Jackpot is normally held in late February, but COVID forced it to late April in 2021. The race takes place at Cornerstone Park in Henderson, Nevada, which is a great venue because it is a huge park with tons of free parking and there is plenty of space for runners to stage their gear. Many runners set up large tents and bring crews to assist them. The regular loop is 2.5 miles (with 60 feet of elevation) consisting of 45% groomed crushed gravel trails, 45% wide asphalt paths, 5% grass, and 5% bridge and concrete surfaces. That loops serves as the course for the following races: 50 mile, 100 mile, 6 hour, 12 hour, 24 hour, 48 hour, and 72 hour. There is also a USTAF 100 mile race that has a shorter and faster loop that is only 1.1761616 miles and consists of 95% paved or concrete surfaces and 5% crushed gravel. 

I originally signed up for the USTAF 100 mile race because I wanted to complete my first 100 miler at Jackpot and thought this course looked ideal. My legislative service, however, had other ideas. I would not be able to get back down to Las Vegas (from Carson City) in time to do the 100 mile race on Friday. So I changed my registration to the 6 hour race on Saturday morning. To be honest, that seemed way more reasonable given that I would have to fly back up to Northern Nevada on Sunday or, at the latest, Monday morning. 

I went straight from the airport on Friday night to pick up my race packet at Cornerstone Park. I laid out my gear that night and decided to show some flair with the infamous racing shorts, plaid green shoes with shamrocks, and the Macho Man shirt that my friend, James Zygadlo, had given to me. If nothing else, I was going to stand out!

On my drive to the park in the morning, a car that had been traveling beside me on the highway veered off the road and up the embankment, flipped over and landed behind me, but not by much. I felt immense gratitude that the car hadn't landed on top of mine. No matter what happened at the race, I would be counting my blessings that day.

My good friend from Reno, Adam Czjakowski, had come down to run the 100 miler. He was rolling solo and, once the starting gun went off at 8am for both of us, I was delighted to hear that he wanted to run with me. I just figured I would be running faster than he would feel comfortable running at the beginning of a 100 miler, but he was happy to have someone to share some miles with. And so was I!

Though it was early, I could already tell it was going to be a hot day. I just kept the pace up as much as I could. Adam ran with me off and on throughout the morning and early afternoon. He also tripped and fell hard in the first couple of hours. As he hit the ground, I was worried that he was injured and might not be able to continue. I was wrong. He is tough as nails. He got up, brushed it off, and just kept running. Below are a few action shots from the first 6 hours. By the way, the Macho Man shirt was a huge hit, with many spectators singing "Macho Man" by The Village People as I ran by. It was a lot of fun!

My goal was to complete a 50k (31 miles) in my 6 hour race. As morning turned into afternoon, it got hotter outside and I definitely began to feel the fatigue from the sun. I found myself stopping more often to drink. But I pressed on and was delighted when the horn went off and I had completed 31.5 miles. Goal achieved! I was surprised to learn I was the third place male in the 6 hour race. 

Here are photos of the finisher medal and third place male award:

Although I was disappointed I couldn't make it back to Las Vegas in time to run the 100 mile race on Friday, I was pleased that I was able to do the 6 hour race and achieve my goal of running a 50k. I left with a sense of satisfaction. But I would be back at Cornerstone park fewer than 12 hours later. To learn more about why, read on...

As I noted, Adam had come down from Reno to run the 100 mile race. But nobody came with him, meaning he was here without a crew or his own cheering section. The rules permitted 100 mile runners to have pacers from sundown to sunrise. I knew those late night hours in the dark would be difficult so, before I left, I asked Adam if he wanted me to come back at night to pace him. He said that would be awesome. I intended to make that happen because that is what friends do, especially in the world of ultrarunning. 

After I got home and showered, my wife and I went to a Korean BBQ place for dinner. I was famished and I believe I ate my weight in delicious Korean BBQ. I continued to monitor Adam's progress online and texted him for regular updates. He was not as far along in the race as he would have liked but the heat had been brutal in the late afternoon/early evening, making the miles much more taxing. He told me that he had connected with another runner named Greg, who was also running his first 100 mile race. When they started talking, they were basically at the same point in the race so they decided to try to stick together for the rest of the race. They tried to conserve energy in the heat and hoped for easier running once the sun went down. 

I went to bed at 10pm and set my alarm for 1am. I wasn't sure if Adam would even need or want me to come back out there since he had linked up with Greg, but I thought I ought to at least get up and ask. I told my wife I would be home by 8am or so because I was only allowed to pace through the night. 

When my alarm went off, I texted Adam to see if he needed me. My weary body and brain were kind of hoping he would say no. But he said yes and also asked if I could bring a phone charger for him. Game on! I grabbed an iced coffee that I had stashed in the fridge, geared up, and headed back to Cornerstone for a running encore. 

When I arrived at 1:45am, Adam and Greg were right around the 65 mile mark, with 35 more miles to go. Which meant they would have to cover more miles than I covered in my 6 hour run earlier that morning! It was going to be a long day for them indeed, especially considering how many miles they already had on their legs. 

My singular goal was to keep them both moving. I knew the next day would be equally as hot and the wind was supposed to kick up as well, so getting them through 100 miles as quickly as possible was crucial. This, however, was not always an easy goal. It seemed that every time one of them was feeling great, the other one felt terrible. But I knew we needed to stay together. So I became the motivator and encouraged continual movement, even if it meant walking. Though I made sure that when walking, we were walking faster than 20 minute miles, much to Adam's chagrin. He found it easier to run than walk at that speed. 

One of the race directors recognized me from the day before and said he was amazed that I had come back to do some pacing. When I told him I was just there until sunrise due to the rules, he said I could stay as long as I wanted to pace because I was actually a race entrant, not just a pacer. This, folks, should have been my first indication that I would be there well past sunrise because there was no way we were going to cover 35 miles in the next 4 hours. 

We began to curse a part of the course that we had dubbed "the gauntlet." That area was a rocky area that was more technical than the rest of the course and it became much more treacherous given how tired we were and because it was dark out. (I have learned the gauntlet will no longer be part of the course come 2022, which makes me both happy and sad.)

Here are some photos of the three amigos once the sun came up. Although we look happy, I can assure you we were all feeling quite miserable. You can actually see how awful Adam felt in a couple of the photos below.

As early morning turned into late morning, the heat moved in and the wind kicked up. Finishing as quickly as possible became paramount to avoid what were sure to be rising afternoon temperatures. I pushed Adam through some dark times, as he wanted to quit around 90 miles in, but quitting was never an option for either of them, not as long as I had anything to do with it. Though I was hurting too, I tried not to show it, mostly because I knew they were hurting worse that I was. Adam and Greg finished their 100 miler a little before 11:30am and I raced ahead of them to the finish line to capture the moment. Man, was it glorious!

I had run with them for another 9.5 hours and covered an additional 35+ miles, more than I had run in my 6 hour race the day before. I was exhausted and I knew they were too. But the pain was over for now!​

Now, enjoy some memes that I made from some of the race photos because, in ultrarunning, you have to be able to make fun of yourself or you won't last long. 

Also, a shoutout to the Jester, Ed Ettinghausen, who completed his 200th race of 100 or more miles at Jackpot. He is only the second person to do that. The guy is an absolute legend - just take a look at his results:  ​https://ultrasignup.com/m_results_participant.aspx?fname=Ed&lname=Ettinghausen

Wow, I ended up running nearly 70 miles at Jackpot! That really wasn't too far off from the 100 miles I originally signed up to to. But I am glad I did it this way. It was really cool to pace Adam and Greg to their first 100 mile finish. There really is no greater feeling than celebrating the successes of friends.

I am already looking forward to Jackpot 2022, which will move back to February, hopefully meaning cooler temperatures. The USTAF 100 mile race awaits. If I finish it, it will be my first completed 100 miler. Wish me luck.

Rally in the Valley (of Fire) is a racing festival put on by Calico Racing. They offer a trail 1/2 marathon race on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, all at Valley of Fire State Park, one of the best state parks in Nevada. The course is different for each race. I  raced one half marathon out there in 2020 and it was very challenging so, of course, I decided to sign up for all three of them in 2021! Here are a few photos from the 2020 effort. My friends Crystal and Brittany joined me out there as well so we all suffered together. 

​Most people who choose to run all three opt to camp out at the park, but I am not really one for camping, so I planned to drive back and forth each day, about an hour each way. After all of that driving, it might have been better just to camp but I do enjoy sleeping in my own bed. And showers are also good.

The Friday race started at 9am. I arrived around 8am and was eager to run. The cool thing about running a half marathon on three consecutive days is that you get to plan out your wardrobe ahead of time. For someone like me, who has way too many running shirts and shoes, this is really fun! For day 1, I went with the Don't Fence Me In Nevada t-shirt. 

Here are some photos of the park before the race started:

In January 2021, we were still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, so we all had to wear masks at the starting line, but we could take them off once the race started. I was just happy the races hadn't been canceled because many had been over the prior 9 months.

Next thing I knew, we were off! Not too far into the race, I saw 3-4 bighorn sheep come scurrying down a large rock and run across the street. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a photo of that but a number of us stared in awe. 

The course was difficult because large stretches of it were in deep sand or on very rocky single track trails where was difficult to even know if you were still on the trail. If it weren't for the course markings, I would have had no idea where the trail was. But the scenery was phenomenal and the weather was quite pleasant for January. 

I finished the race in about 2 hours and 43 minutes. The course had a total elevation gain of over 1,200 feet, but that didn't really tell the story of its difficulty. I finished in 23rd place out of 48 runners. Honestly, I was proud to have finished the race given the difficult of the course and my ankle injury. I did not know whether I would be able to run the next two races on my hurting ankle. 

Despite the soreness and swelling in my ankle, I decided to go back out for race number two the next morning. I taped my ankle for extra support and hoped for the best. I knew it would be grueling. 

Another tough course, but again with amazing views along the way.

My ankle held up. I was definitely in pain and sore, but I tried to be extra careful on the especially rocky parts. I was very happy to do be done with this second race.

I finished this race in just over 2 hours, 52 minutes, which was good enough to finish 19th out of 50 runners. The course also had over 1,200 feet of elevation gain. Would I return for race number 3? Of course I would!

I taped up the ankle yet again and headed back out to Valley of Fire on Sunday morning for race number 3, which also started at 7:30am. If nothing else, I was getting used to the drive, though I preferred the 9am start time we had on Friday!

I went with my Vegas Strong shirt for this effort and before I knew it, we were off! Some selfies from the starting line and along the way:

Another course brought yet more amazing views:

It wasn't always pretty and my ankle was very unhappy with me, but I managed to finish in one piece, earning a third metal and my very first buckle!

I completed the third race in 2 hours and 54 minutes, finishing 22nd out of 38 runners. Again, the course had over 1,200 feet of climbing. My goal was to finish faster than 3 hours, so I was definitely happy about that. I really had to push the last couple of miles to make sure I met that goal. 

A total of 14 runners completed all three half-marathons. As far as cumulative time, I finished in 11th place out of 14. Not exactly setting the world on fire, but these were tough courses and I clearly wasn't as experienced at trail races as the other runners. And the ankle injury didn't help. The guy who finished first in cumulative time was more than 3 hours ahead of me!

Although I enjoyed this adventure, I was not too sad to hear that Calico Racing was putting a pause on this running festival for the time being. If they ever do another one, I probably won't be able to resist signing up, but I might just pick one race instead of three. Then again, maybe I won't be reasonable. 

If you live in Las Vegas and have never been to Valley of Fire State Park, go! If you are ever in the area, stop by. You won't regret it because it is stunning.

As of November 2020, I had never run a sanctioned time-based race. I was delighted to learn that there would be a 12 hour race at the Happy Hippie Harvest Run out at the legendary Gilcrease Orchard in Las Vegas, Nevada. And it would be be taking place the weekend after the general election, which meant I would have time to run it.

I picked up my packet the night before and decided to start the race by wearing a new pair of Brooks Ghost shoes that my mother gave me for my birthday. A decent night of sleep followed and I woke up the next morning ready to go.

The race started at 7am and ended at 7pm, assuming you didn't quit before the 12 hours elapsed (several runners did). The mission was simple - run as many miles as you can in that timeframe. We were each allotted a spot to set up our gear in an area where it would be available to us throughout the race. I brought a camping chair, a cooler full of ice and beverages, some bars and gels, and additional clothing/shoes to change into throughout the day. Because we would be running after sunset, we were also obligated to bring a headlamp. The weather looked to be perfect for running and not too cold, so in a last minute decision, I left my warmer gear at home, figuring I wouldn't need it out there.

The loop we would be running  was a 5k (3.1 mile) loop consisting mostly of a paved path within the orchard, but also including a few rows of packed dirt through a mostly pumpkinless pumpkin patch. The orchard was closed to the public that day, which left the course just for the runners. A nice touch for sure.

I didn't really have too much of a strategy other than to rest when needed and be sure to drink enough water and electrolytes as well as eat enough food. I honestly had no clue what distance I might be able to cover, but I was excited to find out. I knew it would be painful and there would come a time where walking would be necessary. Here are some photos of the first few hours, as I got warmed up and ready for a long day:

One of the coolest things about running ultra events is the amazing people you meet. I feel very fortunate to have met Wally Hesseltine, who might be one of the nicest and most accomplished ultra runners I have ever met. Wally saddled up next to me to talk because he noticed my firm's logo on the back of my Stand Up To Cancer shirt - Battle Born Injury Lawyers. He was a lawyer from the Bay Area and asked if I was a lawyer as well. Once we got to talking, he informed me that he had run an ultra marathon every month going back some 25 years!! Because of the pandemic, some of his more recent ones were virtual efforts, but the streak was still alive. Ultrasignup shows Wally with 227 ultra marathons to his credit, dating all the way back to 1991. Click here to review his documented accomplishments. Wally was running the 6 hour race and he finished with 26.5 miles, good for yet another ultra finish. Wally and I spent about an hour together out on the course and that ended up being my favorite part of the day. I hope I am still running the distances that Wally is running if and when I reach my 70s.

So, about leaving  my warm weather gear at home. That was not a good idea. As the morning turned into afternoon, I noticed some ominous clouds above Mount Charleston, not too far away for where we were. Sure enough, those clouds rolled into the Orchard, causing the wind to pick up and the temperature to drop substantially. Light rain started falling. I put on warmest article of clothing I brought, a light jacket, but I was still really cold, wishing I had brought a winter hat and some gloves. Lesson learned!

​The intense gusts of wind made running through the pumpkin patch portion of the course torture due to the amount of dust and dirt in the air. I was inhaling it with every breathe. There was nothing to do other than to put my head down and just keep trucking, but I had to work hard to ignore the thoughts of quitting that were starting to become more pronounced as the weather worsened and I fatigued.

The pain really started to pick up as the we approached sunset. As much as I cursed having to run down the dirt rows in the pumpkin patch, it was probably a nice change of terrain for my body. There are advantages to running on pavement, of course, but the repetition can start to cause  overuse injuries. The end was so close in sight that I was determined to stick it out and get as many miles in as I could. At this point, I was mixing running and walking, just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. The beautiful sunset lifted my spirits as the glorious end approached. 

The darkness brought a new wrinkle as it was very dark in the orchard and fairly disorienting after running in daylight all day. I put my headlamp on and gave it all I had to the finish. If you were not able to complete a full loop within the time allotted, then you were permitted to do a partial loop, which is what I opted to do. I ran it as fast as I could, mostly because I wanted to be done. I was completely out of gas as I crossed the finish line, which is just the way you want it. I didn't have anything left to give.

My final tally was 18 full 3.1 mile loops and a partial last loop that got me to a total of right around 57 miles. This was good enough for a 7th place finish out of 34. Not bad for my first effort at the 12 hour race! It was the highest relative effort -937- that I had ever recorded on my Garmin watch up to that point. As a reference, most workouts are in the double digits when it comes to relative effort. Per my Fitbit, it was an 111,000+ step effort. Not a bad day's work at all.

When I finished the race, I sat down in my camping chair to take my shoes off. That is when the weight of the effort hit me. I started getting the chills, shaking uncontrollably. The walk to my car, which was perhaps a quarter mile away, was utter torture, with every step reminding me of the day's effort. When I got to the car, I turned the heat on full blast to try to get warm and I began the 30 minute drive home.

​My amazing wife made me a homemade pepperoni pizza, which tasted like just about the best thing I had ever eaten. And, along with my medal, the race organizers gave me a caramel apple at the finish. That little treat didn't stand a chance against my post-race appetite. I enjoyed every bite of it.

I really liked the format of this race and I wanted to run it in again in 2021. Unfortunately, I was out of town at a conference and thus unable to. But I know I will run it again the next chance I get...and there are rumors of a 100 mile race at Gilcrease utilizing the same course. Now that would be mighty tempting!

I don't remember when and how I first learned about this race, but somehow I ended up registering for it. I was initially on the waitlist because the race was full with the allotted 200 entries. Just as every other race had been canceled due to the pandemic, I assumed this one would be  too. I was pretty surprised when I received an email in September letting me know the race was happening and inviting me to participate. I had 48 hours to decide whether or not to take part in this 240 mile race with 30,000 feet of elevation and a cutoff time of 112 hours (about 4.5 days). I really had my doubts on this one and I took all 48 hours before deciding to give it a shot because, you know, YOLO.

I drove out to Moab a couple of days before the race because I had to check in the day before as well as drop off all of my gear that would be waiting for me at the various aid stations. Many participants have "crews" that meet them at aid stations with their gear, etc. Many participants also have "pacers" to complete segments of the course with them. In my case, I wouldn't have either, so I made sure to over prepare as far as gear was concerned.

I found a great donut (and chicken!) spot in Moab - Doughbird. I stopped there before heading over to check in and pick up my packet. The donut was fantastic!

Due to COVID, there were changes to both the race and the check-in procedures. Normally, all entrants start at the same time - 7am. This year, we started in groups of 40 runners, every 15 minutes, the slowest 40 starting at 6am and the fastest 40 starting at 7am. Race check-in was staggered too, with each runner receiving a time range to check in. Mine was 1pm-2pm the day before. I arrived a bit early for my check in, so I checked out Lions Park across the street. Later I would learn that the race actually finished on the paved path that goes through Lion's Park. Before I headed over to check in, I saw another racer who had already checked in and was taking some photos. I began to talk with him and, wouldn't you know it, he was from Reno, Nevada! Small world. His name was Elliot Rueb. Although he ultimately started the race after me, he passed me about an hour or so in. He ended up finishing the race in just over 104 hours. 

​Here are some photos from Lions Park, featuring the Colorado River:

In years past, you could select your bib number. This year, due to the staggered start times, the bib numbers were assigned based on your predicted finish time, with bib 1 being the fastest. I predicted a finish time of 100 hours, which was nothing more than a guess. I ended up with bib 137 out of approximately 200.  My start time would be 6:30am. Check in went well. What stood out to me was my conversation with the medical director. He asked me if I had ever run a race this long before. I told him no. He said that hallucinating was sometimes cool and fun, but also scary and that it would probably happen during the race. His advice was to sleep, noting that even 10 minutes could go a long way in getting you back on track. This would be a race unlike any other I had ever done.

My bib and official pre-race mugshot:

We would be starting and finishing at the Moab Valley RV Resort & Campground.

Here were my thoughts as I finished race check and the immensity of the task ahead of me started to truly sink in.

Leading up to the race, we had a very active Facebook group where past participants shared great tips and information about the race and what to expect.  One participant made this really awesome cheat sheet that gave a rundown of the course and all the pertinent details in one graphic. I saved this on my phone  so I could easily find it when I needed it.

I also took photos of the segment elevation and distance profiles from the runner's manual and put these on my phone as well. As you can see, this race was the real deal, both in terms of length and elevation.

Before I headed out to Moab, I planned out all of my outfit changes. Here was what I would wear for the start of the race.  The legendary Lululemon race shorts were a must, of course. I paired them with an awesome donut shirt that my brother, Brian, got me. And the Hoka Evo Speedgoats as well as the injinji trail socks would be crucial as well. If you haven't tried them, the Hoka Evo Speedgoats are legit and, thankfully, I heard they are going to re-release them again in the near future.

For this race, you were required to carry certain items in your pack at all times, such as winter gear for the cold mountain segments, as well as an emergency blanket or bivvy and emergency calories. Here was my pack and everything that I stuffed into it. It ended up weighing around 12-15 pounds when it was full of water. I came to realize later that I should have trained with the pack. The fact that this race was the first time I would use a 15 pound pack was a mistake. 

I set my alarm for 4:30am on race morning. I woke up before my alarm, as I almost always do when it comes to races. I took down some coffee and a light breakfast, packed my gear, checked out of my hotel, and headed to the RV park. You could pay a small fee to leave your car at a hotel about 1/2 mile away from the RV park. That made a lot more sense to me than booking a hotel for 4 nights when I wouldn't be staying there.  In videos I had seen of the start of the race from the year before, participants were dressed in cold weather gear, but this year it was much warmer at the start. I was comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt, as were most of the other participants. Here is the video I took from my car before I walked the 1/2 mile to the race start line. 

As you can see, it was still dark when I arrived at the starting line. I picked up my spot tracker so that the race director and friends/family could track me along the course. I arrived in time to see the 6:15am starting group off. Here is a video of that:

I waited in anticipation for my start time, wishing I had an earlier starting time so I would already be out there racing. Sometimes, the waiting is in fact the hardest part. 

And next thing you know, we were off! The first 4-5 miles were actually on a paved bike path. I was surprised at how fast some of the folks took off. I was jogging at about 12 minute mile pace and was quickly at the back of the pack. I had put my cell phone in one of the front pockets of my new pack and somehow it made an emergency call. Although I hung up, the 911 dispatcher called me back to make sure everything was okay. I profusely apologized, but perhaps that was  a sign that things were not going to go my way in this race. 

A few miles in, I took my first video update. I knew I would have cell phone service for at least a few miles, so I wanted to let friends and family know that I had started the race and was okay so far. My mother and my wife were very worried about me!

It wasn't long before we left the paved bike path and headed up into the mountains as the sun began to rise. Here are some photos:

Some of you reading this blog know who David Goggins is. If you don't, click here to learn more about him. He has been an inspiration to me and it turns out that he was running this race as well. The year prior, he had been in second place when he took a wrong turn and ended up several miles off course. When informed how far off course he was, he decided to stay in the race rather than drop out. That required him to run several miles back to the trail. By that point, he had fallen to something like 90th place. He began to pick off runners and reached about 10th place before he had to drop out for medical reasons around mile 200. He was back to redeem himself this year. Here was his pre-race mugshot photo for this race, all business:

I knew Goggins would be starting at 7am. I predicted he would catch up to me and pass me around 8am. I wasn't too far off, as I saw him approaching around 8:15am. I had to get a video as he passed me. I thanked him and he said "thank you" though you can't really hear that on the video I took:

And I never saw him again after that. Ultimately, Goggins finished in second place with a time of 62 hours, 21 minutes and 29 seconds. Michele Graglia won in a time of 60 hours, 43 minutes, 15 seconds. Third place was a full nine hours behind Goggins!

The temperature began to rise as I continued to climb and tried to settled in to something approaching an appropriate pace:

Another video update about the many compliments I was getting on my outfit:

Another video update as I approached the first aid station, Hidden Valley, about 9 miles into the race. My feet and legs were already starting to hurt, which was my first indication that I might not have been fully recovered from my 58k/36 mile run the week before.

I arrived at the Hidden Valley Aid Station at 8:52am and only spent 9 minutes there, just enough time to eat a snack and fill up my water. As I left Hidden Valley, we really began to climb up into the mountains and leave civilization behind. Some photos:

This video will give you a sense of the climb out of the aid station:

After the climb, we finally reached a flat part of the course, where I could start to run again. It was now obvious that the temperature would keep rising and that it was going to be a warm one as there wouldn't be much protection from the sun out in these canyons.

The views were stunning:

More photos of what was shaping up to be a beautiful day:

At some point, the trail gave way to slick rock and we were really just running over the tops of large boulders. It wasn't my favorite part of the course because it was difficult to know if you were going the right way and you had to be careful with your footing. By this point, I no longer had cell phone service, but, as required, I had the course map downloaded on my phone so that it could be accessed via GPS using the Gaia app, so I checked every so often to make sure I wasn't lost. And there were still other runners in the vicinity, so that helped.

Some more photos:

The views were spectacular:

As we turned the corner, the Colorado river came into view and it was breathtaking:

The next aid station was Amasa Back at nearly 18 miles in. I arrived there at 11:48am, well ahead of the 2pm cutoff time. I heard one of the volunteers say there were only 7 or so runners behind me. This surprised me as it seemed like there would be more but, then again, a lot of runners had passed me already.

Amasa Back was the first aid station where I could have a drop bag waiting for me. I prepared a small Ziploc drop bag for this one, as I figured I wouldn't really need too much at this point in the race. I took the opportunity to change my shirt and mix up some of my favorite electrolyte formula, Sword. It was really stating to get hot out, so I sat in the shade for awhile. I filled up my water, ate some food, and headed back out about 30 minutes after I had arrived. 

The next segment was about 15 miles, but it was getting very warm out and I was advised that there would be some "bouldering" in the next segment. I wasn't sure what that was going to entail, but I didn't like the sound of it.

I caught up with a couple other runners, Charn McAllister and Chris Caravello, and we traversed the next several miles together. They both had Florida roots and I assumed they knew each other prior to the race, but I later learned that wasn't true At one point, the three of us passed another runner who was down and out from heat exhaustion. He didn't look good. Charn gave him some of his water, which was a very kind thing to do given the heat and his own hydration needs. I later learned that the guy we saw was ultimately flown out to a nearby hospital due to heat issues and potential kidney failure. Yikes! 

The views continued to be absolutely stunning:

We finally made it to the top of the ridge:

Several miles back, another runner had asked me if I knew when we would be approaching Jacob's Ladder. I was too embarrassed to admit that I had no idea what she was talking about, so I told her I wasn't sure. Well, sure enough, we reached it and it was pretty damn intense! I couldn't believe we actually had to find a way down it, as there did not appear to be any kind of defined trail and it seemed quite treacherous, especially for someone who is already nervous on the rocky descents. This was a solid indication that I might be in over my head in this race.  Here we are taking in the view before heading down:

​Here is a video I took midway down:

Honestly, I'm just smiling in the photo because I was still alive and, if I died on the way down, I wanted a good last photo in my phone:

This video from the bottom gives you a sense of how far we descended:

More amazing views at the bottom, when the course finally flattened out a bit:

About 5 miles from the next aid station, something very unexpected happened. I ran out of water! I had been carrying close to 3 liters of water but, on second thought, I wasn't sure I completely filled up my pack at the last aid station. I was shocked that I had run out. And I was a little freaked out because it was hot and I still had a ways to go. At the rate I was moving, it would take me 90 minutes or so to make the next aid station. I was very thirsty and, to make matters worse, I had lost my only tube of chapstick somewhere along the way. My lips were dry and chapped. It was going to be a long stretch. I slowed down to conserve energy and hopefully limit my ever-increasing thirst. 

I had a Lifestraw in my pack and was prepared to use it the first time I found a source of water, but I never found one. My two friends, Charn and Chris, had pulled ahead of me because they were much faster on the Jacob's Ladder descent than I was, but I again had passed them as they stopped for a break. About a quarter mile later, I started to feel way overheated and I just sat down, really fell down, on the middle of the dirt trail, as I could no longer keep going. I thought my race might be over, but I just sat there until I regained some strength. About five minutes later, I got up and started moving again.

About a mile later, I again started feeling overheated. I stopped to sit on a rock and tried to get any last drop of water out of my pack to quench my thirst. At this point, an angel appeared. It was Charn. He asked me if I was okay. When I told him I ran out of water, he offered me some of his. I felt bad about taking it, but I knew I desperately needed it. He filled my portable cup about halfway up and I savored that water for a good 5 minutes, taking small sips and swishing it around my mouth before swallowing. It was a super nice thing of him to do given how hot it was and it probably saved my race. It gave me the strength I needed and I pressed on towards the aid station. I later learned that it was close to 100 degrees in the canyon! That was a far cry from the year before where I think 80 was the hottest it ever got. Anyway, this Charn fellow is one heck  of a guy and an accomplished ultra runner. You can learn about him by clicking here.

Here is a video I took as I approached the Base Camp Aid Station, very much doubting my life choices:

I arrived at the Base Camp Aid Station at 5:35pm, well ahead of the 8pm cutoff time. I was determined to drink a lot of water there and I did just that. I drank to my heart's content. I might have consumed a gallon or more. All told, I spent an hour at that aid station and made sure my water was completely full before I left. I also ate some food. I was surprised to see a gigantic desert tortoise had taken up residence there. 

Video of the fearless desert tortoise going after a dog:

At the Base Camp Aid Station, I learned that the next segment was 25 miles! I'm not sure how I missed that in the materials I reviewed, as that seemed like a long way. The good news is that there was an unattended water station 5 miles out. Running out of water again was at the top of my mind, so it would be nice to be able to fill up there. As I headed out, the sun was starting to set and I knew it was only a matter of time before I would have to pull out my headlamp and navigate at night. Truthfully, I wasn't looking forward to that and I waited as long as possible before turning on my headlamp.

Here were my thoughts as I left Base Camp Aid Station:

The sunset was utterly amazing!

Video of the sunset:

Once it got dark, navigating became much more difficult. My headlamp was suprisingly dim. Although I had an extra headlamp and extra batteries in my pack, I just didn't feel like digging around for them at the moment, so I decided I would make due for the time being. But it was difficult to see the course markings and it was also difficult to see the ground and avoid the rocks, especially on the rolling ascents and descents. In addition, the wind started to kick up, which meant that a lot of dust was blowing around, making it hard to see and to breathe. 

As it got dark, I spotted some ATVs up on a ridge and they started heading my way. I was very careful to get off the main path, as I was pretty sure they couldn't see me. I wasn't thrilled about the dust they kicked up on the way out, but I enjoyed the solitude of the night once they had disappeared from my sight.

I finally made it to the 5 mile water stop and, as advertised, it was really just a large table with huge jugs of water. There was a runner resting on the side of the trail there and I spoke with him for a few minutes, filled up my water, and headed on my way. Just 20 more miles to go!

As the hours passed, I became aware of two things. One, it wasn't really cooling down much at all. Two, it was very dark out with almost no ambient light. I was having a hard time navigating, continually checking the map on my phone to make sure I was on course. Thankfully, I caught up with another runner who was also having some navigation challenges. He, however, had a really bright headlamp as well as a waist light. I was instantly jealous and began kicking myself for not being better prepared. I had contemplated buying a waist light, but opted not to because they were about $180, which was more than I wanted to spend. The other runner's name was Scott McNulty and he was gracious enough to let me tag along with him for several miles as he led the way. I learned that he was from Florida and, that at 60 years old, he was inspired to do this race after being out in Moab the year before and seeing people out on the course at night. His curiosity got the best of him and next thing he knew, he was signing up. As usual, he was faster on the tricky descents than I was, so I eventually fell behind and he went on his way. I later learned that he completed the race in 106 hours and 50 minutes! But, for the time being, I was alone again.

I stopped to rest and to swap out my headlamp and that was a game changer, as the batteries in the other one were fully charged and my line of sight greatly improved so that I could actually see the reflective course markings in the distance. I was getting annoyed by how hot it was and I ultimately took my shirt off to try to cool down. It didn't work all that well. I was also hungry, but I only had a few gel packs on me so I decided to eat one every couple of hours. I began stopping more frequently to rest. My pace definitely slowed, as I was probably doing 25 minute miles and that did not include the frequent rest breaks. I kept looking at map on my phone and I didn't seem to be getting any closer to the aid station. It was going to be a long night. 

I began to see a lot of runners sleeping on the side of the trail. It was tempting for sure, but I was worried about how slow my pace had become and I didn't want to miss the cutoff. I had also seen a few mice running across the trail and I didn't relish having them climb on me if I tried to sleep. At one point, I found a very large rock about the size of a twin sized mattress. It was relatively flat. I decided to rest for awhile and laid down on the rock, using my winter hat as a pillow. The rock felt cool on my back. I turned my headlamp off and saw what seemed like millions of stars above me. It was so quiet and peaceful. Although I only rested on the rock for 5-10 minutes, it was one of the highlights of the race for me. The only other time I saw that many stars was during the nighttime portions of my recent Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim hike.

I soon learned that the batteries for my headlamp only lasted about 3 hours on the highest setting. I had 12 extra batteries in my pack, but it was clear to me that 12 would not be enough to get me through 4 more long nights.  And I again was really wishing I had splurged for that waist lamp.

As I continued on, I began to think. The more I thought about it, the more I came to the realization that I would not be able to finish this race. I was moving very slowly and would be lucky to make the 6am cutoff at the next aid station. And, even if I made that, I would not have any time to sleep. That was a problem because I was starting to feel quite exhausted and at least one more very warm day awaited me. There is no way I could go four and a half days with no sleep and not completely lose my mind. Then there was the issue about having to navigate three more nights with poor equipment. If I continued on, I would have to navigate the mountain sections at night. I didn't feel that was safe and I knew it would be even more unsafe the more tired I became. And, although it might seem trivial, losing my Chapstick was a big deal for me. I always have Chapstick on me. My lips were so chapped that they were burning. I had some Neosporin with me and I started using that on my lips, but it just wasn't the same and the taste was pretty terrible but desperate times calls for desperate measures, right?

As we approached 5am, I knew I had a chance to make the cutoff, but I had to keep moving. That is exactly what I did, passing even more people sleeping on the trail. As the next aid station, Breaking Bad, came into view, I debated whether I should just stop for awhile and intentionally miss the cutoff time. I had already decided that I was going to drop out of the race at that aid station anyhow. Enough of this insanity. If I missed the cutoff, then it would be a done deal. I debated this strategy in my mind for quite some time before deciding this was not the way I wanted to go out. I would do my best to make it by the cutoff time and then just drop there. But I wouldn't intentionally sabotage the race. Here is a video I took around midnight that gives you a sense of how I was feeling out there:

I think I heard the Breaking Bad Aid Station before I actually saw it. I heard music coming from the canyon and then I saw lights in the distance, but I was still up on a ridge, so I wasn't entirely sure how I would get down to it. Turns out I had to make a very wide loop and then descend into the canyon. Great, more descending in darkness. Here is a photo of the Breaking Bad Aid Station. It was pretty wild to see this literally in the middle of nowhere. 

So I strolled into the Breaking Bad Aid Station at 5:50am, just 10 minutes before the cutoff. There were a few volunteers working the station and they clapped and cheered me on as I approached. That was nice! One guy immediately told me to sit down and asked me what I needed and got to filling up my water. I told him I was starving and the young lady working the portable grill started whipping up a breakfast burrito for me as they handed me a large plate of bacon and a giant pickle! The guy there congratulated me for making the cutoff and I told him I was dropping out anyhow. He told me I wasn't and said that I had to be up and and moving in 10 minutes, the official cutoff time for that aid station.

I complained about how brutal the last segment was and he told me everybody, even the race leaders, had said the same thing. I again told him I was going to drop. He told me if I dropped, I would have to wait upwards of six hours or so for a transport due to how far this aid station was from civilization. I asked about all the people behind me who weren't going to make the cutoff. He told me they would have no choice but to wait for a transport, but I could go on and that I would probably make it to the next aid station by the time the transport came anyway. He assured me that the next segment wasn't as difficult as the one I had just finished. It was a total of about 15 miles, with a water station at around the halfway point.

Right about that time, another runner arrived at the Breaking Bad Aid Station, just 6 minutes before the cutoff. He sat down next to me and told the volunteers he was going to quit. As they were giving him a pep talk, he threw up all over the place. The volunteer looked at me and said: "I think you are on your own for this next segment." I'll say.

At 5:59am, they told me to get up and they put my pack on my back. The handed me a paper plate with a breakfast burrito and as much food as they could find, including Nutella wraps, Oreos, and M&Ms. They sent me on my way, back into the darkness. I really didn't want to continue, but sitting there for 9 minutes and eating some food rejuvenated me somewhat. About 1/2 mile from the aid station, I sat down on a rock and devoured a very delicious breakfast burrito and nearly everything else on the plate. Shortly thereafter, I recorded this video, though it was too dark to actually see me: 

I was now in last place of the runners who remained in the race. But I was pretty excited that the sun would rise soon. Although the sun would certainly mean the return of the heat, it would also mean I no longer had to navigate in the darkness. The tradeoff seemed worth it to me.

Here is a video of the sun rising:

More photos from along the way:

And...the hallucinations began soon after the sun rose. I began to see things that weren't really there. I saw other runners resting on rocks. But they weren't there when I got closer. I saw random animals. They weren't there either. I saw signs and course markings that were just mirages. I knew things were getting bad when I realized that I had been conversing with my shadow for a few minutes. My mind convinced me that my shadow was another runner. Except it wasn't. I started to get worried because I knew I was in desperate need of sleep. I tried to rest my eyes for a few minutes on a rock that looked especially inviting because it was in the shade:

As I moved onward, the views continued to be amazing:

The path that I was on was definitely flatter than the prior segment, but it started to get hot again as soon as the sun came out. 

Panoramic video view of the terrain:

I finally made it to the water station about 8 miles in. I filled up my water and kept moving on what seemed like a never ending dirt trail.

As I got closer to the aid station, the transport vehicle with all of those who missed the cutoff at the last aid station passed me. All the folks in the back of the pickup cheered for me and that lifted my spirits. In retrospect, I should have inquired if any of them had extra chapstick or a waist lamp they were willing to part with. You live and learn.

I finally caught up to another runner. His name was Aaron Tolman and we talked for awhile. He was struggling with the heat and asked me about the cutoff time. I advised him that we were doing well as far as the cutoff time and that he should be sure to find some shade and cool down. Better to be safe than sorry. We also talked about how hard this race was. He said the furthest he had ever run was a marathon some 10 years earlier. Talk about guts! In any case, we both said we had wanted to drop out at the last aid station, but were talked out of it. I'm glad it wasn't just me. And we both agreed that we were definitely dropping out at the next aid station. As he rested, I kept moving. I was now in second to last place of those who remained. 

​Here is the last video I took on the course before reaching the Indian Creek Aid Station around mile 72:

I finally arrived at the Indian Creek Aid Station at 12:45pm, an hour and 15 minutes before the cutoff time. I had made up some time on that segment. Mike McKnight, who won this race the year before in a course record time for men (59 hour, 30 minutes, 12 seconds), was actually volunteering at the aid station, which was very cool. It was really great to talk with him. Super nice guy.

There were three other runners there who had already decided to drop and I informed the volunteers that I would be dropping too. They, of course, tried to talk me out of it, but I was resolute in deciding that I was going to cut my losses rather than  endure another night segment. I had promised my  wife and my mother that I wouldn't do anything stupid and that I would pull the plug if I needed to. So I did. Keep your promises. Live to fight another day. I was a little wistful when they removed my spot tracker, officially ending my race, but I knew I had made the right call. Yet I also knew I would later regret it.

About 30 minutes after I arrived at the aid station, the fellow I had passed along the way, Aaron, arrived. We all cheered him on, as he was final runner to make it to that aid station. He immediately went to the medical tent to have his feet worked on. I  went over to talk with him and, much to my surprise, he said he had a change of heart and was going to continue on. Although I hardly knew him, it made me immensely proud. I was even prouder to later find out that he made it over 100 miles before he finally dropped out. What a warrior!

The Indian Creek Aid Station was designated as a "sleep station." In years past, the race organizers provided communal tents and sleeping mats for runners at the sleep stations. With COVID, they could not do that, but they gave you the option of preparing a larger drop bag for the sleep stations that would be transported to all four of them: Indian Creek, Shay Mountain (121.6 miles in), Road 46 (167.3 miles in), and Geyser Pass (201.4 miles in). I had packed a giant bag with all kinds of stuff that I ultimately didn't need. I felt somewhat embarrassed by how big and heavy my bag was. Best I could tell, it was the biggest one there by a hefty margin. Here is a photo of what I packed and how big the bag was once packed. I had a one person tent, a blow up sleeping mat, a sleeping bag, a pillow and multiple changes of clothing, as well as a bunch of other stuff, as you can see.

When at the aid station, I felt kind of foolish looking at everything that I didn't need. If I ever do this race again, I would scrap at least half of what I packed. Unless you are well ahead of the cutoff time, I can't imagine actually taking the time to set up a tent. When you are at the aid stations, you are worried about drinking and eating and taking care of your feet. Sleeping is not really something that is at the top of your priority list. Sleeping on the side of the trail seemed like an easier and more convenient option unless you had a crew with a vehicle where you could just sleep in a car without much trouble. That was more ideal.

And here were the three drop bags that I packed for later aid stations that I never made it to. So much time, attention, and care wen into packing these. Made me sad that I didn't make it far enough to take advantage of them. If nothing else, I was looking forward to photos of me wearing different gear along the way.

One of the aid station volunteers drove me and two of the other runners back to our cars. It took a good 90 minutes to get there and, as you might imagine, I had a very hard time staying awake on the drive. I apologized profusely for being such a bad passenger, but she was very understanding. And I noticed that one of the other runners in the back seat was sawing logs.

So all and all, here is what my watch told me about my effort. I think the mileage was a little off, as I believe the Indian Creek Aid Station was between 72 and 73 miles in. The total time was a bit off too, as I had to use a portable charger to recharge my watch along the way, which requires you to pause the segment. I did that while I was resting out on the course or at aid stations. My total time on the course was more like 30 hours and 15 minutes.

When I got back to my car, I had a bit of a dilemma. I did not have a hotel room booked because I intended to be out on the course for a few more days. I searched for available hotel rooms, but they were all prohibitively expensive. So I decided to just drive back to Las Vegas, about a 7 hour drive. Though, in this case, it probably took me closer to 9 or 10 hours because I kept stopping to take quick naps and rest. It was hard to stay awake and I was on the edge of hallucination. But I eventually made it home safely. Here is what my shoes and socks looked like once I took them off:

One downside of dropping out of the race as early as I did was that my drop bags were still out at the aid stations that I never made it to. If I wanted them, I could either drive to the various aid stations to get them, which would take hours, or I would have to come back to Moab and pick them up the day after the race.

I already had a couple of nights at a hotel booked for after the race, so I decided to head back to Moab on October 13th. I was tracking Charn and saw that he was still in the race and would likely finish close to the cutoff time, which was 11pm local time. Chris had dropped out of the race due to injury somewhere around mile 150, but I learned from our Moab Facebook group that he was going back to the final aid station to help bring Chris in. Charn, however, was unaware of this. I knew this would be special and I wanted to be there when the two of them finished up.

I parked my car close to the finish line around 9pm and started walking up the same path at Lyon's Park that I had walked on the day before the race. It was really dark out there and I needed to use my cell phone light to see anything. It was so cool to see headlamps emerge from the darkness as the last few runners completed the end of their journey, most with pacers, some without. I cheered each one on and kept checking my phone to see if Charn and Chris were approaching. Soon enough, they emerged from the darkness and I said hello. They were definitely surprised to see me. I asked if I could walk in with them the last mile or so. They graciously agreed and told me stories from their race, which included Chris encountering a mountain lion at one point!

Charn was remarkably lucid for going on 112 hours. He had only slept about 4 hours along the way. Chris was visibly limping, but he wanted to be sure his friend finished strong. Charn told me there was no way he would have finished without Chris due to the difficulty of navigating the last segment at night. It was a wonderful moment to walk with Charn across the finish line. He had done it, finishing in 111 hours, 57 minutes, and 16 seconds! What an amazing accomplishment.

Although I was still sore and tired, I wanted to check out some of the last part of the course the next morning. So that is what I did, heading out about 5.5 miles from the finish before turning around and heading back. I immediately appreciated what Charn had said about the difficulty of navigating Porcupine Rim. It was difficult for me to figure out the course, even in the daytime. I couldn't imagine doing it at night. Here are the stats from my run:

The views, of course, continued to be amazing. Here is a video from along the way:

And another one:

Cesare Rotundo, from Foster City, CA, has run in all four Moab 240 races. He makes amazing videos of his epic runs and shares them online with the world. As he passed me on the course about an hour in, I told him how much I appreciated his videos. Well, he made one for this race, which he finished in just over 88 hours, good for 29th place. The video is about an hour long, but gives you a really good sense of what the course is like, including Jacob's ladder. And Cesare runs with infectious joy. Feel free to watch it here if you have some spare time:

​Here is another one of my favorite videos of the race, from Wes Plate, who completed the race in 2019 on his first attempt, in just over 98 hours. He very effectively uses Google Earth to show you exactly where the course goes. 

So, what did I learn on this epic adventure that I thought would last 240 miles, but only lasted 72 or so for me?

• I need better equipment, especially better lighting for the nighttime segments. I could probably use better hiking poles too.
• I need to train more often with a larger pack that weighs in the neighborhood of 12-15 pounds.
• I need to train at night, so I get comfortable navigating in the darkness.
• I need to take short naps along the way because I'm just not going to set up a tent and sleep at an aid station. 
• I need to bring extra chapstick. 
• I need to pack way less in my drop bags.
• I need to start thinking about getting sleep around the 24 hour mark of the race.
• I probably need a crew and/or pacers to finish a race like this. Ideally, I could find somebody to actually do the whole race with me.

So am I glad I did it? Yes! No doubt about that one. It was a life-changing experience for me and I met some really cool people. I think about it often. It was pretty blissful to be without cell phone service and other worldly distractions for a good 24 hours. 

Would I attempt it again? Well, here is the video I took on my final run in Moab:

Thanks for reading!

Back in July of 2020, as we were in special session up at the Nevada Legislature, I started to think about what I might be able to do to commemorate the anniversary of October 1, 2017, when the deadliest mass shooting in history took place in Las Vegas, at the Route 91 Concert. Due to the pandemic, I knew there wouldn't be as many in-person events as in the past. I came up with the idea of running 58 kilometers (36.04 miles) to commemorate the third anniversary. Running was something I could do and increasingly very long distances at that.

​The purpose of the run was to remember and honor the 58 (now 60) that we lost that night, to highlight the many heroic ways in which members of our community responded to the tragic events of that evening and afterward and, most importantly, to raise money for the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center, with the funds being used to help those directly impacted by the events of October 1, 2017. If this post inspires you at all, there is still time to contribute. You can do so at this link and no amount is too small: vegasstrongrc.org/FUND.

​The 58k started from my house in Southwest Las Vegas at 8am. Here is the basic route that I mapped out on Strava, which had me stopping at a number of points of interest that were significant to the events of October 1 and the aftermath.

Here is the flyer that we made to publicize the event and solicit donations:

As I ran, I carried this baton, which contained these two pieces of paper with the names and photos of the 58 that we lost on the night of October 1, 2017. I knew this would provide me with much needed motivation as the miles added up.

I recorded this short video for social media as the event approached:

An event like this requires quite a bit of planning. The first thing I did was ask my good friend, Crystal Martinez, if she would be willing to crew me for this run. This would entail driving around the Las Vegas Valley and meeting me at designated points every 3-5 miles with all the supplies I needed in the back of her car: Gatorade and water, food, change of clothes, sunscreen, etc. Thankfully, she agreed and requested the day off of work. There is no way I could have done this without her, especially given that the weather was 12 degrees above normal, with projected high temperatures of 98 degrees. In addition to doing excellent crew work, she took many of the photos and videos from the day of the event.

Tennille Pereira and Christine Miller from the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center were crucial in the planning as well. They provided endless encouragement and helped me come up with a route, as well as connected me with key people to interview. Jared Golub from the Legal Aid Center Of Southern Nevada provided social media support and Venicia Considine from Legal Aid helped coordinate the fundraising link to make it easier for folks to donate. 

For my part, I began to work on compiling pre-run photos of the areas I would visit, as well as recording short Zoom interviews with people involved in the response to October 1, 2017. James Zygadlo worked really hard to produce the videos and graphics. I was then able to take that content and preload it onto my Twitter account so that it would be easier to post updates along the way. What follows is breakdown of the stops I made and the social media content that we pushed out at those stops, as well as some of the photos/videos we took that day. Enjoy!

I woke up at around 6:15am. I was excited about the day ahead, but my ankle was sore. I have no idea why. I think it might have been my mind's attempt to get me out of running a 58k. But I was determined to just ignore it and push through. Crystal and Jared arrived at my house at 7:30am and we took a few photos and videos at the start:

And we were off right as the clock struck 8am:

The run from my house to the Route 91 concert site on the strip would be the longest stretch without a point of interest to stop at, so we decided to create our own stop at the 5 mile mark. Crystal captured this photo and video as I arrived at the designated meeting place (a strip mall on the corner of Russell Road and Jones Blvd):

​When I arrived at the first stop, I tweeted a video about one of the youngest people who perished on October 1, 2017, Quinton Robbins. Watch it here:

The next stop was the Route 91 concert site. It obviously looks very different today than it did the night of October 1, 2017. It was very emotional to run up the Strip, past Mandalay Bay, and to the site. My mind immediately thought of the chaos of that night and the sheer terror and evil of what took place. It was a somber reminder of why I was doing this 58k run. Here is the site then and now:

Our next stop was the shrine that is right next to the Route 91 concert site. They played a huge role in sheltering those fleeing the concert and acting as a headquarters for the police investigation that followed.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Father Bob Stoeckig about the church's role in responding to the events of October 1, 2017:

Our next stop was the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign, where Greg Zanis installed memorial crosses on 3 different occasions. Although Mr. Zanis recently passed away, his friend and publicist, Pat John Lamparelli, told me that he was an all-around great guy who cared a lot about people and that he was determined to help people. The crosses were not there anymore when I arrived, but here are some photos of the crosses and my arrival:

Here is a video about the crosses:

Our next stop was Clark County Fire Station #11, which is adjacent to the concert site. Some photos of the run there and the fire station itself:

I feel fortunate to have interviewed Brian Emery, who was working out of Station #11 the night of October 1, 2017. He and the other first responders were real heroes that night:

We didn't have to go too far for our next stop. Metro's South Central Area Command is only a block or two north of Fire Station #11. 

LVMPD Deputy Chief McMahill joined me to talk about Metro's response that evening and beyond. It is worth your time to watch this interview and appreciate what our first responders went through that night and the days that followed:

Our next stop was Sunrise Hospital.

I took the opportunity to record a video thanking all of our first responders, including the medical professionals at Sunrise, who worked tirelessly to treat those who were transported there:

It was starting to get very hot out and there was no shade to be found along the course, so I was glad to arrive at our next stop on the Strip, at the Heartfullness Sculpture at the Fashion Show Mall. If you have been to Fashion Show mall, you have probably seen this sculpture and not realized it was inspired by the tragedy of 10/1/17.

You can learn more about the sculpture here: ​https://www.reviewjournal.com/videos/artist-dedicates-heart-sculpture-on-las-vegas-strip-video/

Because we  had a ways to go before our next point of interest, we stopped at Journey Education on Rainbow, just south of Sahara, for our designated 25 mile stop. I was delighted to see Bita at this stop as well. She cheered me on as I arrived and that lifted my spirits and took my mind off the heat for a moment. At this stop, I chose to highlight a memorial bench that was installed in North Las Vegas, at Craig Ranch Regional Park. You can learn more about the bench here: ​https://www.8newsnow.com/news/north-las-vegas/tribute-to-victims-of-1-october-is-unveiled-in-north-las-vegas/

The Painted Heart Memorial Mural is located at Antelope Way and Westcliff. It is very impressive and requires 4 photos just to capture the whole thing.

It took 5 graffiti artists 17 straight hours and over 100 cans of spray paint to complete it. You can learn more about it here: https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/shootings/mural-pays-tribute-to-victims-of-las-vegas-shooting/

I shot this video of the entire 200 foot long mural:

As I was now beyond the marathon mark, the heat and mileage were really starting to get to me. I needed a lift and I got just that when my good friend, Brittany Shipp Walker, joined me at the mural to run the next 5 miles with me!

My friend, Richard Carreon, also joined us here, bringing his camera and drone to capture footage from here to the end of the run. It was great to see him and really cool to hear the drone randomly pop up overhead as we ran. It felt like we were leading the pack in the Olympics.

Brittany really helped me get through the next five mile stretch. It was hot and we did a lot of waiting at traffic lights as we took Alta towards downtown. I am sure it would have taken me much longer had I still been running solo. Thank you, Brittany!

This stop had a lot of meaning for me because fundraising for them was the reason I had embarked on this journey in the first place. The Vegas Strong Resiliency Center has done incredible work over the years.

You can hear more about what the Resiliency Center does by watching my video interview with Tennille below. And, again, if you are inspired, you can contribute to them at this link: vegasstrongrc.org/FUND

I was greeted by a number of great people at the Resiliency Center. Bita and Crystal  cheered me as I arrived. Tennille and Jared were waiting for me too. My friends, John & Kristina Mehaffey, who had just donated blood, showed up with a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts - how cool is that! I savored one and saved the other 11 for later:

As I said goodbye to Brittany, I was delighted that my friend and legislative colleague, Sandra Jauregui, joined me for the last few miles of the run. This was especially meaningful because she was at the Route 91 concert. Thankfully, she made it out, but I imagine that the psychological scars never really heal. She was unable to talk about what had happened for quite some time, but has made it her mission to tell her story and turn her experience into action. I immediately handed her the baton and we took off down Charleston. 

UMC is right down the street. Much like Sunrise Hospital, the frontline workers there worked day and night to treat those who needed urgent medical attention. We cannot thank them enough for all they did.

Our next stop was the Clark County Coroner's Office. It isn't something pleasant to talk about, but the folks there had a lot to deal with in the aftermath of October 1, 2017. There were numerous autopsies to be performed and next of kin to notify. They worked tirelessly and nobly, with compassion and empathy.

I had a chance to interview John Fudenberg, who is now retired but was the Clark County Coroner on October 1, 2017. Watch here:

LVMPD headquarters was our next stop. As noted, law enforcement rose to the moment in responding to October 1 and conducting the thorough investigation that followed. 

I took an opportunity at this stop to honor and remember Officer Charleston Hartfield, who was at the Route 91 concert as an off-duty citizen the night of October 1. He did what his instincts told him to do and tried to help others as the chaos unfolded. Unfortunately, he was killed. A few days later, they held a candlelight vigil for him at Police Memorial Park. Bita and I attended to honor him.

In 2018, I participated in the Nevada Law Enforcement Officers Memorial relay, which transports a baton from Las Vegas to the Memorial in Carson City. I ran a 10 mile leg with Bita and Officer A.J. Delap. That year, we ran in honor and memory of Officer Hartfield, whose name would be added to the memorial. Rest in Peace, Officer. 

Our second to last stop was at the Clark County Government Center to see the Angel Display. This display is inside the building, in the rotunda, and was crafted by the Angels of Love Organization (Angelsoflove.org). Zoom in on the last photo for information about the significance of the glass angels.

Just one mile later, Sandra and I arrived at our final stop, the Healing Garden in downtown Las Vegas. Video:

And photos:

I became pretty emotional as we arrived at the Healing Garden. It was busy there on the anniversary, as folks paid their respects. It is such a beautiful place but also one of profound sadness. 794 volunteers have collectively contributed more than 16,500 hours working on the Healing Garden. That amounts to a value of more than $449,500 and it shows. 

Get Outdoors Nevada partners with the City of Las Vegas to manage the Healing Garden. I had a chance to speak with Mauricia and Aaron about the Healing Garden. See what they had to say here:

​​Our journey had come to an end nearly 10 hours after it began. I felt a tremendous sense of relief to have finished this 58k and I also felt extraordinarily thankful to all who donated to the cause and provided encouragement leading up to the event and along the way. 

Here are the final screenshots from Strava & Garmin for each of the three legs. I did not intend to break this into three legs, but I hit the wrong button on my watch a couple of times so this is how it came out. The first part was the fastest because I was fresh, the weather was nice and it was mostly downhill from my house to the Strip. 

Total time in motion was 6 hours, 7 minutes, 5 seconds. Total distance was 36.15 miles for an average pace of just over 10 minutes per mile. Total elapsed time was 9 hours and 50 minutes, which gives you a sense of how much time was spent stopping to drink, eat, change clothes, reapply sunscreen, and work on social media posts.

We loaded all of my gear into Bita's car and headed home. Bita asked me where I wanted to eat. Easy answer: Bonchon (Korean fried chicken wings). This is the look of somebody who is about to devour a LOT of chicken wings!

Here is a really cool video that my friend, Richard made. Enjoy!

This effort has raised over $2,500, but you can still donate at this link:: vegasstrongrc.org/FUND

A sincere thank you to those who have donated already: Sally Yeager, Bobby Ellis, Ted Olivas, Henry Sotelo, John Mehaffey, Chad & Christine Miller, Alredo Alonso, Deborah Westbrook, Brittany Walker, Andy Weil, Cahterine Chrobak, Andy Pasternak, Lesley Cohen, Jim Ferrence, Shiela Leslie, Teresa Crawford, Carrie Morean, Maggie Carlton, Mark Sutfflebeam, Sandra Jauregui, Lorne Malkiewich, Frieda Freeman, Eliza Lantrip, Doug Merenda, Allie Elwell, and Micahel Korn. 

​Thanks for reading. #VegasStrong

The Grand Canyon is an amazing place! I feel fortunate to have hiked it on five different occasions. If you haven't had the chance to hike it, put it on your bucket list and then cross it off as quickly as you possibly can. And maybe cross it off more than once. It is one thing to stand on the rim of the canyon and marvel at its vastness and beauty. It is another thing entirely to head down into the canyon, to journey to the mighty Colorado River, some 5,000 to 6,000 feet from the rim. It is a life altering experience. Trust me, you won't regret it. What follows is a run down of the five times I have been out there and what exactly I did. I hope there is a sixth journey sometime soon.

Soon after I started working at the Clark County Public Defender's Office in 2009, I heard about a Grand Canyon hike that used to be something of an annual tradition. Sure, I had been to the Grand Canyon a few times over the years, taking the obligatory photos from the South Rim, but the thought of hiking down into it had never even crossed my mind. To be honest, I didn't even know that was a thing a person could do.

This hike, I was told, would be a hike from the north rim down into the canyon, across, and up the south rim. Simply put, it was the rim to rim hike, north to south. Now this obviously takes some logistical planning because we would all stay on the north rim of the grand canyon the night before the hike, but those of us hiking would end up at the south rim of the grand canyon, some 25 miles and around 6,000 feet of elevation loss/5,000 feet of elevation gain later. This would require drivers to drive from the north to the south rim to meet us when we emerged from the other side. The drive from north to south rim, however, was much longer in distance than the hike would be, nearly 300 miles and 5 hours of driving. It turns out hiking was a shortcut, at least distance wise. Way back in the day, there used to be a sanctioned rim to rim race, but they stopped doing it and now they discourage people from trying to do it in one day. In fact, most people camp for a day or two along the way. But we didn't intend to do that.

By the time I took part in this excursion, Pete Eliason from the Public Defender's Office was the master planner and logistics czar. I don't know if that was always the case, but I could see why he filled that role. He made all of the reservations for lodging and planned the renting of vans, recruited and coordinated drivers, collected all the money, and also made sure that anybody wanting to do this hike knew how difficult it would be. I distinctly remember him sending a stern e-mail and checklist months before the excursion for those who wanted to do the hike to make sure everybody was in good enough shape and had all the necessary supplies such as a camelback and calories for the journey. I heard stories about prior participants being flat out unprepared or out of shape and running into real problems in the canyon, taking inordinately long to finish the hike or just trying to give up in the middle. There is the option of being helicoptered out of the canyon if need be, but that was rumored to come with a bill amounting to several thousand dollars. Truth is that I was plenty nervous about whether I could complete this hike. The temperatures could fluctuate greatly from the rim to the basin, sometimes amounting to a 60-70 degree difference.

The night before, we stayed pretty close to the north rim and my understanding was, at least at that time, there were really only one set of cabins you could stay in with only one fairly mediocre restaurant in the vicinity. The cabins were pretty basic, but we would only need them for one night of mostly restless, nervous sleep.

The hike the next morning was an utterly amazing experience! I really didn't know what to expect, but I couldn't believe how far you had to go down to get to the basin. It seemed like the downhill would never end. And I couldn't believe how high you had to climb to get to the top. Once we started, I never doubted my ability to complete the hike, but that uphill was really brutal. I think it was the most difficult thing I had ever done up to that point. The uphill took longer than going down and across, even though the climb only amounted to around 5-7 miles of the 25 mile hike. You just keep going and going, switchback after switchback, as the sun mercilessly beats down upon you and the rim doesn't seem to get any closer.  One of the highlights of the hike was removing my shoes and socks at Phantom Ranch and dipping them in the icy cold Colorado River. Pure heaven!

All told, the hike took me about 12.5 hours or so, which was definitely the longest physical activity I had ever done in my entire life (up to that point).

I took so many photos. Maybe too many photos. Here are the ones with people in them. ​As you can see, there weren't many of us on this hike. Me, Bita, Pete and a couple of Pete's friends.

Here are the photos without people in them. There are a lot of them, so feel free to skim or skip them altogether. 

On the way back to Las Vegas from the south rim, it was tradition to stay the night in Williams, AZ (about an hour from the Grand Canyon) and to eat dinner and pie at the home style Pine Country Restaurant. After all, it wasn't a good idea to suffer through a 3.5 hour drive back to Las Vegas after the hardest hike of your life when your legs and feet were screaming at you.

They did not undersell Pine Country. Nor did they undersell the shock of the ice bath at the hotel to ease the swelling of your legs and feet. That was shocking, but I think it helped with the pain the next day.

[PS: File this under foreshadowing - when I was walking/hiking the Grand Canyon, I saw people running, yes running, it. I just shook my head and laughed to myself. "People are crazy," I whispered to myself. I would NEVER EVER do something that crazy.]

I was pumped that we planned another Grand Canyon excursion later that same year, in October, when it would be a bit cooler. I wanted to do this one faster than the last one. My strategy was pretty simple. I would just take fewer breaks and power hike the whole thing. And I would take fewer photos along the way. I knew this also meant I would mostly be going it alone, but that was okay. Pete and I struck up a friendly competition about who could complete the hike faster. 

I was excited that I convinced my brother, Charles, and his now wife, Crystal, to join us on the hike. I thought they would enjoy it and I was eager to share the Grand Canyon with them. We had a bigger crew this time around, as the excitement about the hike had spread through the office. Our crew consisted of Bita, Pete, Patty (Pete's sister), Jeremy Storms, and Michael Wilfong.

We again visited the north rim of the canyon the night before the hike to catch the sunset and we also took some group photos:

It was still dark out when we started down the north rim in the morning. Headlamps were a must. I mostly stuck to my plan, stopping very little and not taking too many photos along the way. I was rewarded with a 10.5 hour finish, a full two hours faster than earlier that year. I beat Pete, but he told me that he didn't feel comfortable leaving his sister behind, which was why he wasn't as fast as he would have liked. I understood that - you don't want to leave someone behind in the Grand Canyon, especially a first timer who is also a family member. I told him next time we were competing for real, no excuses.

Here are the handful of photos I took along the way:

Leading up to this third effort, Pete and I began to talk serious trash about who could complete it faster. I, being at least 20 pounds lighter than Pete, felt pretty good that I had the edge. Pete felt like he could train hard enough to be victorious. Naturally, we settled on a wager, the exact contours of which escape me.  But the basic concept was that the loser had to buy the winner an entire pie from Pine Country Restaurant and, then as a bonus, the winner could earn additional pies should the margin of victory exceed certain intervals. In this case, I believe it was 30 minute intervals, meaning winning by 30 minutes or more would earn you an additional pie and winning by 60 minutes or more would earn you two additional pies!

I was not taking anything for granted and I begin to obsess about this challenge. I dedicated serious time to training. I worked hard to drop extra pounds, often going to the gym for 2-3 hours, where I would alternate between running, walking on the treadmill at maximum incline, and using the stair climber at the fastest speed I could stomach.  They were brutal workouts, but I knew they would give me the edge in the event Pete kept it close.

As was our custom, we visited the north rim the night before the hike, also taking some photos at the restaurant on the north rim, where we enjoyed dinner as much as we could. As you can see, we had an even bigger crew this time around, including Bita, Pete, Jose (Pete's friend who was a mixed martial artist and looked tough as nails), Nadine Morton (never to be underestimated in athletic endeavors), Sonny Bonaventure, Mark Cichoski & his two sons, Gayland Seaberry, Robert O'Brien, Lynn Avants, and David Lopez-Negrete. Scott and Ashley Hinckley volunteered to be our drivers from the north to the south rim.  I think they had the most thankless job of all, but they claimed to be relieved that they didn't have to do the 25 mile hike with us!

I didn't sleep particularly well the night before, anxious about what was to come. Despite my lack of sleep, the moment of truth had arrived and Pete and I squared up before heading down into the canyon. As you can tell by the photos, it was still pretty dark at the start and we need headlamps to find our way. It was also cold enough at the start for winter hats and gloves, as least for me. Pete had more insulation and thus generated more heat, so he was fine with a baseball cap and no gloves. Savage!

My plan was to walk the downhill, run the relatively flat portions in the canyon, and give whatever I had left on the climb up the South Rim. I would be all business on this venture, stopping as infrequently as possible and not taking any photos on the hike itself. ​Winning was my only objective and I had taken plenty of photos on the two previous occasions anyhow. I would be relentlessly focused. This again meant I would mostly be going it alone, but I felt comfortable enough with the course that I wasn't too worried about it.

My plan was immediately foiled when Pete and Jose started jogging right out the gate, on the treacherous and steep downhill, in the dark. Although I didn't relish the idea of jogging the downhill, I was worried about letting Pete and Jose get too far in front of me. So, cursing them under my breath, I began to jog as well. They opened up a pretty sizeable lead on me, but I was content because this was definitely a marathon (almost literally) so I had plenty of time to close the distance gap. Everybody else in our group acted like rational human beings and took the downhill nice and easy, intending to enjoy the hike while Pete, Jose, and I pushed ourselves to the limit.

Thankfully, I didn't have any issues on the downhill, though there were some slick spots along the way. When I arrived at some decently flat parts after the downhill, I jogged those as well.  About 14 miles into the hike, I arrived at Phantom Ranch. I didn't expect to do much more than fill up my water there. My plan was reinforced when I saw Pete and Jose resting at a picnic table at Phantom Ranch, with their shoes and socks off. They looked spent. I seized the chance to pull ahead and put some distance between us. I said hello to them, exchanging small talk for a few minutes, and then took off. They looked surprised as they sat there barefoot watching me head out. I smirked and picked up my pace, thinking this might be my best chance to crush their spirits. 

I pushed on relentlessly as the uphill climb began in earnest. I kept turning back to look behind me, but I didn't see any sign of them. About 2-3 miles from the end of the hike, I ran into serious trouble. My non-stop effort and the heat hot gotten to me. I felt nauseous and dizzy. I had a hard time staying on my feet. I began to drive heave. I found a shady spot and sat down, unable to move, feeling like my death was imminent and, in fact, welcoming it in that moment. This was full on heat exhaustion. I couldn't believe it. I would need to be life flighted out so close to the end of the hike. How embarrassing! And how much would this helicopter ride cost anyway? This is what I was thinking as I continued to sit there and pour water over my head in an attempt to cool down and get back on track.

I had been sitting there for maybe 5-10 minutes when, much to my surprise and my horror, I saw one of our group members quickly approaching. It wasn't Pete. And it wasn't Jose. It was Nadine. And she looked as fresh as she did at the beginning of the hike. I couldn't believe it! She had been privy to all of the trash talking Pete and I had been doing the night before and here she was kicking both of our butts as the finish line neared. I remember she looked down at me, said hello, and just kept going, with what I believed to be an unusually large smile on her face as she looked back at me. Now I was utterly defeated. I dropped my head even lower.

About 10 minutes later, with a jolt, life came back to me. I felt fresh and rejuvenated. I got a second wind. It was go time. I was determined to catch Nadine, going as fast as I could, but she never let up and I never caught up. So it was second place for me in a very respectable 7 hours, 45 minutes, nearly 3 hours faster than my prior best time. I was just so happy to have made it out alive. And we had actually finished so quickly that our drivers from the north rim had not yet arrived, so we had some time to hang out and reflect on what we had just accomplished. 

​It was quite awhile before Jose emerged in third place. Pete was even further back. My margin of victory earned me not 1, not 2, but 3 entire pies!!!! Maybe my near death experience was worth it after all. A pie fest was headed my way!

True to my word, I did not take any photos while in the canyon, but I did take some at the south rim, as members of our crew periodically emerged from the canyon, highly relieved to finally be done with this adventure.

Pine Country Restaurant never tasted so good! It really is phenomenal to check in at the hotel, take an ice bath for your aching and sore legs, follow that up with a hot shower, put on some clean clothes, and then stuff your face with some down home cooking until you can't eat anymore. The pies were so gigantic that I really didn't want 3 of them because I thought they would go to waste. I  love pie, but even I have my limits. So Pete bought me one pie (strawberry cream) and I negotiated the other two for a couple of lunches down the road. Always nice to bank some IOU lunches!

And so ended the third Rim to Rim effort. Little did I know that I would soon get involved in politics and that would consume a lot of my free time. It would be nearly 8 years before I would have a chance to get back to the Grand Canyon, but the itch would always be there.

I had been saying for quite some time that I wanted to hike the Grand Canyon again, except I wanted to hike down the south rim to Phantom Ranch and then hike back up the south rim. The advantage to this was that you could do it yourself. It did not require the logistical planning of the north rim to south rim hike. And you could just make Williams, AZ your home base, both before and after the hike. 

Well, it seemed like nearly 8 years was a long enough hiatus so I began to plan for this effort as 2019 turned into 2020. I settled on a plan. I would park in between the two south rim trails, Bright Angel and South Kaibab. I would then walk over to the Bright Angel trailhead, about 2.5 miles away, to start the hike. I would go down the Bright Angel trail (which I had never done before - I had only gone up it) and then, once I reached Phantom Ranch, I would turn around and head back up the South Kaibab trail (which I had never done before in either direction). When I arrived at the top, I would have a 2.5 mile walk back to my car. Ideally, I would have parked my car at the South Kaibab trailhead so it would be there when I finished, but there is no public parking at the South Kaibab trailhead, so that was not an option. And I didn't really want to deal with the shuttle bus system, so I just decided to park in between.  I was hoping that the hike would amount to 1,000 flights of stairs because that was a goal that I had not yet achieved on my Fitbit - 1,000 flights in one day. I didn't intend to run at all. Instead, I would power hike the whole time. And I would take a lot of photos because it had been awhile since I had been down there.

I decided to stay in Williams and enjoy some pie the day before the hike. I parked my car at the main visitor's center right around 6am. It was still dark, but the sun was just starting to rise. It was cold enough that I needed to wear a winter hat and gloves at the start. The walk along the rim trail was nice because it was relatively flat. Going down Bright Angel was interesting because I had only gone up that trail before, on three previous occasions. The weather was pretty nice, but it was cloudy and it started to rain on my way down. I felt fortunate that I thought ahead and had packed a rain jacket as well as a number of ziplock bags to protect my electronics. There was still some snow on the trail, which resulted in some very slick and muddy spots on the descent. Luckily, I had brought hiking poles, which was a first for me, as I usually hike without them. Without the poles, I might have slipped right off the cliff, to my death. So I was glad I brought them along. They provided needed stability on the way down.

It took me longer to cover the 10 miles to Phantom Ranch than I had anticipated. I stopped there just long enough to fill up my Camelback and make small talk with a couple other hikers. Then I headed back up the South Kaibab Trail. This was exciting because I had never been on this trail at all before. We were generally hesitant to take that trail when doing the rim to rim because it has the same elevation as Bright Angel over a shorter distance and there isn't much in the way of water either. Thankfully, the weather was nice enough that I wasn't too worried about staying hydrated so this was the perfect time to try this trail. The views from South Kaibab are stunning. I highly recommend checking it out if you haven't already.

This is my favorite sign in the Grand Canyon. I always read it, laugh to myself, and keep going. I was in the midst of doing precisely what this sign recommended you not do. That being said, you should NOT attempt to do this in one effort unless you are in really good shape and are used to this kind of demanding physical activity. It is really grueling. 

I powered hiked up the South Kaibab trail without too much trouble, though I did slip in the mud a couple of times. The hiking poles helped, but did not entirely save me from getting up close and personal with the mud in a way I didn't much appreciate. I was able to get some amazing photos as the clouds and fog rolled in as I got closer to the top of the south rim. I was so relieved to finally be done climbing, but I still had a 2.5 mile walk back to my car, which wasn't really at the top of my priority list at that moment. But I just kept moving. When all was said and done, my journey took nearly 11 hours and covered around 25 miles of distance and over 5,000 feet of elevation gain and loss, which did NOT amount to anywhere close to 1,000 flights of stairs. That would have to wait for another day, another challenge...

I took a lot of photos, both with my iPhone and with an actual camera that I brought with me. Who does that anymore?!?! Here are the photos from my walk from my car to the Bright Angel trailhead. It was dark when I started and it was amazing to be able to slowly see the vastness of the canyon as the sun rose.

Here are the photos from the Bright Angel trailhead down to Phantom Ranch:

Here are the photos of the mighty Colorado River down in the basin:

Here are the photos from Phantom Ranch up the South Kaibab trailhead. Amazing clouds and fog. 

And a few videos from the journey:

​I knew my shoes would be wrecked on this hike, so I wore a pair that were close to the end of their useful life, intending to toss them in the garbage when I arrived back at my car. That is precisely what I did. Here is what they looked like right before I tossed them into a dumpster:

When I made it back to Williams, more pie was a must. The next morning, I purchased an entire pie to bring back to my office. They were most appreciative! It was the least I could do for those who pick up the slack in my absence. 

The presentation of the pie:

I decided to finally give it a try - the vaunted rim to rim to rim! I had been thinking about doing this hike for quite some time, but I was not in good enough shape to really even think about it, let alone actually attempt it. But I had been running enough as of late that I felt like I had a chance to complete it. Deep down inside, I had real doubts about whether I could do it, but I was determined to give it my best shot. I was going to make it even more difficult by using all three trails on the attempt. Here is the plan I devised:

1. Park my car at the Bright Angel trailhead at the South Rim around 4am;
2. Run from there to the South Kaibab trailhead via the rim trail, about 5 miles away;
3. Head down South Kaibab trail, cross the Colorado River and climb the North Kaibab trail to the North Rim, a journey of about 22 miles, 5,000 feet of elevation loss, and 6,000 feet of elevation gain;
4. Turn around, head back down the North Kaibab trail, cross the Colorado River, and take the Bright Angel trail back to my car, which would amount to about 25 miles, 6,000 feet of elevation loss, and 5,000 feet of elevation gain.

So, the total contemplated journey would be 50+ miles, 11,000 feet of elevation loss, and 11,000 feet of elevation gain. I anticipated that it would take me about 20 hours to complete this adventure, which meant a lot of it would be in the dark. 

I recently bought a new hydration pack that I intended to use for this effort. I made the mistake of not packing it before I got to Williams, AZ. Once I arrived there and started packing it at the hotel the night before, I realized that at least half of the items I intended to pack were not going to fit in my pack. That was a bad feeling and a serious planning failure. Always give the pack a test run before using it! So I scraped many of the items I was going to bring, including water filtration, an extra shirt, winter hat and gloves, a portable charger,  and a lot of the food that I had intended to carry with me. I had to make due with the space I had.

My alarm went off at 2:30am. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, got dressed and headed out. The temperature was in the high 30's. I arrived at the Grand Canyon right on time, about 3:45am. As I collected my gear and turned on my headlamp, I was surprised to see another person park close to me and emerge from his car. He was going to do the rim to rim, but camp down in the basin before heading up the north rim. He wanted to get an early start. He was a bit incredulous when I told him what I was intending to do. I can't say I blamed him. It was definitely ambitious if not flat out stupid.

And so I began my jog to the South Kaibab trailhead. It was very dark. I saw a burro on the side of the path and heard a number of critters scurrying around me, but I just pressed on, not stopping to find out what lurked in the night. When I finally arrived at the South Kaibab trailhead, the sun was just starting to rise. But I had a problem. My hiking poles are the telescoping variety and I had been running with them collapsed down, as I didn't need them for the rim trail. But somewhere along the way, one of the latches had become dislodged and completely fallen off. This basically rendered one of my poles completely useless and I hadn't even started the descent. Groovy. Another unanticipated hurdle.

I made pretty quick work of the South Kaibab trail, even with one hiking pole. I was treated to an amazing sunrise:

And here is a video of that amazing sunrise:

I was also passed by a pack of burros carrying supplies down to Phantom Ranch because that is how they get supplies down there. It was something to behold. And a little bit startling in the dark.

It was mostly smooth sailing from Phantom Ranch. I made sure to talk with as many other hikers as I could. I was genuinely interested in whether they had ever hiked the Grand Canyon before, what their plans were, and what they thought so far. I had some great conversations and, of course, people were a bit incredulous when they saw me running or asked me what I was planning to do that day. I probably talked with about 50 people or so.

I was still carrying my one useless hiking pole. I didn't want to carry it the whole way. So I found a place to hide it at one of the rest areas on the trail. I would collect it on my way back, but would spare myself from having to carry it the whole way. 

Keep in mind that I had never hiked up the north rim before and it was a full 1,000 feet higher than the south rim. I underestimated it. And it was very hot on the way up. I was exposed and there was no escaping the sun. I ended up doing the most brutal part of the climb around noon. The switchbacks were just relentless and seemed to literally go on forever. I don't know how hot it really was (probably high 90s), but it felt like it was 110 degrees. 

About three miles from the top, I started thinking about turning around. I was beginning to feel heat exhaustion, much like I had previously when I overexerted myself on the rim to rim. I began to worry that, even if I reached the north rim, I wouldn't have it in me to turn around and go back down. I started to think about how much it might cost to catch a ride share from the north rim to the south rim! Eventually, beaten down from the sun and heat, I had to stop and seek shade, which I found in a small rock cove. I took off my pack and drank a lot of water. After about 10 minutes, I pressed on, making it to the final water station before the last 1.7 miles to the top. There, I took a long time, probably 20-30 minutes, filling up my water, resting, and catching up with other hikers who were also resting. The rest and human interaction did me good. I got a second wind and powered through the last 1.7 miles to the top.

I arrived at the north rim at 2:50pm. So it had taken me 9 hours and 50 minutes from the time I started to descend at South Kaibab. Once I arrived there, I turned my phone on and sent text messages to a few loves ones and friends to let them know I was at the north rim and heading back into the canyon. I also filled up my water, took down an energy bar, splashed water on my face, and started jogging back down. The looks on the faces of the people I had passed on the way up were priceless. One young lady asked me if I had forgotten something down there. Another family cheered me on as I ran by. I was back in business and ready for the long hours ahead. But I had arrived at the north rim a couple hours later than I had anticipated, meaning the sun was going to set sooner in my journey than I had wanted. The darkness would come earlier than I anticipated and that made me plenty nervous. I tried to pick up my pace, but everything was hurting, especially my feet. I just focused on the next step and staying hydrated.

I arrived back at the rest stop where I hid my hiking pole. I went to grab it...and it was gone! I guess I didn't hide it very well after all. I don't know who found it and what they did with it but, to be honest, I wasn't that sad that I didn't have to carry it with me the rest of the way. I would gladly but a replacement one when I got home.

The 14 miles back to Phantom Ranch took me about 6 hours, so I didn't arrive there until 9:05pm. It had already been dark for 2 hours. And when I say dark, I mean DARK! My headlamp provided a small radius of light and nothing more. When I turned my headlamp off and looked up, I was amazed by the number of stars that I saw. It seemed like millions of stars. Here are some photos/videos that I took before it got dark out and photos became impossible:

The Grand Canyon changes a lot at night. That which is dormant and hidden in the day comes out at night. I was mostly focused on the trail to make sure that I didn't lose my footing and that my weary feet didn't kick any more rocks because that had become very very painful. I saw scorpions, tarantulas, frogs, and other insects. A couple of rodent looking critters scurried by me, but I am not really sure what they were. Rats?!?!  My headlamp attracted many bugs and moths...and bats! There were a few times when bats swooped down right in front of me to pick off moths. That was creepy but it was too dark to turn my headlamp off.

When you are fatigued and it is that dark out, your mind starts to play tricks on you. Perhaps you begin to lose touch with reality a bit. The reflection of the light off the rocks makes you see things that aren't really there. I thought I saw all kinds of people and animals that just turned out to be rocks once I got closer. I thought I saw snakes, but they were just leaves or the shadows of them.

I started to freak out a little about what animals might find me down there. So I had an idea. I pulled my phone out and begin to play music out loud. I thought it would alert critters and people that somebody was approaching. And, honestly, I need the extra motivation from some upbeat music. I was really hurting and just wanted to lay down and sleep. The scorpions and other critters dissuaded me from doing that.   

As soon as I turned on my music, I heard something scurrying on the path ahead of me. I looked up and saw a bighorn sheep on the side of the trial. We looked at each other curiously for a moment. It was surreal. But I wasn't sure whether they were aggressive, so I just powered on. I also saw a pack of burros on the side of the trail. They looked at me very curiously. 

Hiking in the Grand Canyon after dark is not ideal. On the plus side, you can't see how high the rim is, so you just take it one step at a time. On the other hand, you have to really concentrate on your footing, as one misstep could leave you injured or even dead. I lost my footing a couple of times and fell, but I made sure to hug the canyon wall so I was never in danger of falling off the cliff. Only one fall was semi serious, where I smashed my hand on a rock. But I powered on. I also had to do some small river crossings around Indian Gardens due to parts of the normal trail being under maintenance. I would love to tell you that I crossed those rivers gracefully, but that would be a lie. I missed a few of the rocks and ended up with soaked shoes and a semi-bruised ego. 

My watch gave up on me with 3 miles still left to go. I really wished I had packed that portable power pack! Luckily, the three mile rest stop where my watch gave out let me know that there were still 3 miles and 2,120 feet of elevation to the top, which took me another 2 hours and 15 minutes. It was a very steep last 3 miles and man was I tired! It took everything in me to just keep moving forward. 

Leaning heavily on my one hiking pole and with some of my favorite music to motivate me until the end, I reached the South Rim at 2:15am, nearly 12 hours after I left the north rim. So that meant I did the north rim to south rim hike faster than I had the very first time I did it in 2011. I didn't see anybody for the last 7 hours of my hike, though I did see a couple heading down the south rim as I reached the top. It was nice to have some human interaction again and they were very impressed by what I had accomplished.

​I don't know that I have ever been so happy to see a sign as I was to see this one:

It was very dark when I emerged from the canyon. I couldn't find my car. Even though I had parked it very close to the trailhead, it was dark. I wondered around aimlessly for about 15 minutes before finally locating it. I had a couple of lemon-lime Gatorades on ice in a small cooler in my car.  I don't know if anything has ever tasted better and more refreshing. 

I couldn't remove my shirt and hat fast enough. They smelled terrible and were stiff from all of the salt I had been sweating out over the last 22 hours. I also took off my shoes and socks and changed into sandals. As I sat there drinking my Gatorade, I felt an immense sense of satisfaction. Despite my exhaustion and the obstacles along the way, I had done it! And I had done it despite the fact that there were moments when I seriously thought of quitting.

I had about an hour drive back to the hotel and, man, was I looking forward to a shower and some sleep. But I encountered one more obstacle on the way out - they were repaving one of the traffic lanes leading in from the main gate. I had to wait 15 minutes for a lead vehicle to arrive to escort me out of the park. Not what I was expecting at 3am, but I took the time to catch up on the ridiculous amount of e-mails, text messages, and voicemails that had accumulated while I was on this adventure. 

The drive back to the hotel was interesting. My mind had become so used to staring at rock walls that my brain began to superimpose the image of a rock wall on the darkness in front of me as a I drove. It was a bit startling and I had to keep reminding myself that the rock wall wasn't really there.  I took the two flights of stairs up to my floor when I arrived at the hotel. That was pure torture. I gripped the handrail so tightly that I thought I might rip it right out of the drywall. 

The shower was every bit as blissful as I imagined. My legs were so dirty that it took an immense amount of scrubbing to remove all the dirt and grime. I slept well for most of the next day, my throbbing legs waking me up on occasion. It would take me a good week to fully recover, but it was totally worth it! And I am already thinking about the next adventure in the Grand Canyon...
​

[Just a note. The fastest known time for a rim to rim to rim, South Kaibab to North Kaibab and back up South Kaibab is a ridiculously fast 5 hours, 55 minutes! That's Jim Walmsley, folks. He is superhuman. Check out his run details here: ​https://www.strava.com/activities/734572575/overview]

Richard Carreon is both a friend and a constituent. Despite being from a different political parties, we have great conversations about how to better our community. I am thankful for his support over the past few years. 

I was chatting with Richard a few months ago about running, blogging, and his love of all things technology, including drones. He suggested that I run the perimeter of my assembly district. He volunteered to crew for me and record parts of the run using his drones. How could I say no to that? Once we decided on a date (September 4th), a cause (Suicide Prevention Awareness Month) and a non-profit to fundraise for (Forgotten Not Gone: https://forgottennotgone.org/), we began to plan in earnest. Richard's company - Line of Sight, Line of Mind - would be a sponsor, as would the Nevada Veterans Association, and my political campaign. 

I started working on the route, using the very nifty route planning feature on Strava. Assembly District 9  is located in southwest Las Vegas and looks like this (in white):

You can't really run the true perimeter of the district because parts of the west and south boundaries are actually in the middle of nowhere in the mountains. Ultimately, I devised a perimeter route that would equate approximately to about a marathon, or 26.2 miles. I had not worked with Richard on a project before. He is former military (Army) and the skills he learned there were certainly on display in his preparation for the event. He produced two very detailed documents in writing: an Operations Planner and a Risk Assessment (examples of each below):

I quickly came to appreciate that this is the kind of stellar work product you will get when you ask an accomplished former military member to help you plan an event. For my part, I crafted turn-by- turn directions, both for myself and the crew. We mostly stuck to this route, with a few changes along the way.

​As the event drew closer, my ever loyal friend and constituent, James Zygadlo, put together this promotional flyer for social media:

James also put together some graphics for me to preload in my Twitter draft folder so that I could more easily provide updates along the route. I didn't end up using all of them, but it was nice to have them ready to go so I could quickly provide updates on the move. Here they are:

Richard and I drove the proposed course a few days before the event to scope it out and resolve any proposed challenges. Of course, we had to meet at one of Assembly District 9's finest donut shops to fuel up for our excursion because you can't go on an empty stomach:

I also made a short video to promote the event on social media:

I was delighted to learn that a few folks from Forgotten Not Gone had agreed to accompany me on the journey. We all met at Parkway Tavern at 5:15am and aimed to take off around 5:45am, just as the sun was rising, which would allow Richard to capture some good drone footage as we headed out. It meant an early alarm clock, but I knew the earlier I started, the earlier I would get done, which was important because the anticipated high temperate that day was well over 100 degrees.

​We ended up taking off just after 6am. James joined me, as did Peter, Kelley, and Clint from Forgotten Not Gone. They, of course, showed up in their awesome bikes, which I knew were sure to draw a lot of attention along the way. We started our journey on old faithful, the 215 beltway path, which I had run so many times before.

Here are some photos from the beginning of our run along the 215 beltway path, all taken by Clint. I don't have many photos of me actually running, so I was thankful for these.

As we excited the 215 beltway, we began to head south:

Our next main stop was a hidden gem in Assembly District 9, a slightly uphill bike/running path between Trilogy and the Summit. (This is the same path where I ran my half-marathon on Day 6 of the Lucky 13 Virtual Ultra Endurance Challenge.) Our arrival there put us at about the 4 mile mark, and provided two hydration stops, one before heading up the bike path, and one on the return of the 2.6 mile roundtrip. Richard's son, Dawnavon, ran part of this stretch with me and Richard had more fun flying the drone to capture some footage.

Our next major stop was at Mesa Park, one of my favorite parks. At this point, we were more than 8 miles in and I still felt pretty good, though I recognized that there were many miles still to go.

I also had a chance to record a short video while at Mesa Park:

Richard broke out one of his drones as well for some advanced level filming:

We left Mesa Park and headed towards Faiss Park, another one of my favorites. I was delighted to learn that my friend, Justin Jones, was going to run with me for most of that segment. He had actually parked at Faiss Park and had run towards us to meet up. Some action shots below:

There is a water park and aquatics center right next to Faiss Park, where we arrived about 11 miles in. Man did that look tempting! We took a bit of a break at Faiss Park, including helping a gentleman with a dead car battery, and then we headed out for the southwest border of the district. At this point, Clint from Forgotten Not Gone had to head back to the start due to some other obligations that day, but Peter and Kelley pressed on, indicating that they wanted to do the whole course with me!

Heading south from Faiss Park, I soon encountered stretches of South Fort Apache road that did not have sidewalks. Rather than run on the very narrow shoulder of the road, I chose to mostly run in the dirt and gravel off the road. Not ideal, but safety comes first! Soon enough, we had reached Blue Diamond road and I began to head east for about a half mile or so, before making the northbound turn. It was starting to get hotter out and the heat was starting to get to me, making the periodic cooling towels and hydration stops more crucial.

The next stop was the house of my friend and constituent, Jeoff Carlson, who lives in a unique part of my district, where the properties are rather large and feel fairly remote. In fact, if he lived across the street, he would be in a neighboring district. It was nice to catch up with Jeoff and his sister for awhile and to change my shirt and shoes. I probably stayed longer than I should have given the increasing temperatures, but it was nice to have a break. With 18 miles in my rearview mirror and the sun and heat to torment me, I knew things would start to get tough from here on out.

As I made the turn back on to northbound Durango, things started to get tough. No matter what I am doing, there is always a wall around the 20 mile mark that you just have to break through. This day would be no different. Your mind is telling you to stop, that you have done enough, but you need to find that override switch in your brain and fight through the desire to stop. Seeing one of my wife's campaign signs provided motivation as well!

When I reached Ikea, I knew the end was near. It was also nice to see my firm's billboard out there on the course. That gave me an extra boost. Although we didn't have many miles to go, I knew these miles would be some of the toughest because northbound Durango was uphill, there was a lot of traffic, and there was zero relief from the sun at this point. I just kept telling myself to stay the course until I could make the westbound turn on Flamingo, where Richard would be waiting with hydration, but it wasn't easy. I ran out of water about a mile from the turn, but just toughed it out, knowing the end was near. Peter and Kelley remained troopers, never complaining about the slow speed (for them) or having to deal with heavy traffic on main roads.

As predicted, the last couple miles northbound on Durango, before turning west on Flamingo, were tough. It was definitely the hardest part of the run for me. I took one last video while on the run. I think you can hear the fatigue in my voice. 

The Forgotten Not gone bikes drew a lot of attention at the gas station which served as our final hydration stop. Many customers stopped to ask questions and I think they recruited another veteran or two to come ride with them in the future. That made my heart leap with joy because they are doing such great work in the community!

Richard put together this pretty awesome video of our effort. It includes many photos and the really cool drone footage along the route.

I am proud that we were able to raise nearly $500 for Forgotten Not Gone. They are doing important work and it is imperative that they be able to reach as many veterans as they can. Thank you to all those who donated, including Sally Yeager, Jim Davis, Brian Reeder, Felicia Ortiz, and Bita Yeager. If this journey at all inspired you, you can still donate at their website. No amount is too small to make a difference: ​https://forgottennotgone.org/

PS: If you thought Richard would just leave things alone once we finished, you would be wrong. There was, of course, an After Action Report/Improvement Plan to make sure we learned from any mistakes for future endeavors of this nature. You have to give the man credit for being thorough!!

I happened to be in Northern Nevada. Because the weather was significantly cooler than in Las Vegas, I made a last minute decision to kick off the challenge on the morning of June 10th, a day earlier than I had intended. I thought it would be worthwhile in the long run to at least run one in cooler weather.

I had to overcome a few obstacles. First, the day before (June 9) was primary election day in Nevada. Although I was not on the ballot, many of my friends and legislative colleagues were and the election results were majorly delayed, so I didn't hit the sack until almost 2am and even then I did not sleep well. I kept waking up wanting to check the latest results, which were supposed to be updated on a periodic basis. I was exhausted when I woke up.

Second, I may have consumed a few cold Belching Beaver Peanut Butter Milk Stouts (one of my favorites) the night before while waiting for election results so that was less than ideal for an early morning run.  In my defense, I consumed them BEFORE I decided to run a half-marathon the next morning. And I stopped consuming and switched to water once I decided to run. I also didn't have much for dinner besides a couple of leftover donuts from Donuts to Go in Carson City, also one of my favorites. I did, however, take down an entire pepperoni pizza from the Union in Carson City for lunch, so I was relatively carb loaded, despite being hungry.

Lastly, I had not packed any running shoes for my trip because I intended to take a few days off from training. I did, however, have an extra pair of snazzy, brand new Saucony Dunkin' Donuts Boston Marathon shoes in my legislative office in Carson City. I had planned to take them back with me to Las Vegas, break them in, and start using them. Once I decided to run the half in the morning, I knew I had to break them in or they would be torture to run in. I walked around my hotel room as much as possible, but they weren't properly broken in when I started the next morning. To make matters worse, I had not brought any of my Injinji toe socks so I had to go with the standard mitten socks, increasing the risk of blisters, which could quickly derail my planned 13 day effort. I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

I hit the pavement at 5:44am with the temperature a blissful 54 degrees. I headed east from Grand Sierra Resort until I found a really nice path that led into Sparks and followed the beautiful Truckee River. I believe it is called the Truckee River Bike Path. I had it mostly to myself and the run was peaceful and flat, with only 141 feet of elevation, the least amount of elevation of the entire series. My goal pace was between 11 and 12 minutes miles, not just for day 1, but for the entire 13 days. But I felt great despite being tired. So I finished  in 2:04:27, averaging 9:29 per mile. And no blisters!. The weather was so mild that I didn't need to hydrate at all during the run, which is unusual for 13+ miles.

With half-marathon number 1 in the books, I headed back to Las Vegas and hotter weather for the remaining 12 half-marathons, crossing my fingers that I could get it done this time.
​

Back to Las Vegas and the heat.  Fortunately, my legs weren't feeling too bad when I woke up on the morning of day 2. I set out from my house at 5:44am, with the temperature already 73 degrees, nearly 20 degrees hotter than the day before. I told myself I would take this one slower and I was true to my word, clocking 2:10:35, averaging 9:58 per mile over 427 feet of elevation. On to day 3.

I knew day 3 would be a mental hurdle because I did not make it through day 3 the first time I attempted this challenge. My legs were definitely sore from logging the combined mileage of a marathon the prior two days. I again set off from my house, starting at 5:40am, opting for a different set of neighborhood roads than I ran the prior day. It was already 76 degrees. I repeatedly told myself I needed to run slower to be able to actually make it to and through day 13. This challenge was a marathon (or, quite literally, 6.5 marathons or 13 half-marathons), not a sprint. I succeeded in slowing down, running 2:12:19 with an average pace of 10:06 per mile over a not too shabby 453 feet of elevation. 

I certainly enjoy the convenience of starting any  run from my front door, but it is challenging to find a flat course in South Summerlin, the part of Las Vegas where I live. Not that 400-500 feet of elevation is overly difficult, but you definitely notice it when fatigue sets in.

I felt good with day 3 behind me but I was plenty nervous about what was still ahead of me because my legs were feeling 3 days of half-marathons. Yet I had 10 more days to go, which amounted to 5 full marathons of distance, or over 131 miles. As I finished day 3, I finally began to appreciate just how difficult this challenge would be. And I wasn't at all certain I could actually do it.

I ran the Union Pacific Trail out in Henderson for Day 4. I previously ran part of this trail and really enjoyed it. My legs were feeling pretty beat up, but the surroundings were nice and it was a very overcast 70 degree morning, which is unusual for the Las Vegas area in June. This trail starts at Acacia Park (which has bathrooms and drinking fountains!) and meanders all the way out past Nevada State College. Part of the trail has a really nice canopy of trees, making for shade and cooler weather. Another bonus is periodic drinking fountains along the way, which eliminates the need to bring water.

I woke up early because this trail is about a 20 minute drive from my house. I was out running by 5:38am. Although I intended to run slower, the unexpected overcast weather made for a faster run. I finished in 2:06:06, with an average pace of 9:38 per mile over 449 feet of elevation, which is pretty much all in the first half of the course, making for a very pleasant second half. I will definitely be back to run this course again, hopefully to take the trail all the way until it ends.

I chose Sunset Park for Day 5. There isn't much shade out there, so I set the alarm even earlier and was out running by 5:13am. I lucked out with another 70 degree morning. I would be lying if I told you I felt good. My legs were sore and my lower back was starting to feel it too. I just wanted to rest and sleep in, but finish lines are not reached from the comfort of one's own bed.

I left the park for a few miles of the run to try to find some shade (I did!) and was delighted to learn that Carl's Donuts was just a stone's throw away from the park. For those that don't know, I LOVE donuts, like really LOVE them. So I determined to stop there afterward and the thought of those delicious delicacies motivated me to get this one done.

I finished in 2:10:27, at an average of 9:57 per mile over a very comfortable 226 feet of elevation. And, yes, the donuts were glorious! First the pain of running, then the pleasure of donuts. Not a bad day 5.

Day 6 began 3 straight days of self-inflicted torture. Sometimes I can be a glutton for punishment. I am not sure why, but I opted to run the 215 beltway path heading west, starting at Parkway Tavern, just a couple miles from my house. I have run this path dozens of times and I often regret it. There is no shade and the first 6+ miles from the start are all uphill. There are no drinking fountains or bathrooms along the way.

Because of the heat, I was running at 5:02am. The temperature was already 73 degrees. I didn't want to wear a backpack so I opted for a waist belt with two nine ounce bottles. The belt started to slip down around mile 4 and, for some reason, it really pissed me off. I tightened it as much as possible, but it still wouldn't stay in place. I ripped it off in frustration and hid it on the side of the path, grabbing one of the bottles to take with me, resolving to grab the other on the way down. My anger made me run faster, much faster than I wanted to, much faster than I should have. I was running mad, letting my emotions get the best of me. It happens to the best of us.

As bad as the first half of the path is, the second half is pretty damn great because it is almost all downhill. I decided to open it up and see what I could do. It really hurt. I was cursing at myself by mile 10 because my legs were on fire,  I was overheating, and I just wanted to quit. But I didn't. 

I finished in 1:57:13, average 8:57 per mile over 607 feet of elevation. I was beat, not even willing to go back for the gear I had left behind (it would be several days before I retrieved it, somewhat surprised it was right where I left it). So what did I do? I rewarded myself with Pinkbox Donuts of course, all the while resolving to stay off the 215 beltway path for awhile. 

At that point, my personal record for the half-marathon was 1:50:27, at the Saints & Sinners Half Marathon in February 2020 on an entirely downhill, very fast course out in Boulder City, Nevada. I had  run 3 or 4 other half-marathons in under 2 hours, but those were years ago when I was in very good shape.  I knew I would likely regret such a taxing effort a mere 6 days into this 13 day adventure. The tasty donuts took my mind off of what was still ahead of me, but I was right. I definitely regretted running that fast the next day.

I decided to start waking up earlier to beat the heat and the sun, which was taxing me in a serious way. The sun rose around 5:15am in Las Vegas at this time of year. I was out running on day 7 by 4:44am and it was already a frustratingly balmy 80 degrees. My legs were totally shot from the prior day's effort, but I chose more torture in the form of a  bike path named Stardust Drive. It is a paved path between two very exclusive housing communities that heads towards the mountains for 1.3 miles, where it turns into dirt. I had run the path many times before, but I would just turn around and run downhill when I reached the dirt path, for a roundtrip of 2.6 miles on the pavement.

It would take 5 laps to make a half-marathon. I had done 5 laps once before and made a mental note to never do it again. Yet, here I was. Stardust Drive is very popular for bikers and it is not unusual to see dozens of cars in the very small parking area where the path begins. But I was the only one there this early on a Tuesday morning. The path is not lit. It was dark. But it was peaceful too. It was nice to be out running before the sun made asserted its dominance.

I don't really enjoy hills, but they motivate me. I appreciate the challenge of the uphill and the reward of the downhill.  I ran hard. Harder than I should have, clocking in a 1:56:26 effort, for an average of 8:53 per mile over 791 feet of elevation. This was the most elevation I would run over the 13 days.

One bonus was that I ran into a friend, Dan Musgrove, who was biking on the path. It was nice to catch up with him for a few minutes as I finished up. He offered words of motivation and encouragement, having run quite a bit when he was younger.  I rewarded my exhausted body with Glaze Donuts. They were as amazing as they look. As I savored the last one, I contemplated what the next day would bring. Anticipation. And terror. But mostly terror.

I felt like a corpse when I awoke on day 8. Against my better judgment, I chose Las Vegas Boulevard for my run. Not "the Strip" portion that the world had come to know, but a segment further south of the cluster of mega resorts. I started at the M Resort & Casino and headed south at 5:11am, with the temperature reading 72 degrees. I had run this course a couple of times before, but only a few miles out and back. I would be going much further this time. You basically run on the shoulder of a decently busy road, but I would often just run in the road when there wasn't any traffic. The grading was more consistent there and you could more easily avoid the rumble strips.

I must have forgotten both how windy it is out there and how much elevation there is heading south. The wind was brutal and made running much more difficult. I had to ditch my hat before it became a victim of the vicious wind gusts. This was the first run of the series where I listened to music because I knew I would need the extra motivation. Music was both good and bad. Good because it took my mind off of how much my body was hurting. Bad because it caused me to run faster than I intended to. 

At the turnaround point, out past Sloan, Nevada, I decided I just wanted to be done so I picked up the pace. The wind was now at my back, but the sun was also now directly in my face, so I started to quite literally heat up. I actually relished when big rigs drove towards and past me because they at least created some artificial wind to cool me down (though I had to hold on to my hat to prevent it from flying away).

Over the next 6+ miles, I hit several walls, but just kept going and luckily broke through them all. It was a great overall effort, with a time of 1:54:03, an average pace of 8:42 per mile with 538 feet of elevation. This was the second fastest half-marathon I had ever run in my life. My last mile was 7:14 (tied for the fastest of the whole series) and I felt pain and fatigue every step of it. Without the upbeat music, there is no way I would have run that fast.

​I was now past the halfway point of the challenge and felt both hopeful and dreadful at the same time.

I felt destroyed and demoralized when I woke up the morning of day 9. Running was the last thing I wanted to do, let alone running 13.1 miles. My body had gotten to the point where I didn't need to set an alarm. I would just wake up when it was time to run. My body must have known the pain was imminent and just wanted to get it over with. In fact, I never woke up to my alarm any of the entire 13 days, which is really crazy because I was getting up very early and I wasn't getting a lot of sleep, probably averaging between 4 and 5 hours a night.

I chose to run the Pitman Wash path in Henderson. I had never run it before, but had heard good things about it. It is 4 miles long, with a nice parking lot at Pecos Legacy Park close to the halfway point.  I was out there running by 4:44am. The mercury read 75 degrees. Had I wanted to run fast, I don't think my body would have cooperated. So I took it as slow as I could tolerate and clocked in at 2:14:11, which was 10:14 per mile over 364 feet of elevation. It would be my slowest half marathon of the 13 days, but boy did I need it.

Mile 9 is always a bit of a mental hurdle for me in the half-marathon because, on the one hand, I have run 9 miles already, which represents nearly 70% of the race but, on the other hand, I still have 4 to go and I am usually quite fatigued at that point. I felt the same way about this challenge. It felt great to have 9 half-marathons (nearly 118 miles) under my belt, but I still had 4 more (52.4 miles) to go. I had to find a way to break through the wall. To make matters worse, the rest of my day was punctuated with muscle spasms in both hamstrings. They were threatening to seize up but thankfully never did, at least not for more than a second or two. I tried to stay off the stairs at my house. When I did have to use them, I held on to the handrail for dear life, like a frail old man (which was how I felt at the moment).

I woke up exhausted and emotional, not wanting to put my running shoes on, but knowing that I could not give up now. I headed out to the M Resort again, where I would catch the St. Rose Parkway Trail, another that I had only heard about but not yet run. I would need to add a bit of distance to make a half-marathon, so I caught the Amargosa Trail heading east at the end of the St. Rose Parkway Trial, before turning around at the 6.55 mile mark.

I was running by 4:50am. The temperature was a very nice 66 degrees. It was difficult to get started and my first mile was the slowest of the entire series: 10:48. My legs just did not want to cooperate. It was going to be a long morning. Two things of note. One, a bird pooped on my backpack. Second, not many folks know there is a Lion Habitat out in that part of Las Vegas. This is where the lions that used to reside at the MGM Grand on the Strip now live. I heard you can hear the lions roaring, but I doubted that to be true. So I took a detour to find out for myself. YES, you can hear them roaring and it is amazing (video below)!

The sunrise was utterly spectacular and I had a chance to see a new Las Vegas Raiders facility as well. There are also various wildlife sculptures along the path. I enjoyed it and will definitely be back for a run out here again in the near future.

My time was 2:10:48, with an average mile of 9:59 over a modest 279 feet of elevation. I was now done with day 10, but still had three more to go. Could I do it? Yes, I believed I could. But I shuttered to think too much about how much it was going to hurt. 

The highlight of this run was definitely hearing the roar of the lions at dawn. Be sure to turn up your volume for the video.

The temperature was beginning to seriously heat up in Las Vegas, with highs of 105-108 degrees in the forecast for the last three days of the Lucky 13. I had to get up earlier. To be honest, I was getting pretty tired of putting on sunscreen and thought it might be nice to run early enough where I didn't have to. I was out running at 3:18am, when the temperature was already 79 degrees. My body felt like it had been in a rather serious car accident. My head was cloudy and hurting. I was in desperate need of a day off, but my day off would not be today. Off I went.

I chose a course close to my house because I was tired of driving 20+ minutes to start running. I parked at RC Willey, a furniture store a few miles away, and covered the first half mile of my run by doing a loop in their parking lot. I banked that information for later because the loop was almost like a track, just twice the length, and was relatively flat.

I didn't have a set course in mind after that, just hitting some of the local roads. As I passed Parkway Tavern, I saw folks leaving the bar to head home. We have no last call in Las Vegas so people are often out late, especially on Friday nights. It seemed odd to see them leaving the bar and they looked at me oddly as I ran by. I was also surprised to see a bicyclist on the 215 pathway at 3:30am. He had a light on his bike, but I wasn't wearing a light and he looked shocked to see me as we passed within a few feet of each other. Kudos to him for getting his ride in so early!

About 4 miles in, my stomach started to become upset. It was rumbling and I felt queasy. This caused me to change my route and run back to my house for a quick bathroom break. These things happen on occasion. I was just happy to not be too far away from my house at that point on my run. There is no worse feeling than being in desperate need of a bathroom with none in sight. 

I finished half-marathon number 11 in 2:12:02, with an average pace of 10:05 per mile over 469 feet of elevation. The good news is that I had just two more days to go. The bad news is that I still had two more days (or 26.2 miles) to go.

I hobbled out of bed very early for my penultimate run because I wanted to be done before sunrise. I again woke up several minutes ahead of my 2:45am alarm. I whispered to myself "Let's go." I headed out my front door at 3:01am. It was 79 degrees. I really enjoy night running. Yes, I worry somewhat about safety and bad drivers, but the risk seems worth the reward of cooler temperatures and the solitude of the night. If you haven't tried a night run, you should. Just be safe about it.

For this run, I headed east on Tropicana Avenue, alternating between the sidewalk and road, depending on the traffic, which got heavier as I got closer to the mega resort casinos. I didn't see many people on the sidewalks at that hour other than a few who looked to be homeless. They seemed intrigued by this random person running at 3am.

The run was all downhill until I hit the halfway point and turned around at Decatur, heading west on Hacienda Avenue. Although the way back was uphill, there was virtually no traffic, which allowed me to run on the road. To say I was hurting would be an understatement. I was dying and wanted nothing more than to quit and catch a ride home. But, of course, I didn't. I just blocked out the pain and discomfort and continued to put one foot in front of the other until the job was done.

I finished in a respectable 2:02:23, for an average pace of 9:21 per mile over 361 feet of elevation. And I beat the sunrise. Just one more day and one more half-marathon to go! The end was in sight. And boy was I relieved. 

Time to finish this thing. I debated between two courses. My initial thought was to try to run the Las Vegas strip, but I knew I would have to go really early to avoid tourists. There are also a lot of stairs leading up and down the pedestrian bridges, so the run would be slow and painful and perhaps more taxing that I could handle. But the photos would be great and perhaps the scenery would be distracting.

The other option was to find a relatively flat course and try to set my personal record for the half-marathon, which would require me to run faster than 1:50:00. I ultimately chose the later for a couple of reasons. First, I am competitive and some of my supporters were encouraging me to run a fast one to close this thing out. I was intrigued by the challenge of that. Two, my friend James Zygadlo noted that you really can't beat the Rock and Roll half-marathon that takes place on the Las Vegas strip so why run the Strip in any other fashion. He was right.

Upon getting out of bed, my legs were throbbing and my lower back really hurt. My calves were on fire. But I did what I had to do because I couldn't quit now, so close to the finish line. I got up, got dressed, put my running shoes on and headed out. I felt sick and nervous in anticipation of the kind of effort I would need to expend to set a personal best. I had butterflies in my stomach the way I sometimes do the morning of a race. Did I have it in me? What if I failed? How good would it feel to just be done?

I recalled the RC Willey parking lot and how it was similar in some ways to a 1/2 mile track. I decided to head there and put in most of the miles in the parking lot, with the final mile and a half planned for the downhill portion of the 215 path, ending at Parkway Tavern. I started running at 3:59am. It was already a brutal 83 degrees. 

I was mindful that it is difficult to set a personal best if you go too slow at the beginning, so I didn't want that to happen. But I definitely started faster than I wanted to. I would need to average 8:20 per mile to set my personal best.  My first mile was 8:04 and the second was 7:57. I had set the tone and would just try to stay at this pace and hope I didn't lose stream in spectacular fashion as the miles wore on. Man, did it hurt. The miles went by slowly but I was able to maintain a pretty consistent pace, my effort level, heart rate, and exhaustion substantially increasing as I racked up the miles.

I took up residence in the pain cave the last few miles, trying my best to just embrace it, knowing it would all be over soon. I don't know that I will ever be able to go back to the RC Willey parking lot without experience some form of PTSD from my excruciating 23 laps there. I also slightly miscalculated the distance so I had to run the last 0.15 back uphill on the 215 path. That was not fun. But you know what? I did it! I clocked in at 01:43:26, an at average pace of 7:53 per mile over 318 feet of elevation. It was the fastest half-marathon of the series by more than 10 minutes and a personal best for me by more than 7 minutes.  And I felt like I earned every second of it.

As I walked the mile and a half back to my car, the sense of accomplishment overwhelmed me and I became very emotional, finally feeling the full weight of the physical strain on my body and the mental strain on my mind. I had done it. And it had been significantly harder than I thought it would be. I also felt a sense of sadness that this was the end of the line for this challenge. Sometimes it is more about the the experience rather than the finish line. You learn to live with the pain and the burden and know you will miss it to some degree. But mostly I felt excited about the opportunity to take a few days off and about eating some breakfast. I felt fortunate that I was able to take on and complete this most difficult endurance challenge.

13 days. 170.3 miles. 5,423 feet of elevation. 26 hours, 54 minutes, and 21 seconds of running. Average pace of 9:29 per mile. Average completion time per half-marathon of 2:04:11. 20,384 calories burned. 1 hell of a ride.

As you might imagine, the week of June 15-21 was a pretty good one for my Fitbit stats (see screenshot below). My Fitbit came out of retirement just for that week to see if I could set a personal record for steps and miles in a week. I did. 

I honestly thought my chances of completing this virtual ultra endurance challenge was 50/50 at best. I was pleased that there were moments throughout where I felt great and seemed to get stronger the further I went. Those were, of course, followed by moments of utter despair and exhaustion. As this ultra progressed, I felt all of those emotions on and off through every single run. I am utterly amazed at what our bodies are capable of and it makes me wonder how many other artificial limitations we place on ourselves. We sometimes sacrifice greatness for comfort. We ought not to do that.

You don't accomplish something like this on your own. There are many people to thank. Thank you to Joshua Eddy and Desert Dash for putting this virtual event on and for personally delivering the t-shirt and finisher medal to my house. Thank you (I think) to Monique McNeil for bringing this race to my attention. Thank you to my wife, Bita, who is literally a saint and not only puts up with but also actively supports my shenanigans. She made sure I was eating enough to power me through each day. And she also tolerated me consistently waking up in the middle of the night to go running. Who does that?

Thank you to all who supported and encouraged me along the way: James Zygadlo, Crystal Martinez, Brian Yeager, Sally Yeager, Sandra Jauregui, Brittany Shipp Walker, Ben Saxe, Dan Musgrove, John Bemis, Diane Thornton, and Pete Eliason. I would not have been able to complete this without all of you. It brought me a lot of joy to sending you the screenshots of the results each morning.

I recently began using Sword hydration and caffeine products (drinksword.com) in addition to my coveted lemon-lime Gatorade. Sword is the real deal. I recommend it. Also, I would not have finished this ultra without daily rolling out of sore and tired muscles, icing my swelling feet, and using biofreeze cream on my neck and lower back. You have to spend time preparing to succeed the next day or you risk failure.

So what challenge is up next? Rest and sleep for sure. And a couple glasses of Johnnie Walker Blue Label. Then we'll see.

Thanks for reading and stay safe out there!

I distinctly remember first learning about the concept of a 24 hour run (covering as many miles as you can in a single 24 hour period) in David Goggins' book, Can't Hurt Me. And I remember thinking how crazy such an event was and that I would never do something so insane. I didn't need that kind of torture in my life. As I began to push my running limits further and further, my friend, James Zygadlo, suggested that I do a 24 hour run. For reasons unknown, I almost immediately agreed, but only if he would agree to be my support crew for the event because I knew I would need help pulling it off. He, of course, agreed on the spot.

My inaugural 24 hour run took place on Saturday, May 16, 2020. I started at midnight and went to midnight so as to maximize the number of steps on my Fitbit in one calendar day because I thought that would be fun. Why? I don't know. More importantly, this effort served as a fundraiser for two wonderful non-profits based in Las Vegas: The Nevada Youth Network (http://nevadayouthnetwork.org/) and Support America's Teachers (https://www.supportamericasteachers.org/). Here are three promotional videos I posted to promote the fundraising effort leading up to the event. The first one is longer and the next two are shorter.

The leaders of our two beneficiary non-profits also recorded promotional videos leading up to the event. Here they are:

​I'm proud to report that we raised a total of $10,000, half going to each non-profit. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) came through with a $5,000 donation and the other $5,000 came from many private donors who either pledged a flat amount to the effort or an amount per mile that I completed. I officially set my goal at 60 miles, but was hoping I could do more. When all was said and done, I covered more than 75 miles!

Initially, we wanted to stage the event at a local track. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic made that impossible and we had little choice but to stage it out of my garage, which in truth made it pretty easy logistically as far a supplies I needed. In addition, we  invited  a few dozen folks who had recently completed a virtual race series that we hosted (the Quarantine Quartet) to come over during the day to receive their medals and put in a few miles with me. Medal distribution was easier to coordinate out of my garage than at a track. 

I tried to get some sleep before the midnight start, but sleeping turned out to be impossible. I was way too amped up, ready to get started on this adventure. I tossed and turned for a few hours before finally giving up on sleep all together. James was going to meet me at midnight to run the first several miles with me. Before he came over, I recorded the following video, thanking UFC for their generous donation.

​What follows is a rundown of the 28 distinct legs I ran during the 24 hour run. Enjoy!

Tony & Lark Fountain from Support America's Teacher came over a few minutes before midnight to send us off on our first leg. Tony was kind enough to make the following video, commemorating the start:

James and I headed out right as the clock struck midnight. It was still 81 degrees outside. We weren't sure exactly how many miles we were going to run together, but we were aiming for somewhere in the range of 8 to 13. It was so nice to finally be out running after all the anticipation leading up to the event. The waiting sometimes ends up being the hardest part.

All told, we covered 11.18 miles at an average pace of 10:56 per mile. We made a mistake that would come back to bite me a couple hours after we finished leg 1. Because we were running at nighttime, we didn't feel the need to bring any water with us or circle back to the house in the middle of the run to hydrate. But it was hot out. And by the time we were about 7 miles in, we were both incredibly thirsty. I had severe cotton-mouth and was desperate for water or Gatorade.

All that being said, I was very grateful that James put in over 11 miles with me to kick off the 24 hour run. He was is the midst of a running streak of around 60 days at the time (and more than 150 days at this point), meaning he had already run earlier in the day. James headed home to try to get some sleep, as he was also planning to put some miles in with me later in the day. I pounded some water and Gatorade and headed out for leg 2. 

The temperature had dropped to a cool 68 degrees and I headed out on my own for a light 1.62 mile jog, at an average pace of 11:13 per mile. Though it was the middle of the night, I ran on well lit streets and just tried to be extra cautious when I saw or heard cars approaching because I know they did not expect to see someone running at that hour. 

My friend, Brittney Shipp Walker, offered to run with me at 3am (what a friend!) so I ran to her house, about a mile and a half from mine.

I arrived a few minutes late, but Brittney was ready to go. She might be as crazy as I am. Her husband, Matt, is a saint as well. Brittney said she had a 7.5 mile course around the neighborhood that she enjoyed, so we headed out. The course had elevation at both the beginning and the end and it was definitely more taxing than I anticipated. Towards the end of the run, the uphill became a bit demoralizing and we walked part of it to catch our breathe. I brought 12 ounces of Gatorade with me, but it wasn't enough. I finished that midway through the run and completed the second half very thirsty and with cotton-mouth. Already, I was having flashbacks to the thirst I experienced during the first leg. I didn't learn my lesson. I was hurting and starting to feel heat exhaustion coming on. Brittney was kind enough to pour me a glass of water when we finally arrived back at her house.  Leg 4 was one of the harder legs, if not the hardest one, of the entire 24 hours. There is no way I could have done it at that hour without Brittney by my side. 

I felt absolutely terrible as I left Brittney's house. I was in full heat exhaustion mode. I had not hydrated enough and my body was shutting down on me. I was unable to run and decided to walk back to my house, where I was to meet my wife, Bita, for a 5:30am run.  As I walked the 1.49 miles back, I honestly did not know if I was going to be able to continue. I felt horrible, struggling to even keep my 17:54 mile walking pace. I began to think about how disappointing it would be to pull the plug a mere 5 hours in, before I even completed a marathon. I thought about all the people who were planning to join me for a run later in the day, how excited they were, and how disappointed they would be to learn that I had already given up. I thought about how embarrassed I would be to have been defeated so early into my effort. I kept walking and hoped for the best. Although certainly nothing to mess around with, I had experienced heat exhaustion before and overcame it on one of my Grand Canyon rim to rim efforts.

Once I got home, I rested for a bit, splashed cold water on my face, and hydrated. And wouldn't you know it, I  began to feel better. Game on! Bita and I headed out a few minutes before 5:30am and were greeted with a beautiful Las Vegas sunrise. We set out for a slow jog, putting in 2.18 miles at a 12:26 mile pace. The good news is that the feeling of death due to the heat exhaustion passed. I was now good to go and mentally prepared myself for the very long day of running ahead of me.

Two good friends, Crystal Martinez and Justin Jones, came over to join me for leg 7, which we kicked off at 6:08am, when most of the rest of the world is just starting to wake up. Crystal brought Crumbl Cookies - breakfast of champions! We headed out for an easy 3.33 miles at an 11:08 pace. Crystal took a nasty spill on the sidewalk, but bounced right back, like the champion she is. I was glad to be beyond the marathon mark for the day but, man, were there a lot of hours and miles ahead of me yet. And I knew the heat wasn't too far off.

I headed out for a two miler on my own at 7:13am. The temperature was still a very cool 71 degrees. I felt very fortunate for that and wanted to get as many miles in as I could before the day got hot and multiplied the effort level. 2.17 miles at an 11:53 mile pace and I had now eclipsed the 30 mile mark.

My friend, Shondra Summers-Armstrong, joined me for a brisk walk for leg 9. We started at 7:52am and the temperature had already risen to 77 degrees.  We finished 2 plus miles at a 17:45 pace, which definitely felt on the fast side of walking, but Shondra wasn't messing around and she kept me motivated! As the sun began to rise even higher, I began to make a distinct effort to locate and move to the shady part of the street whenever possible. The sun was now my enemy and could easily derail this effort. I didn't want that to happen.

Leg 10 was on my own. A little over two miles at 10 minute mile pace. The thermometer read 81 degrees. I was now over 35 miles.

Leg 11 was a good time. Tick Segerblom and Leah Elmquist joined me for 2.18 miles around the block. Leah is an accomplished ultra-runner in her own right and she actually ran to my house from several miles away, yet she seemed fresh as can be. Tick started running recently and had stuck to it. I was delighted that we got to share a couple of miles together. 

Leg 12 ended up being one of the longer legs of the day, but I had the real pleausre of running with two warriors, Josh Tomsheck and Marissa Temple. They are both legit trail runners and Spartan Champions. And they are fast! Leah Elmquist stuck around for this leg as well because she never says no to another run. I made them all promise that we would take it slow, 11-12 minutes miles, but you just can't hold these ones back and we ended up running significantly faster than that, with an average pace of 10:05 per mile over nearly 4 miles.

I have run this course regularly for years, but it was so nice to run it with Marissa, Josh, and Leah. I have to admit that I was fading pretty badly about halfway through, but I just kept repeating my mantra, one step in front of another. My friend, Michael Flores, was able to capture an action shot towards the end of this segment. It is the only photograph of the day that actually captured me running one of the legs.

I was now over 40 miles for the day, but I knew that the hottest part of the day was still ahead of me.

Micheal Flores and Connor Cain from Nevada Youth Network joined me for leg 13. And they brought a dozen donuts, which always makes you welcome at my home. The temperature had climbed to 84 degrees and we decided to embark on a two mile walk around the neighborhood for this leg. The pace was a nice change from running, as I approached the 12 hour mark of this adventure. I was close to being halfway done!

​And, yes, I had a donut (maybe two or three). But, let's be real, you already knew that. And you are surprised I didn't eat five or six of them.

Leg 14 continued with another 2 mile walk in the neighborhood, this time with my good friends Bob and Leinani Yosaitis. Bita also joined us. We tried to find shade, but mostly failed. I enjoyed the walking for sure, but knew that I would need to start running again, as we were now closer to the end than to the beginning. In a way, it was all downhill from here. 

Fueled by Taco Bell (thanks Jeff S.!), James and I knocked out a quick mile plus in the heat for leg 15. Man, it was getting hot out there!

Leg 16 was a solo effort of nearly 2.5 miles at 10:34 mile pace. I tried my best to find shade along the way, but the sun was no longer cooperating. I had the 50 mile mark in my sights, which would constitute a personal record for me, as I had never before covered that many miles in one day.

Tony Fountain returned to my house and we took a quick video of me running past the Support America's Teachers banner, which we put up on the fence in the cul-de-sac outside my house. Not sure I will be starring in a commercial any time soon!

As I headed out for another solo leg of 2+ miles, the temperature had increased another 4 degrees and was now reading 88.  I didn't stray far from my house because I really didn't know how many more miles I had in me at this point and didn't want to get in trouble too far from home. 

At the end of this segment, I had set a new daily record. My 60 mile goal was clearly going to happen and I started to wonder how many miles beyond 60 that I might be able to realistically complete. 

Dr. Katie Dockweiler joined me for leg 18. I really appreciated that because it was hot out and my motivation was waning. Katie always has a smile on her face and is such a positive person. So she got me motivated and we covered a tad over 2 miles. 

Leg 19 was another solo effort of a bit over a mile. My feet were really starting to hurt. Numbness was setting in and I still had nearly 8 hours to go. 

A solo effort on leg 20 brought me over the 55 mile mark. Just 5 more miles to reach my original goal of 60 miles, but I knew I had more than that in me. But how much more?

I had a great time putting in a couple more miles with Sandra Jauregui for leg 21. She had recently started running as well and I had been wanting to run with her. And, again, I really appreciated that she ran with me at one of the hottest times of the day. It would have been too easy to just wait out the heat if I were by myself. 

Leg 22 was the hottest leg of the day, with the mercury cresting the 90 degree mark! But this leg also saw me hit my original goal of 60 miles! I was significantly hurting and really just wanted to call it a day, but I was also very excited that I had almost 6 more hours to see how many more miles I could complete. After all, it was a 24 hour run because you are supposed to keep going for 24 hours. And every mile meant more dollars for the two non-profits. So onward we went!

Due to the temperature and my ever-increasing exhaustion, James and I headed out for a walk around the neighborhood. A lot about this walk reminded me of the 100,000 step challenge that James and I had completed in February 2020. Just the two of us, continuing to put one foot in front of the other, despite the pain and that small but loud voice in our heads that was telling us to just quit. 

The temperature stayed high, but I had 3 companions for leg 24! Leah came back for more punishment (of course) and brought Jason Bass with her this time. Eric Jeng also joined us and was kind enough to bring me a few gel packs to help me get through the rest of the night. We opted for a 2+ mile run around the neighborhood. We settled in at an 11:13 per mile pace. I would like to tell you that I could have run faster, but I just didn't have it in me at this point. I felt like it was an accomplishment to being running at all at this point and my body confirmed that with every step. My companions were gracious, as I am sure they would have liked to have run faster.

Leg  25 turned into a 4 mile walk, but it was a 4 mile walk that nearly broke my spirit. How could a 4 mile walk break your spirit, you ask. Well, when I set out with James and Bita, I had intended for us to cover 2 miles. Because of that, I did not bring any water with me. Bita, however, had other ideas. She did not like my lack of a definite route and instead advocated for this four mile loop, which we had done many times before and was the same one I had done earlier in the day with Josh, Marissa, and Leah. 

Mentally, I was in no shape to do anything other than agree, but not bringing water was a serious mistake. By the time we were two miles in, I was very thirsty (again!) and I was falling behind. I could no longer feel my feet and it took everything in me to just keep walking (and also to bite my tongue about the length of this leg, though my cotton mouth helped with that too).

​To say I was thrilled to finish this leg would be a severe understatement. I was now closer to 70 miles than 65, but I needed to rest before I headed out again. And James and I needed to come up with a game plan for the rest of the night, as my new goal had become 75 miles, which meant I needed to cover a little bit over 6 miles in the remaining 2 hours and 13 minutes. Under ordinary circumstances, that would be a piece of cake. But these were anything but ordinary circumstances and I knew cake was probably not in my future, at least not this night.

Running was becoming increasingly difficult with how much my legs, feet, and lower back were hurting, not to mention the lack of sleep that had resulted in a pretty decent headache. And the dark starts to play tricks on you - you begin to hallucinate - trees and bushes begin to look like nocturnal animals. Our game plan for the next two legs was to complete two laps of a 1.2 mile loop, jogging one lap and walking the other for each leg. Then we intended to close it out by walking until midnight. Here was our first 2.41 mile effort that took me over the 70 mile mark for the day!

And here was our second two loop effort, this one a tad bit slower. As I crested 73.5 miles, we had a few minutes to rest before heading out for the final leg. But we had to make sure to time it right because it would be a shame to reach midnight with fewer than 75 miles. The end was so very close.

At one point in the evening, James and I had tentatively planned to mix a celebratory cocktail and take it with us on the final leg for a Sin City worthy celebration. When James suggested abandoning that plan, I was very relieved because I felt like hell and was worried that even the sniff of an alcoholic drink would actually make me physically sick. To say my feet hurt at this point would perhaps be the understatement of the year. I couldn't feel them at all any more. Where my feet had been, I just felt numbness. I only knew they were still there by looking down at them. Every step of this last walk was a STRUGGLE. But you know what, WE DID IT! 24 hours in the books.

75.16 miles. 16 hours, 30 minutes, and 4 seconds of the 24 hours in motion. Average pace of 13:10 per mile. 2,836 feet of elevation. 10,244 calories burned. 161,581 steps on my Fitbit. One hell of a ride. 

Would I do this again? I'm not saying yes, but, then again, I'm not saying no. Stay tuned.

Special thanks to Bita, James, and Crystal, who did the hard work of crewing me and making sure I stayed on track and well nourished and hydrated. Nobody accomplishes something like this on their own and this effort was no exception. I'm so thankful for all who joined me in putting in some miles. It lifted my spirit. I only completed 18.5 miles solo, meaning I had friends with me for over 57 miles!

I am also grateful to all who supported this effort financially: Ultimate Fighting Championship, Sally Yeager, Brittany Shipp Walker, Michael Chang, Tony Fountain, Courtney McKimmey, John Fudenberg, Daniel Thornton, Eric Jeng, Kris Kolhoss, Rhondell Augustine, Desiree Reed, Itai Dinour, Jennifer Lavasseur, Richard Metzler, Gia Massa, Jeana Taylor, Barbara Gerhardt, Andrew Patterson, Crystal Martinez, Tick Segerblom, Tom Edwards, Shannon O'Toole, Vincent Nava, Paola Armeni, Lesley Cohen, Brad Smith, Alfredo Alonso, Eva Segerblom, Gabriela Dunne, Bita Yeager, Rebecca Paddock, Bob Masters, Justin Jones, Sandra Jauregui, Adam Kramer, Erin McMullen, Shondra Summers-Armstrong, Brett Hagerty, Claudia Ahumada, Misty Grimmer, Bart Patterson, Bob & Leinani Yosaitis, Dan Hamilton, Laura FitzSimmons, Alex Espinoza, Georgene Louis, Marissa Temple, Christy Craig, Anne Pearson, Andrew Ayala, Connor Cain, and Marissa Crook. You guys rock!

Who would voluntarily run 1000 flights of stairs at their house and live stream it to Facebook during a global pandemic?!?!? I would, of course. I have my reasons, none of which are all that good, but here they are anyway.

First, I believed that the most flights of stairs in one day that would earn you a Fitbit badge was 1,000. That number had proved elusive to me up to that point, as I think the most I had achieved in one day was something in the neighborhood of 450+ in one of my Grand Canyon efforts earlier in 2020. 

Second, James Zygadlo had challenge