There comes a moment, somewhere deep into The Munga, when everything hurts. Your legs have the structural integrity of wet noodles, your backside feels like it has been a cage fight with a deranged maniac, and your mind—oh, your mind—is starting to negotiate with you.
“We could just stop, you know? Just sit down, take a little nap under this beautiful tree… who even cares? We’re not getting paid for this.”
And yet, you don’t stop.
Why?
The Ultimate Question: Why Do We Do This to Ourselves?
Ultra-endurance races like The Munga aren’t about winning. Let’s be honest—most of us won’t. They aren’t about the medal, or the bragging rights (okay, maybe a little bit). They are about you versus you.
Jocko Willink says, “Discipline equals freedom.” That’s the game. Every moment of suffering in The Munga is a conversation between discipline and excuses. Excuses make today easy, but tomorrow hard. Discipline makes today hard, but tomorrow easy. And in a race where tomorrow is another 200km away, that discipline is what keeps you moving.
The Psychology of Suffering (and Why We Keep Coming Back)
David Goggins, a man who has made a career out of doing things no sane person should attempt, reminds us: “Most people quit at 40% of their potential.”
Your body is screaming, but your mind is the real battlefield. When you ride for days on end, exhausted, hallucinating, questioning your very existence, you start to learn what’s really inside you. And what’s inside you is way more capable than you thought.
When civilization is stripped away—no emails, no Netflix, no comfy couches—you are left with the raw essence of yourself. It’s a terrifying, liberating thing.
The Munga Is a Metaphor for Life
Life throws us our own Mungas all the time. Maybe your Munga is fighting cancer, battling mental health, escaping a toxic relationship, or clawing your way out of financial ruin. Maybe it’s just waking up at 5 a.m. to do the work no one else wants to do.
In these moments, we have two choices:
- Give up, curl into a metaphorical (or literal) fetal position, and let the world win.
- Get up, push forward, and take one more step.
Sometimes, that step is ugly. Sometimes it’s slow. Sometimes it’s straight-up stupid. But it is always progress.
Do remember that many times, the start of the journey is also the end of a chapter. Like the banner stating that clearly when you start this crazy race. That’s a good thing. Endings make space for something new, and the end of one battle is often the beginning of something beautiful. The scars we carry from these struggles are proof that we endured, that we fought, and that we became something more.
Goggins again: “You are in danger of living a life so comfortable and soft, that you will die without ever realizing your true potential.”
Ouch. But also… true.
Why We’ll Be Back
At the finish line of The Munga, when you’re delirious, battered, and full of more emotions than an 80s power ballad, you will look back and laugh at the suffering. Because that’s what we do. We forget the pain, but we remember the fight.
And then, against all logic, you’ll sign up again. Like I have…..
Because, in the end, it was never about the race. It was about proving to yourself that you can do hard things. That you are not the excuses you tell yourself at 3 a.m. That, in the face of exhaustion, failure, and fear—you can pick yourself up seven times and still keep moving.
So, why do we do this to ourselves?
Because we must.
Because The Munga is a metaphor for life. And life is for the ones who refuse to stop.
One last comment, here’s the thing—you don’t have to literally ride The Munga. You absolutely must, however, do something that is difficult, hard and even a little dangerous, because it makes you feel alive. That is what it’s all about. Do something hard. Because when you push yourself to the edge, that’s where you find out who you really are.
Now go out and enjoy the suffering. It’s what we do.