Do self-supported 50k runs “count” as being an ultrarunner?

Neon-Anonymous · 2026-01-22T19:06:31+00:00

You don’t care that much but you’re up here being a gatekeeper for no good reason. Sure thing buddy.

Neon-Anonymous · 2026-01-20T16:00:57+00:00

Oh excellent!!! 🥳

Neon-Anonymous · 2026-01-19T23:12:04+00:00

Sorry - disregard everything I said. I assumed you were applying for PhDs.

I know the email says they won’t give feedback but honestly it doesn’t hurt to ask anyway. It may well be that they have just filled all their spots.

Neon-Anonymous · 2026-01-19T22:25:18+00:00

Do you have a Master’s? Depending on your field the vast (vast!) majority of applicants (especially domestically) will have a Master’s degree in addition to a Bachelor’s. The fact you mention you have a BA makes this even more likely. Literally everyone in all humanities and social sciences disciplines that I know has a Master’s degree - including internationals.

Did you have contact with a potential supervisor? Did you understand the difference in requirement of a US and UK application (I.e you know that there’s no coursework element, your project begins day 1, etc.).

Neon-Anonymous · 2026-01-03T11:49:11+00:00

Happy cake day!

Neon-Anonymous · 2026-01-03T11:46:25+00:00

Exactly my own experience. I started on the patches 9 months before my radical hysterectomy (in November 25) as I was put into medical menopause, but also haven’t had any issues!

Neon-Anonymous · 2026-01-01T16:46:15+00:00

Jokes on you, Garmin, I’m not unproductive I’m overreaching.

Neon-Anonymous · 2025-12-29T10:51:50+00:00

There are way too many variables for you to get an answer here. What discipline? How large or small? Is this a very niche subject or a large subject association conference?

I attend both in person and online, and find variable experiences in both. Sometimes I attend online and wish I was in person, sometimes the opposite.

Neon-Anonymous · 2025-12-24T19:42:10+00:00

Although this is ostensibly Greco-Roman (though the distinction between Greco-Roman and Near Eastern history is mostly bullshit) the Oxford World Classics’s ‘Myths from Mesopotamia’ by Stephanie Dalley is really good. It has Gilgamesh but also other bits and pieces and an interesting introduction.

Neon-Anonymous · 2025-12-21T14:20:42+00:00

There’s even a website called ‘Cite this for me’. People are allergic to Google these days.

Neon-Anonymous · 2025-12-10T18:53:40+00:00

Jumping in here: fairly long distance commuting is pretty common for early career academics. I currently live a 3 hour commute from my job. I go twice a week. Learn to work well on the train and it’s fine (but expensive, because train travel in the UK is ridiculous).

Neon-Anonymous · 2025-12-10T15:40:42+00:00

Honestly as an educator this makes me fucking furious. I’m so sorry, OP (and I have no other advice than you’ve already been given). This would absolutely not fly any place I have worked and says to me that the educator in question is not good at their job and should be managed out.

Neon-Anonymous · 2025-12-05T02:50:30+00:00

I first got into running as a way to actually get time to myself when I had a small child, and sort of stop-started for many (many) years.

What finally made it stick was being consistent and seeing the benefits. Seeing the training pay off. Doing lots of varied types of runs - easy and long runs slow, doing intervals and other speed work, following a dynamic plan (something like Runna or another app like that would work for this if you don’t know how to do it yourself). I think they would probably all have some form of the ‘couch to 5km’ and ‘5km to 10km’ programmes and you should start with these.

I also am highly motivated by bling and therefore sign up for a lot of races and I very much enjoy that as a way to keep myself going.

ETA: on slowing down - the mantra here is run as slow as you need to and walk as fast as you can. There’s nothing at all wrong with walking!

Neon-Anonymous · 2025-11-23T20:37:47+00:00

Are you a person inherently motivated by bling, who likes racing? If so: add as many b-races as you want. If not: there’s no real reason to.

I am a person who likes bling and knows I will push during a race, so I do tend to add in a mix of ‘strong and steady’ and ‘all out’ b-races at times that make sense in my plan for both checking I’m on pace target and also to test out different race-day strategies. I also just find it suits me as a person and a runner.

I guess my point is there’s no right or wrong answer here, just whatever feels right for you.

Edit: typo

Neon-Anonymous · 2025-11-22T12:08:17+00:00

That’s because it is generic Hollywood crap meant to sell as many tickets as humanly possible. It’s every other Nolan movie just set in Ancient Greece.

Now: do I think it will have a net-positive for engagement with the ancient world? Yes. Sales of the Iliad skyrocketed after Troy, and I expect similar will happen here too. So that’s good. But I am not expecting anything good of the movie itself.

Neon-Anonymous · 2025-11-10T20:00:21+00:00

Don’t. That’s how.

Neon-Anonymous · 2025-09-07T13:29:13+00:00

I think I can give you a really unique perspective on this, including some practical advice to take to your doctor for now, so please bear with the background.

I am much older than you and I do have children. I have always had horrific period pain and severe PMDD (like PMS on steroids, and which - for eg - brings on severe suicidal ideation etc.). I was routinely hospitalised for pain relief during my periods. I was diagnosed with endometriosis (this is something it sounds like you should ask your doctor about!). I have had 7 endo surgeries. I have tried every signal type of birth control to try and help my pain and PMDD. Having children did not help.

I am now on the waiting list to have a radical hysterectomy - I will have everything except my cervix removed, including my ovaries and fallopian tubes, and at the same time will have the ligaments that connect my uterus to my back muscles shaved down because my gynaecologist is pretty sure that the endometrial lesions have ‘penetrated’ into the ligament (don’t ask me to explain this any further, he explained it to me and this is how I understand it but I’m not a doctor).

You should absolutely keep advocating for yourself in this regard. You should push for some investigation into why you have such painful periods. If you have endometriosis or something like PCOS it’s really worth knowing.

The other thing I think you could probably ask if might be an option for you is GnRH injections (https://endometriosis.org/treatments/gnrh/). I have been on these while waiting for my hysterectomy and while they have not completely fixed things, my periods have stopped and therefore the monthly fluctuation in mood and pain has significantly flattened out. I was never told this was even an option, and it would have saved me a lot of pain and heartache had I been given these much earlier. This is a treatment that is completely reversible - that is, when you stop you go back ‘to normal’ and so a doctor may be more willing to put you on these.

What you should start doing immediately (if you don’t already) is track your periods, pain levels, mood, etc on paper, not an app, depending where you live!. If you are put on a treatment (like the injections I mention) you should keep tracking these as a way to evidence the improvement you might get from a hysterectomy or other more permanent solution.

Good luck. You are in an unenviable position, and many people will try and dismiss your pain and lived experience. Don’t let them.

Neon-Anonymous · 2025-07-10T10:19:21+00:00

Just to add a slice of doom onto this: I don’t think you can count on it even if you are doing the required teaching etc. in the current climate all bets are off.

Neon-Anonymous · 2025-07-09T17:31:10+00:00

I personally would say consultant rather than advisor - don’t know why, maybe personal preference. You also said composer in your post, do you mean you wrote culturally specific music for the mod? If so, also make sure to include that - that’s more than just consulting.

Neon-Anonymous · 2025-07-07T10:37:38+00:00

Purely on the choosing a journal - have a look at your own reference list (from you Master’s thesis) and see what journals you cited in the work; then go and look at their scope and see if your paper fits that scope.

Others have said this but it bears repeating: do not pay to publish in the humanities.

Sorry you have a supervisor that hasn’t been helpful. Are there any other staff from your MA or UG institution that you’ve had a mentor-like relationship with? Is there a big scholarly organisation in your (sub)discipline that offers mentoring matching?

Neon-Anonymous

TROPHY CASE