Our first event of the year was on April 12th. Jason Lester attempted to beat the Guinness World Record for the most miles ran on treadmill in one week. The current record is 513 miles in 7 days. Jasons goal was to run 77 miles a day for 7 days. Going into the week Jason planned on running/walking 19 hours a day. That left 5 hours to take breaks to eat, use the bathroom, stretch out, repair blisters and try to sleep a little. What’s that famous saying Mike Tyson use to say? “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face”. Well that holds true in ultra running too. You can make the best plan to tackle the miles but you don’t really know until you start running.

    Early in the run Jasons feet started to get blisters from the way the treadmill catches the foot as it goes around and around. Luckily we had a crew member Tara that is also an emergency room nurse and knows how to do blisters repair and help reduce future problems. The first 48 hours went smooth and Jason was right on pace with the record. The 3rd day he slowed down a little bit and had to take more breaks to get off of his feet. One thing people don’t consider is the accumulation of break time and stop time, even for just a few extra minutes. If you start taking 5 minute longer breaks and do that 10-12 times per day that adds up very quickly. By the end of the 3rd day he was falling behind the pace but only by about 10 miles. It was still in reach if he could manage to keep moving. By the end of the 4th day and only having about 5-6 hours of sleep total Jason was physically and mentally exhausted. He was behind the record race now by about 40+ miles. Heading into the last 48 hours Jason needed to run 200 miles to beat the record but with his feet bursting through his shoes from being so swollen, blisters everywhere on the top of his feet and sleep deprivation it was going to have to be his strongest performance of his career. With about 36 hours left the team came to the conclusion that he will not beat the record but lets continue to see if he can get in the top 10 furthest distances on a treadmill for 7 days. 

    In the end Jason ended up running 417 miles in 7 days on the treadmill and put him in the top 10. He raised over $8400 for our Runners For Miracles campaign benefiting Mia’s Miracles. He inspired so many people in the gym it was amazing to see people transform right in front of you. Although he didn’t beat the record I would still consider this event a HUGE success. Our goal going in to this event was to beat the record yes but more importantly show people what the human body is capable of. To show people that when your body tells you to quit you can actually go a lot further. It was an amazing experience for all of the crew members and volunteers because something like this is a huge bonding experience and you make lifetime friends. I want to thank Palm Beach Sports Club for all the amazing things they did for us and letting us use the gym. They went above and beyond to make this thing happen and we truly are thankful. 

This isn’t how the story ends. Stay tuned for possible re-attempt later in 2021 🙂

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