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Yet, Goggins would also reveal he had pushed himself so hard that he had blood in his urine, and left his body with so many health issues that it had \u201cpretty much shut down on me\u201d.<\/p>\n
A celebration of human potential, or self harm?<\/p>\n
Achieving what once seemed impossible stretches our perspective on life, and by challenging our bodies, we challenge our beliefs about ourselves. Through suffering, the theory goes, we can cultivate gratitude and build tolerance for life\u2019s day-to-day stresses.<\/p>\n
But when are we celebrating human potential, and when are we elevating self-harm? What is the line between transcending our beliefs about what we\u2019re capable of and self-destruction?<\/p>\n
The answer depends on who you ask.<\/p>\n
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Olympic marathon runner Jess Stenson.Credit: Lululemon<\/p>\n
Olympic marathon runner, Jess Stenson has an intimate relationship with suffering through her sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cPain shows up in a lot of different ways,\u201d says the 37-year-old Commonwealth Games gold medallist. \u201cIt can be mental suffering \u2013 feeling overwhelmed or anxious, or I have self-doubt \u2013 or it can be physical pain.\u201d<\/p>\n
She accepts that to achieve her potential, she has to push through mental pain and some physical pain, including blisters, chafing and cramps.<\/p>\n
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At the 37 kilometre mark of the 2018 Commonwealth Games marathon in the Gold Coast, however, Stenson started feeling dizzy, disorientated and began shivering.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis might be a bit dangerous,\u201d the lululemon athlete recalls thinking.<\/p>\n
Nauseous and vague about where she was, Stenson, now a mother of two, finished the race in third place, but had taken her body to a place she won\u2019t go again: \u201cThat was before becoming a parent, but now even more so, I have my health to think about so I can look after the people around me. You\u2019ve got to know your risk versus your reward.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u201crisk versus reward\u201d is different for Chris Turnbull, whose 2023 record for the fastest transcontinental run across Australia was broken by Goodge.<\/p>\n
Driven by curiosity about where different adventures take him in body and mind, he isn\u2019t averse to dizziness and disorientation.<\/p>\n
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Chris Turnbull running across Australia in 2023.Credit: Jack Bullen<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I love that too,\u201d says the 41-year-old Sydneysider. \u201cThat\u2019s another experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
But, like Stenson, long-term health is a consideration.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether there\u2019s going to be permanent physical or mental damage I think is a clear line,\u201d says Turnbull, a civil engineer by trade and father of two.<\/p>\n
While he admits it can be difficult to tell in the midst of an extreme challenge if any harm is temporary or not, he believes we can do much more than we think without hurting ourselves permanently.<\/p>\n
His curiosity once motivated him to work for 24 hours, just to see if he could operate mentally for that long; to choose to run during peak rain so he can splash through puddles and see the dam levels near where he lives; to run for 31 hours continuously (and 208 kilometres) in the Backyard Ultra event last month; and, of course, to run across Australia.<\/p>\n
It took him six months to recover from his transcontinental run. During the recovery, he suffered exhaustion and nerve issues that caused dizziness and tingles to shoot up his legs when he tried to run, \u201cbut it went away\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel almost like a collector of experiences now,\u201d he says, adding that they override the \u201csmall discomfort\u201d of the pain.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday there is very, very little that we need to do that causes us discomfort in life,\u201d says Turnbull. \u201cIt\u2019s up to us, then, if we want to do anything hard, which will often come with personal growth and unlock some new perspective in your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
The line between transcendence and self-harm<\/p>\n
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Honorary professor Kieran Fallon, a former medical director of the Sydney to Melbourne ultramarathon and head of sports medicine at the Australian Institute of Sport, largely agrees with Turnbull that it\u2019s challenging to cause permanent damage.<\/p>\n
\u201cOverall there\u2019s not a great deal of data on each bodily system, but there is some, and it indicates that it doesn\u2019t really cause that much trouble long-term,\u201d says Fallon, now at the Australian National University.<\/p>\n
Some endurance athletes are more likely to get cardiac fibrosis, which can lead to cardiac rhythm disturbances, and there is an increased risk of malignant skin cancer from being out in the sun, as well as osteoarthritis in the knees and hips. Issues with the nerves and tendons are common, but typically these resolve if the person gives them time to recover.<\/p>\n
Female endurance athletes need to be wary of relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs)<\/a>, which can affect fertility and overall health and performance. Otherwise, Fallon says that unless a person has a specific, rare problem such as rhabdomyolysis (severe muscle breakdown), and acute renal failure, most issues are temporary.<\/p>\n Dr Zena Burgess, chief executive of the Australian Psychological Society, says there is much to be celebrated in the kinds of endurance feats that also involve some suffering, and that positive addictions are, well, positive.<\/p>\n \u201cBuilding mental resilience, having pain tolerance, setting goals and having coping strategies \u2013 all of that is fantastic,\u201d says Burgess, an ocean swimmer who has participated in triathlons.<\/p>\n It becomes destructive, she says, if a person can\u2019t ever stop, when the relentless pursuit becomes more important than anything else in their life, when it defines their self-worth and when they no longer listen to their bodies.<\/p>\n
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