The Grit Factor: Why We Don’t Quit and How to Train the Mind to Endure

Based on North South Colorado Ultra off-road Bikepacking self-supported Race, July 4-8t,h 2025

I had every reason to stop.A saddle sore so raw I couldn't sit straight. Headwinds that mocked every pedal stroke. Days of heat, nights of frost, and barely four hours of sleep across the span of nearly four days. And yet, I didn’t stop. I kept going—through 608 miles of dirt, gravel, pavement, and alpine wilderness across the entire state of Colorado.

The North-South Colorado Ultra was my second self-supported ultra endurance race. It took me over 90 hours to complete, and it tested not just my physical endurance but something far more elusive and powerful: grit.

We talk about grit like it's a trait you either have or don’t—but that’s a myth. What I’ve come to understand is that grit is a muscle. It’s something we can train, sharpen, and sustain. In this blog, I want to take you through my race—mile by mile, emotion by emotion—and then shift into the science behind why our minds keep going when everything else begs us to stop. Finally, I’ll show you how grit connects to health, wellness, and even longevity. Because it’s not just about finishing a race. It’s about living a life that endures.

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Part 1: The Race That Tested It All

Day 1: Hope and Heat. The start line in Fort Collins hummed with quiet intensity. 27 riders, 6 women. A map stretching from almost to the Wyoming border all the way to Trinidad at the southern end of Colorado. I felt strong as the first miles clicked by. But by mid-afternoon, the heat baked us from the ground up. My stomach turned from the sun and effort. I rationed calories and water, holding onto the idea that a cooler night would reset my system. Well at least some rest haha.

Day 2: The Storms Begin. 'Some hail storms' I rode into a high country storm by early afternoon—forks of lightning crashing close enough to make me count. Barely escaping a really bad one near Canyon City. My legs were tired. My skin was cracked. I kept moving.

Day 3: The Saddle Sore. By now, the saddle sore had become the main character. Every shift on the saddle was torture. But stopping? That wasn’t an option. Not for me. Not after three days of effort. I changed positions constantly, pedaled standing, gritted my teeth. Somewhere between, I stopped thinking about the pain and started working with it.

Day 4: Into the Void Sleep-deprived. Sunburned. My world narrowed to my handlebars and the thin ribbon of road in front of me. Trinidad was calling. When I finally arrived, dirt-covered and buzzing, I felt something I hadn’t felt since my last ultra: deep, quiet satisfaction. Not the kind you post about. The kind you earn. In fact, there was no one even at the finish spot to greet me, and that was ok. This was for me. Out of the 27 riders who lined up for the North-South Colorado Ultra, just 14 officially finished. Only 6 of us were women, and a total of only 3 women finished, including me. I crossed the finish line in Trinidad after 608.06 miles, 44,407 feet of climbing, and 4 Days, 2 hours, 39 minutes of relentless forward motion. I finished 6th overall and 2nd among the women, riding through heatwaves, frost, windstorms, and everything in between—self-supported, self-powered, and fully committed to the journey from start to finish.

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Part 2: What Is Grit, Really?

Angela Duckworth, one of the foremost researchers on grit, defines it as passion and perseverance for long-term goals. It's not talent. It's not luck. It's the refusal to give up—even when things get hard. Especially when things get hard.

In studies, grit has been shown to predict success more accurately than IQ, socioeconomic status, or physical ability. It’s why elite athletes, Navy SEALs, and even successful entrepreneurs often rank high on the "grit scale." But it’s not just about achievement—grit is about endurance, about the capacity to suffer with purpose.

Grit is a blend of three key psychological traits:

1. Emotional Regulation: The ability to feel discomfort and not run from it.

2. Cognitive Control: Staying focused on a goal despite distraction or difficulty.

3. Motivational Endurance: The capacity to connect the present struggle to a greater purpose.

These traits aren’t fixed—they’re trainable.

Part 3: Why Our Minds Don’t Let Us Quit

Here’s the paradox of ultra-endurance: your body will scream for you to stop, but your mind will whisper, keep going.

From a neurological perspective, this is fascinating. The anterior cingulate cortex plays a key role in detecting pain and conflict. During ultra-endurance events, it lights up like a Christmas tree. But the prefrontal cortex, responsible for decision-making and goal orientation, can override it. When you think, I have to finish, your brain literally dampens the pain signal in favor of your long-term goal.

This is backed by studies on endurance athletes. Researchers have found that elite performers show greater activation in areas of the brain linked to self-regulation and control, rather than pain response. What this means is that the brain becomes trained to prioritize meaning over immediate discomfort.

It’s not that endurance athletes don’t feel pain. They feel it more clearly. But they’ve built mental frameworks to interpret that pain differently.

Part 4: How to Build Grit in Your Own Life

You don’t have to ride 600 miles to build grit. Here’s how to cultivate it daily:

1. Start With a “Why” That’s Bigger Than You

Your brain needs a reason. A purpose. For me, finishing the North-South Ultra wasn’t just about a medal or a story—it was about honoring the place I grew up, testing the edges of myself, and proving that resilience matters more than speed.

Ask yourself: What’s my deeper reason for doing hard things?

2. Practice Discomfort Regularly

Cold showers. Fasting. Hard intervals. Long walks without headphones. These moments build your ability to sit with discomfort. It’s not masochism—it’s training your brain to handle chaos.

3. Use Mental Rehearsal

Visualization is powerful. Before the race, I imagined the climbs, the storms, the hunger. When those things arrived, they felt familiar. Elite athletes and military personnel do this constantly—it’s a cognitive dress rehearsal.

4. Reframe Pain

Pain is information. It’s not always a sign to stop—it’s a signal to adapt. Learn to ask, What can I change? What can I control?

I shifted my saddle position, stood more often, and adjusted my nutrition to stay in the game. This micro-adaptability is a grit superpower.

5. Create a “Non-Negotiable” Mindset

Tell yourself in advance: I don’t quit unless there’s injury or danger. Not “I’ll try,” but “I will.” This takes options off the table. It simplifies everything.

6. Track the Wins, Not Just the Outcomes

Celebrate the process. The hours trained, the setbacks overcome, the moments you could’ve quit but didn’t. This builds identity—and grit is deeply tied to how we see ourselves.

Part 5: Grit, Health, and Longevity

Here’s where things get even more interesting: grit isn’t just about finishing races or building businesses. It may actually improve your health and extend your life.

Studies show that people high in grit tend to:

• Exercise more consistently

• Eat more intentionally

• Bounce back faster from illness

• Have lower rates of depression and anxiety

Grit, it turns out, is one of the foundational traits of psychological resilience—which is strongly tied to immune function, inflammation control, and allostatic load (the wear and tear on your body from stress).

Put simply: when you teach your mind not to give up, your body listens.

Resilient individuals also tend to have more fulfilling social connections and a stronger sense of identity. And social ties—especially purpose-driven ones—are one of the top predictors of longevity.

Grit isn’t just a performance enhancer. It’s a life enhancer.

Final Thoughts: The Long Game

The North-South Colorado Ultra didn’t hand me any trophies. It didn’t make headlines. But it reminded me that our minds are capable of far more than we realize.

We live in a culture obsessed with comfort. We want fast fixes, painless solutions, and instant validation. But life isn’t built that way. Real growth happens in the struggle—in the moments we don’t quit, even when no one is watching.

If there’s anything this race taught me, it’s that the mind is not just a passenger on the ride—it’s the engine. When we learn to steer it, to fuel it, to trust it—we can go farther than we ever thought possible.

Not just on the bike. But in our relationships. Our careers. Our health. Our longevity.

So here’s to grit. To doing hard things. To becoming more resilient—not in spite of pain, but because of it.

Because in the end, endurance isn’t just about the finish line.It’s about who you become along the way.

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Building Grit Through Self-Reflection: Questions That Keep You Going

One of the most powerful tools for developing grit is asking yourself the right questions. The mind needs meaning in order to keep pushing forward—especially when the body wants to quit. Self-inquiry gives us access to that meaning in real time. It allows us to pause, reframe, and keep going with clarity instead of chaos.

During the hardest hours of my race—when my saddle sore screamed with every movement, when I was cold and sleep-deprived, and when the headwind made me question everything—I started repeating one thing to myself:

“This time next week, I’ll be looking back proud that I completed this.”

That simple sentence gave my mind a place to go. It reminded me that the pain was temporary, that the discomfort wasn’t forever, and that what I was doing mattered. It gave me future perspective in a moment of present suffering—a mental strategy known as temporal distancing, used in both sports psychology and trauma therapy to reduce the emotional impact of a difficult experience.

You can train this mindset yourself by asking deep, anchoring questions before, during, and after hard efforts. These aren’t motivational quotes—they’re personal prompts that help clarify your “why,” regulate your nervous system, and grow your mental endurance.

Here are some reflective questions to practice, especially when you’re up against something difficult:

Before the Effort: Prepare with Purpose

• Why am I choosing to do this?

• What deeper value does this challenge align with in my life?

• Who else is impacted when I don’t give up?

• What will it feel like to have endured this?

During the Effort: Reframe in Real Time

• What’s one thing I can control right now?

• How will I feel one week from now if I finish this?

• Is this pain permanent, or just part of the process?

• What would my future self thank me for in this moment?

After the Effort: Reinforce and Learn

• What did I discover about myself through this challenge?

• When did I almost give up—and why didn’t I?

• How did I adapt in the face of discomfort?

• What part of this experience made me stronger?

These questions create a cognitive buffer between the immediate moment and the long-term meaning. They help shift the focus from surviving the pain to translating it into growth. That’s what grit really is: the ability to hold two truths at once—this is hard, and I’m capable of it.

And when you learn to talk to yourself in these moments, with honesty and encouragement instead of panic or self-doubt, your brain starts to learn a new script. One of endurance. One of resilience. One of lasting strength.

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Summer Grit Fruit & Grain Bowl

Chilled Quinoa, Berries, Mint, and Honey-Lemon Yogurt

After long, hot miles and moments where quitting whispered loud—this is the bowl you come home to. It’s cooling, energizing, and a little indulgent in the best way. A celebration of effort, with nutrients that quietly help you rebuild.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup cooked and chilled quinoa (white or tricolor)

• ½ cup fresh blueberries

• ½ cup chopped strawberries or raspberries

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint

• 1 tbsp toasted almonds or pistachios

• 1 tsp chia or flax seeds (optional)

Yogurt Topping:

• ½ cup plain Greek or plant-based yogurt

• 1 tsp honey or maple syrup

• Zest of ¼ lemon

• Squeeze of lemon juice

• Tiny pinch of sea salt

Instructions

1. Cook and Chill:Make quinoa ahead of time and chill completely. It should be fluffy but not too wet.

2. Mix the Bowl:In a bowl, gently combine quinoa, berries, mint, nuts, and seeds.

3. Make the Yogurt Topping:Stir together yogurt, honey, lemon zest, juice, and salt until smooth and lightly whipped.

4. Assemble:Spoon the yogurt on top or swirl it in. Serve cold, on a shaded porch or after a long shower. Rest. Reflect.

Why This Bowl Matters

• Quinoa: Recovery-ready with protein, fiber, and magnesium

• Berries: Antioxidants to fight inflammation and oxidative stress

• Yogurt + Honey + Lemon: Gut-soothing, energizing, refreshing

• Mint: A gentle, uplifting herb to calm and cool the body

This bowl is simple—but so is grit. Show up. Keep going. And when it's over, feed your resilience with something real, light, and lovingly made.