too fast?

• Do I need to walk?

• Do I need to put another layer on?

• Do I need five minutes to reset?

Sometimes the answer is incredibly simple.

Slowing down, getting some food in, and giving yourself a bit of time can completely change how you feel.

Know the difference between hard and wrong

There's also an important distinction between having a difficult race and something genuinely being wrong.

Running an ultra is supposed to be hard. There will be moments where you're tired, uncomfortable, questioning your life choices, and wondering why you signed up for this in the first place.

That's part of it.

But pain that suggests an injury, feeling unwell, or anything that makes continuing unsafe is different.

There is no shame in stopping when you need to. Knowing when to push through and when to call it a day is part of being an experienced runner too.

Don't judge yourself immediately

One of the hardest things after a bad race is the emotional side of it.

You've spent months looking forward to something and suddenly it's over and not in the way you imagined.

It's very easy to immediately think:

I'm not good enough.
I'm not fit enough.
I shouldn't have done that.
What was the point of all that training?

But give yourself some time.

Don't try to analyse everything when you're exhausted, emotional, and probably sleep-deprived.

A race result is data. It isn't a judgement of you as a runner.

Look back objectively

Once you've had some time to process it, then look at what happened.

Was your pacing too aggressive?
Did you get your fuelling wrong?
Did you underestimate the conditions?
Was your training appropriate?
Was there something you could have prepared for better?

Or was it simply one of those days?

Not every bad race needs a huge lesson attached to it.

Sometimes the lesson is simply that running is unpredictable.

Take the lesson, not the failure

I think this is the biggest thing I've learnt.

A bad race doesn't erase the races that came before it.

It doesn't erase the training you've done, the miles you've run, the progress you've made, or the reasons you started running in the first place.

If there's something to learn, take it.

If there's something to change, change it.

Then move on.

Because ultimately, running is a long game. There will be good days, bad days, brilliant races, and races you'd rather forget.

The goal isn't to make every race perfect.

It's to keep learning, keep showing up, and, most importantly, keep enjoying the process.

One bad race is just one day. It doesn't define you as a runner.