On December 20th, 2022, I had the hair-brained idea of running 24 Miles in 24 Hours where I run 1 mile every hour on the hour. I started running at 7 PM Dec. 20th and I ran my last mile at 6 PM Dec. 21st. When I told people of my challenge everyone thought I was crazy and insane. I mean, what kind of person wants to stay up for 24 hours and do nothing but run in a dark, cold, and rainy neighborhood? However, everyone's shock and amazement at my mission was my primary motivation for completing this challenge. I wanted to show everyone that I am capable of anything I set my mind to and that I never give up and finish what I start. During my challenge I considered quitting many times. It was freezing cold, raining, and windy throughout the entire challenge and I was absolutely exhausted all night and day. During the nighttime portion of my challenge, I would take 30-minute naps in between my miles and every time I woke up to go run, I wanted to throw in the towel and go to bed. So, I decided to stop sleeping in between runs no matter how tired I was because I knew that every time I would fall asleep, waking up would become harder and harder. Throughout my entire challenge, I watched The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday special, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and Elf. Watching escapist feel-good Christmas movies was great for keeping my mind awake and forgetting what I was doing awake for short periods of time. They were also the only things keeping from going insane. Another thing that kept me going in the challenge was that every mile I would dedicate it to a friend or group of people, so it felt like I wasn't just running for myself.
Now you may be asking yourself, where did this idea come from? About a year ago, former Olympic runner and now fitness influencer Nick Symmonds attempted this same challenge on his YouTube channel and succeeded. His determination and passion for fitness inspired me to attempt this wild challenge and push beyond my limits. I always viewed this challenge as an individual goal and something that I had to do by myself. I never knew that I would impact so many people through what I did. Everyone coming out during my last mile was very unexpected and greatly appreciated. Everyone's support and excitement for my challenge brought purpose to my challenge and made the pain and suffering all worth it. This challenge taught me the value of finishing what you start and working towards your passion. No matter how crazy people may think you are, when you're passionate and care about what you do, people will take interest and become inspired. Even though I probably will never do this challenge again, it was an experience I will never forget, and I don't regret doing it at all.
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