We use the word “epic” often. We use it to describe many things. I’m not sure we always use it correctly, even in the context of trail running or ultras.
The first results from Google when you search ‘epic’ are:
EPIC | The Leading Digital Library for Kids
and
Epic Games
and
Electronic Privacy Information Center (could be useful in another context).
Let’s check Merriam-Webster to see what they have to say.
epic (noun)
: long narrative poem …
: a work of art …
Not quite what I’m looking for.
epic (adjective)
: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of an epic (not helpful)
: extending beyond the usual or ordinary, especially in size or scope
FINALLY! We’re getting somewhere!
A definition we can understand and use as a framework to build upon. It’s simple and beautiful. “Beyond the usual or ordinary”.
“So what?”, You may be asking. If we want to do “epic” trail runs, we need to know what distinguishes them from everything else. If we don’t have a standard we can’t say, “Look at this epic run I did.”
Hold on. “Beyond the ordinary” doesn’t seem so hard. And it isn’t. But few of us clear even this low hurdle. I think it’s partly because we think of epic as unattainable so we don’t even try. And some achievements certainly seem to be beyond our grasp. I say they’re beyond our current grasp. They’re outside our ordinary by a wide margin. Outside today’s normal, but not outside our capacity to grow. If we strive to expand what we consider to be normal we can do EPIC things.
I challenge you to do something beyond your ordinary. At first only by a small amount, but increasingly so over time. I’d like you to take, if you’ll excuse the horrible oxymoron, one small, epic step after another until you look back at your accomplishments and say to yourself “That was EPIC!”.