Up the Ante - Finding My Next Challenge

“Endurance sports are about finding a challenge and conquering it. When the challenge has been conquered, you must raise the bar or get bored.”

            Until recently, I was training for a marathon in February. I know, full well, the challenge involved with running a marathon and I will never diminish or discount it. However, I did not feel the excitement or energy that I usually experience when I start to train for my next goal. I did not feel challenged or pushed with the concept of training for a road marathon. I hadn’t fully realized this until I attended an event recently, called the TrailRunning Film Festival, which showcases short films about trail running, trail runners, and trail running races. During this event, I came to the realization that I needed a bigger challenge and that the marathon I was planning on doing was not enough.

            Enter the 7-Dirty-Thirties. For a long time, I have thought of doing a multi-day running event, but the costs are usually high, and traveling only adds to that. But I live in Phoenix, Arizona and mountains, regional parks, and miles and miles of trails surround me. So why not take advantage of this? I came up with a challenge:

Run 30 miles a day, for 7 days, covering my favorite parks and trails.

            At first I was a little intimidated by my own challenge, and yet that is how the best journeys always start… with a little uncertainty. I brought this idea up to my coach and mother and she was skeptical but intrigued. Although she has trained countless runners and triathletes for all kinds of challenges, this was something new to her and to myself. After some conversations, brainstorming, and reassurances that I could do this, she agreed and approved of my crazy goal.

            I’ve chosen a date and I’ve chosen the locations. On May 11^th, 2015 I will begin with 30 miles in the McDowell Mountains, covering trails within the McDowell Mountain Preserve and the McDowell Mountain Regional Park. I will then tackle the Cave Creek Regional Park, White Tanks Regional Park, South Mountain Park, San Tan Regional Park, Usery Mountain Regional Park, and on the final day, May 17^th, I’ll return to the McDowells and repeat my course there. That’s 210 miles in 7 days and I am overflowing with excitement for it.

            So now, training has begun. After 5 straight days of running, covering 41 miles, I can already tell that it’s going to be difficult. I can tell that I will have to turn recovery into a well-established routine so that I can constantly be ready for the next run and I can tell that my body is going to go through a transformation in the months to come. But this is why I do this: to find out what I’m capable of, to push my limits and improve, to challenge my mind and overcome hardships and to achieve things that I find incredible. This is the spirit of endurance sports and of ultra running. Now, let’s do this!

By Johann Warnholtz

I will be documenting this journey on this blog and on my Facebook page. I welcome anyone who is interested to follow me and be a part of this challenge. I always hope to inspire and motivate people to find their own challenges so please, don’t hesitate to ask questions, get involved, or become a part of this in your own way. Thank you for your support and I look forward to completing this with you.