What Do Your Race Goals Actually Look Like?

Most ultrarunners start with the same baseline goal: Just finish. It’s honorable. It gets you to the start line and across the finish.

But what happens when “just finish” stops being enough?

For me, that shift happened when I realized I was getting bored. I had the fitness. I had the dedication. But I wasn’t discovering what I was truly capable of in this sport I love. So I made a deliberate decision: Move from survival goals to stretch goals that might feel slightly (or a lot) out of reach.

Why make this shift?

To avoid stagnation and boredom in a sport that rewards long-term obsession.

To honor the training hours I’ve invested instead of leaving potential on the table.

To find out what I’m made of when things get hard.

To model for others that it’s okay (and powerful) to chase big, scary things.

This isn’t about ego or toxic positivity. It’s about growth mindset in action—believing that your abilities aren’t fixed but can expand through challenge, smart training, and mental work.

My A, B, C Goal Framework

I enter my priority races with three clear goals:

Goal A (Stretch/Peak Outcome): The “perfect race” scenario. This might be a podium, a big PR, or a specific placement/time that demands everything going right—plus incredible mental toughness.
- Ask yourself: If everything aligned and I executed at my absolute best, what would that look like?
- Mental tip: Once you define Goal A, build visualization practice into your training. Spend 5-10 minutes a few times a week vividly imagining not just the outcome, but the process—the tough miles, the aid station decisions, the low moments where you choose to push anyway. This wires your brain for resilience.

Goal B (Strong, Realistic PR/Performance): A meaningful personal record or solid execution that reflects your current fitness and preparation.

Goal C (Floor/Non-Negotiable): Finish strong and healthy. This protects your “why” and keeps the door open for future attempts.

Choose goals that are realistic yet stretching—they should excite you and scare you a little. That emotional charge is fuel. If a goal doesn’t spark both, it’s probably too safe or too vague.

Finishing Oil Creek 100 2025

Oil Creek 100: Putting It Into Practice

At Oil Creek 100, my Goal A was a podium. I knew the competition—strong, experienced women who had more miles in big races than I did. I studied the field honestly (you can read my pre-race questionnaire and full race report for that deeper dive). I didn’t hit the podium.

I finished 4th female, and I’m genuinely thrilled with that. It was a learning race that accelerated my growth more than a “safe” finish ever could. I’ve missed podium goals at several key races this year. But here’s the reframe I use with all my coaching clients:
These weren’t failures. They were high-quality data points.

In ultrarunning, missing an ambitious goal often means you ran better overall than you would have with conservative targets. Your training quality rises. Your mental game sharpens. You build the exact skills (pacing under pressure, leaning into discomfort, problem-solving at 3 a.m.) that compound into long-term success.

You can read my Oil Creek 100 race report here.

The Power of “Missing Big”

I worked with an ultrarunner for months using this approach. We dug into his “whys”, strengths, weaknesses, and what he truly wanted from the sport. He leaned into discomfort instead of managing it. He fell short of his A goals, too—but look what happened:

“First things first: I punched my second Western States Endurance Run ticket, and that feels amazing…

It’s been an interesting year. In some ways, I feel like I’ve missed every target I set. But in others, I just feel like a seasoned ultrarunner now.

I set big goals and I missed them, but I don’t want to stop setting them.”

Read that last line again.

“I set big goals and I missed them, but I don’t want to stop setting them.”

This is the mindset shift that separates good ultrarunners from those who level up year after year. Ambitious goals create better training. They force higher-quality efforts, more intentional recovery, smarter nutrition, and deeper mental work. Even when you come up short, you often qualify for dream races, build unbreakable confidence, and accelerate your trajectory.

Ultrarunning is getting more competitive every year—and I love it. It pushes all of us to evolve.

Try This Yourself

Have you experimented with an A, B, C goal system? How did it land for you?

This framework is one of the most rewarding parts of the mindset and mental wellness coaching I do with ultrarunners. We don’t just set goals—we build the mental systems to pursue them sustainably, handle disappointment, and keep the joy alive.

If you’re ready to stop playing small in your training and racing, I’d love to explore working together. Drop me a message with your biggest questions or goals.

Contact Shannon