Don’t fear, I’m not about to go all Run Influencer on you. As a content creator though, I believe it’s important to periodically think about what I’m doing, how I’m doing it, and most importantly why I’m doing it. It was ten years ago on Thanksgiving that I registered this website and published my first post. At the time, I had started two 100 mile races and finished one. This is the first time I’ve explicitly laid out what Chasing10K is all about, but I think I’ve been fairly consistent over the years. I have Four Pillars and then a number of underlying themes that decorate those pillars.
Four Pillars Of Chasing10K
- Ultrarunning
- Educational
- Entertaining
- Positive
Ultrarunning. Chasing10K is all about running long distances. You’re not coming here for financial advice. Or innovative baking recipes. Or to learn automotive repair. The content is almost exclusively how to train and race ultras. At some point, I can see myself expanding beyond this laser like focus, but not quite yet.
Educational. The why is to show others how to do what I do. Ultras are challenging and the farther the distance, the less information on the How exists. When I started out, I didn’t know anyone that ran marathons let alone ultras so relied entirely on others’ blogs/reports of their adventures. This really gave me the confidence that I could figure things out so I’d like to pay that forward.
Entertaining. No one likes to read textbooks and I can assure you I have no interest in writing one. I like to add in some wit and humor to keep things interesting. I also believe this is a good tool to make ultras more relatable. I mean, if I’m not taking myself too seriously while doing this how hard can this really be?
Positive. There is way too much negativity in the world and I endeavor not to add to it. I’m not looking to mix it up. I don’t care about engagement. I don’t want you to leave here more riled up than when you arrived. Ideally, I would shoot for inspirational, but as an able-bodied straight white male from a middle class upbringing I’m not checking any of those boxes. Closest I can come is that I was average athletically growing up. “Average Runner Runs!” doesn’t quite scream inspirational though so I’ll stick with boundless positivity.
Underlying Themes
Authentic. This is the real me. I’m here to provide my real experiences as I feel that’s the best way to educate. I’m not going to lie to you nor pretend I’m something more/better/cooler than I really am. I guess also need to state this is AI-free. I may decide to use AI at some point in the future, however this would likely be more for idea generation than the writing itself. I enjoy the writing process so don’t want to give that up. I also believe it makes me a better ultrarunner as it forces me to be more analytical and critical in my thinking. Words don’t just automatically appear. I need to think about the best way to say what’s rambling around my head.
Continuous improvement. I want to get better at ultrarunning. I’m always thinking about the what and the how in order to maximize my performances as well as my enjoyment. I’m always willing to experiment and try new things. I’ve learned a lot in the past 10 years and know there’s still a lot more for me to learn. I find this exciting and is one of the reasons I’m still so engaged in the sport.
Audacious Goals Only. I created a website to document my journey of finishing a hundred 100 mile races after completing only one with a 50% DNF rate. Every race I go into I end up setting myself an A goal that’s at the bleeding edge of mathematical probabilities. This is because I’m an optimistic person and I want to believe that I’m able to accomplish the borderline impossible. All evidence to the contrary. If you’re interested in ultras, my bet is you’re already wired like this. Lean into it.
Limited Scope. Chasing10K is basically just one written post per week on Wednesdays here that I then repost on Facebook. I don’t do videos, cartoons, or anything multi-media related. I’m not on a bunch of social media platforms. Starting out I wanted to keep this small because my writing was. . . let’s call it still under development. I’d like to think my writing has improved since then or maybe I’ve just managed to find my voice. I’m not looking for this to blow up though as I don’t want to spend a ton of timing managing content and interactions with random internet strangers (present company excluded). I’d rather continue focusing on the actual ultrarunning itself rather than brand promotion.
The Chasing10K brand didn’t really start with a plan just some unspoken thoughts. I think I’ve been pretty true to this over the years though. I can definitely see it evolving as I move forward, however you can always expect to see positive ultrarunning edutainment content.