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Event Report: The Goggin’s Challenge 4x4x48 – 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours

This past weekend I had the privilege to participate in what I would call one of the better challenges I’ve taken on. David Goggins challenges people every year to take on a 48-hour challenge – run, walk or bike 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours – and donate to a cause of their choice. It’s just tough enough to do that an ultra-endurance athlete can have fun with it and take a licking in a short period of time and subtly sadistic enough where a non-experienced ultra-athlete could get themselves in trouble.

For me, the two factors that I saw would give people the most trouble were (1) starting too fast and really struggling at the end because of poor pacing and (2) the lack of sleep which, when you realize you only have about 3 hours between runs, doesn’t give you a lot of sleep time. If you do great at sleep you have it broken into two or three blocks of 3 hour naps per night.

For the pacing, I started slow and kept it pretty even paces. I slowed down on the second night and morning and then really picked up the pace on the last two runs. The sleep was tough on me, but also a known adversary. I slept about three hours the first night and was dragging at times on day two. The second night I slept well during two of the down periods and got about five hours of sleep which made for a much more enjoyable last few runs.

For the running data nerds out there like me, here is the breakdown of the runs. Total of 12 runs, covering 50.2 miles in 9 hours 23 minutes and 39 seconds. The last 10K was definitely a speed increase.

Run 1 Friday 8pm 4 miles 41:08:00
Run 2 Friday midnight 4 miles 45:08:00
Run 3 Saturday 4am 4 miles 44:28:00
Run 4 Saturday 8am 4 miles 39:40:00
Run 5 Saturday noon 4 miles 44:28:00
Run 6 Saturday 4pm 4 miles 44:29:00
Run 7 Saturday 8pm 4 miles 46:45:00
Run 8 Saturday midnight 4 miles 55:10:00
Run 9 Sunday 4am 4 miles 52:07:00
Run 10 Sunday 8am 4 miles 1:07:55
Run 11 Sunday noon 4 miles 38:57:00
Run 12 Sunday 4pm 6.2 miles 44:32:00

 

The highlights included running with Hudson and Kalea, my good friends Kyle Downs and Greg Voyles, as well as setting up the “Sasquatch Challenge: fun run on Sunday morning where we had about 30 people join for a 4-mile run, walk, or bike with the reward of a donut from the local Sasquatch Donut Bakery.

The time with Greg was illuminating. We used to participate in Search and Rescue about a decade ago here in Port Angeles, and I always liked Greg but didn’t get to know him all that well. After less than an hour of running together and hearing his passion for shifting from cycling to running I was so invigorated with new ideas for adventures and opportunities. As we talked about monster races on the radar for each of us, I soon realized that Greg is not just slightly faster than me but has that same drive to push the edge of what’s possible. Another way to put it is, “living as close to feral as possible for a short period of time”.

I also decided to include a donut component overall and had one donut and a glass of Dungeness Valley Creamery milk before each run, which amounted to a gallon of milk and a dozen donuts.

I love doing ultra-races close to home if I can. The beauty of the Pacific Northwest is hard to describe if you’re not from here. The waves kicking up on the rocks as you run along the waterfront, the subtle salty breeze, the mountains in the background. In terms of weather, the rolling clouds that quickly pass by, leaving a rainbow in their wake, the cool crisp morning air that melts away into a warm afternoon.

In terms of activities, I also had the opportunity to cut up some firewood and stack it, take the kids for a bike / scooter ride to my mom’s house, participate in the Sun Fun Color Run in Sequim, WA, go to church, head out to dinner before starting the event with our two neighbors, and as we finished up the event we hosted a half birthday party for our son Hudson who is now on the back half of the year towards being five.

In terms of productivity – I cleared out my email inbox, went shopping, listened to half a dozen podcasts and a few sections of books, and still kept up on my 100 pushups per day that I am doing for 100 days in support of James Lawrence’s 100-day challenge. Noteable lessons came from my favorite podcasts and some recommended by my wife:

For books I am currently listening to Primal Leadership which has gotten me thinking a great deal about the power of emotional intelligence and reveals a great deal personally to how I interact with people that I adventure and live life with.

Last but not least, my neighbor Sean sent me a Beau Miles video “ A Mile and Hour” which ended up being a catalyst for a future adventure I’ll share about later. You never know where the mustard seeds will come from for large ideas to germinate.

This challenge helped remind me that much of the reason I spend so much time by myself and doing ultras is that is where I do my best thinking. I come out of the experiences rejuvenated and ready to pour back into my work, family, and community. I can’t wait for the next one.