Ultracycling

I'd also not been particularly bothered about the actual racing part until I competed in two events this year. I'd say competing with myself is the biggest motivator but there were often times where I felt I was very much 'in the race' and would enjoy the competitiveness with other people. There's also something about being in the confines of a race which I seemed to really enjoy, kind of difficult to explain.

Also, should say I'm not at the pointy end either but keen to see how far I can push it and improve.

So for those who don't race at the sharp end of the ultra races, what's the motivation compared to just going and riding at a later date? Is it the competition with others, comparison with others riding in the same conditions etc? Other than XC races years ago, I've not got the interest in racing, so riding is fine for me so genuinely interested.

For me it's two-fold.

First, racing against the clock to see if I can beat the time that I expected I would / cover the daily distance I had hoped for. That's exactly the same as when I was time trialling.

But also racing against others who are racing back is really exciting. You might know some people before the race who you have a rivalry with. Then, in the course of a long event you will bump into people who are about your speed, so there is then an edge in trying to get / stay ahead of them.

Then, when you do meet them after the race, it's the best conversation because - while you might have hardly seen them at all, maybe for 3x 10 minutes in a fortnight - you will have so many shared experiences and some unique ones as well. It's just a massive buzz, and you wouldn't get it if you hadn't raced yourself inside out for days on end!

There are other factors too. For me at the moment with a young child, or others who have time constraints, I simply wouldn't do the rides if it wasn't a race, so I wouldn't get to go to the places it goes through.

There's racing and there's being in a race.

Racing is a great motivator. It makes the event very different to doing the same route as a hasty tour. There's an external pressure you don't get, even when you've told yourself you're going to 'do this route as fast as I can', the exception being maybe going for an actual time - RRA record, beating an existing FKT.

Being in a race still provides a higher level of motivation - it's less of a solo pursuit, being 'watched' in any activity makes people perform better (generally, there's actual science on this, it's why things like 1to1 coaches in gyms are more effective than doing a program off a phone app).

So for those who don't race at the sharp end of the ultra races, what's the motivation compared to just going and riding at a later date?

For me and Cycliste, when we did TPBR, beating the couple who blatantly tried drafting us heading south from Bormio. And making the cut off time.