As I'm writing this, the dawn light is slowly climbing up behind the grey canopy of concrete, uncovering unfamiliar shapes and objects, in a place which used to be familiar. Until now.

It's the place where we lived for the past 4 years, a small but cosy apartment in Bucharest. The shapes and objects in here are not familiar anymore, because everything is pretty much upside down. The room is filled with boxes, bags and random objects that we long forgot we even own them.

We're packing.

Our flight takes off in about 8 hours and we're heading to another country, aiming to find a new place to live. There's a lot of excitement in the air, but there is also a lot of uncertainty. People that we know and love are left behind. We did our good byes, and we tried to tie up any lose ends, to the best of our capacity.

But still. Those butterflies in the stomach...

It's the same sensation I have every time I start an ultra. Whenever I am at the starting line, I know I did the best I could to prepare myself, to train and to plan the logistics, and yet, I can't control the emotion. Those butterflies...

Also, I know that I have in front of me a few dozens of hours of continuous physical and mental effort, yet the beginning is so small. It's just one small step. One small step and I'm in, I already started the race and I'm now adjusting to the schedule and try to balance resources, to evaluate my body, my place in the race, and so on and so forth.

Ultras are an amazing tool for life endurance. Not because you get a huge boost in self-confidence every time you finish one, although this boost is important. Not because you learn how to plan for the unknown and adjust to unexpected circumstances, although that counts.

But because they teach you that each and every hardship in your life can be eventually solved with this simple, yet incredibly effective approach: just put one foot in front of the other.

Yes, you're tired, yes, it hurts, yes, you may stumble and even fall down, yes, you're hungry or dizzy or sleepy... But as long as you put one foot in front of the other, you'll be fine.

We already made our first step in this new race. Let's see how this ultra plays out.

What is your small step today? What did you start? What is your new adventure?

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This post is part of a 30 days writing challenge I'm doing between October 15th and November 15th. Read all the details here and if you want to join, use the hashtag #challenge30days. I will upvote at 100% 3 posts each day.

Steem on!

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I'm a serial entrepreneur, blogger and ultrarunner. You can find me mainly on my blog at Dragos Roua where I write about productivity, business, relationships and running. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me @dragosroua.

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