It was just last fall when I tried to run my first 100-miler at the Pumpkin Holler Hunnerd in Tahlequah, OK. Unfortunately, I came up short. I ran just under 75 miles before throwing in the towel, and it has haunted me ever since.

 

I'm getting ready to tackle the century distance again. This time it's going to involve running a 1-mile loop for about 30 hours. It's a much flatter route, but I need to knock it out before the weather gets too nasty.

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Why do people run these ridiculous distances? I believe endurance training can be good for the body and soul. I'm a fan of voluntary suffering because the day may come when we don't have a choice in the matter. The untrained fall apart, but those who have survived hard things before already know that this too shall pass. 

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"...we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope..." - Romans 5:3-4​​

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I'm truly convinced that one of the reasons I stopped short of my goal last time is because I failed to surround myself with a support system that would help push me past the pain. So, I'm inviting friends to run portions of the distance side-by-side with me. Specifically, I need some running partners for the last 25 miles. That may mean some just running 1 mile while others run 4 or 5. Any and all running partners are welcome as I attempt to get this 100-miler monkey off my back. (Listen to the emotional recap from my last race.)

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Race weekend is coming up on January  24-25. If you know you'll be in Texoma and want to run, email me at john@getupguys.com.