Time Travel and the Flow State

One of the best aspects of ultra endurance sports is that it provides racers with a way to time travel– both literally and figuratively. We are now literally 27 days into the Iditarod Trail Invitational, and for 1,000 mile foot leader Jon Richner and 1,000 mile skier Erick Basset, 27 days will encompass a finish in Nome this evening! For team KarPet (trail friends, Kari Gibbons and Petr Ineman), 27 days has meant a journey of more like 900 miles and still counting. As these final four racers continue to close the gap to Nome, that may seem so close to the finish for us viewing their dots on a sprawling map of Alaska, but they aren't out of the proverbial woods just yet.

Erick & Jon spent last night at the Okitkon Cabin near the mouth of the Solomon River. This cabin has not always been a preferred stopover for racers due to the proximity of the much nicer Topcock cabin; Okitkon is more of a safety cabin in the true sense of the word - located near the Solomon blowhole and there in case of emergency. It is a well-built structure, but sustained damage in a storm a few years ago, and last year was in a poorly state, with a door that wouldn't latch closed and a stove that was rusted open. Locals have said the Okitkon Shelter cabin has been fixed up last year, and the emergency phone line to Nome restored; we won't know for sure whether these gentlemen had a toasty or chilly night's rest until they reach Nome. Erick and Jon rested at Okitkon from about 9 PM until 7 AM and then set off this morning for the final 50K push to Nome. They should find their way into Nome and under the burled arch sometime around 7-8PM tonight!

Erick is an ITI veteran several times over, having finished the 150 in 2017, the 350 on his second attempt in 2019, and the 1,000 on foot in 2022. In 2024 he scratched on his first 1,000 mile ski attempt but this year he appears to have threaded the needle. Hailing from France, it may surprise dot watchers to learn there is no snow in the region where Erick is from. He describes his experiences in the ITI as showing up to "be an actor in my life," and he certainly has acted these past 27 days! He shared that he will be looking forward to seeing his son, Gaspar when the race has ended. Surely Gaspar will be most proud of his dad for finishing his second ITI 1,000, this time on skis and during "the year of the tussocks."

Jon Richner of Marysville, Washington, has finished the ITI 350 and this will be his first journey to Nome. If you've been following Jon along the way, you may have noticed his "racer photo" is actually a meme with a minion pictured and a quote: "I decided to go for a jog today... as I set off, I heard clapping behind me, then I realized it was my butt cheeks cheering me on." While that definitely caused some giggles along the way (especially thinking about Jon hearing “clapping” and turning around seeking a crowd applauding him during the most remote and solo sections north of McGrath), I think we can say with reasonable certainty that if he hears clapping in the next few hours it will not only be "cheeks" this time. Congratulations to you Jon, and thank you for the laughs.

Meanwhile, Kari & Petr spent the evening in White Mountain. They had dinner at Joanne Wassille's place, a midnight feast of Caribbean chicken, moose spaghetti, and cranberry cake. Since they left this morning, they have been moving steadily after such incredible nourishment, making for their next rest destination which looks to be Topcock Cabin.

For those of us watching these dots from our homes near the 45th parallel, we've seen a dramatic spring emergence compared to the day on which ITI began, 27 days ago. The snow has melted away and migratory birds have returned. The moon has nearly completed a full orbit in 27 days. This merely underscores what we already know—27 days is a substantial amount of time to spend journeying under one's own power across a remote winter landscape.

While we dot watchers may experience this passage of 27 days time in increments like novels read, work projects completed, or even the transitions of seasons, the remaining ITI foot and ski racers might experience time passing in widely varying and even "trippy" ways. During moments, hours, or days of 'flow state,' these athletes may experience the bending of time and space. Days may simultaneously feel like they went by in a blink while also containing a week's worth of life lived. In the grip of this "flow state," hours dissolve like snowflakes on warm skin—athletes often report the stunning realization that what felt like minutes sometimes spanned entire afternoons. This temporal distortion, where time compresses and accelerates, allows ITI competitors to mentally process days-long journeys in what feels like compressed chapters, the miles accumulating behind them while their minds remain anchored in a present that seems to stretch and contract with each rhythmic stride or ski glide across Alaska's vast wilderness.

This remarkable mental phenomenon isn't just folklore. As psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi discovered during the 1970s, this state represents a universal human experience that is thought to be “the pinnacle.”

In Csíkszentmihályi's own words: "The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times... the best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile."

In our hyper-connected world of constant notifications, dings, screens, and fractured attention, the ability to enter flow represents a form of mental liberation. Perhaps this explains one reason why ITI racers seek out these adventures year after year despite (or maybe even due to) our increasingly digital lifestyles. We're no longer just chasing finish lines—we're seeking transformative moments when we're fully present, completely engaged, and paradoxically free within the constraints of physical effort.

We have heard over and over as other 1,000 mile racers have culminated their incredible journeys to Nome this year, that there is a strong mixture of emotions when passing under the burled arch. Pride, joy, overwhelming gratitude, humility, surprise and also grief that the journey must end. For Jon and Erick, we wish you all of the best as you experience these emotions later this evening and in the days and weeks to come, and we hope you celebrate this accomplishment well. This journey took relentless, incredible strength, patience, resilience, and skill. We have thoroughly enjoyed watching your dots, are inspired by you and your fellow racers, and are grateful to have time traveled with you for the past 27 days.

Author: Allison Carolan (with intel additions by Faye Norby)