The Marathon Before Work Challenge!

One of my running heroes is a man named Davy Crockett in northern Utah. Many years ago I read a blog post about how he wanted to challenge himself to run a marathon before work. The idea sounded crazy and foolish and difficult…..and awesome. (I remember Davy saying that he chose to do this while his wife was out of town so she wouldn’t be able to tell him how insane it was to wake up at 1:00am and run 26.2 miles before work.)

Inspired by Davy, a few years ago I ran my first Marathon Before Work. I decided to do the Marathon Before Work Challenge again recently as part of my training for the upcoming Zion 100.

My soul cried a little bit when my alarm went off at 1:00am. I dutifully put on my shorts, shirt, and Altra Paradigms and headed out the door, passing by my house every 5-6 miles for a drink and some fuel. (“Fuel” is a code word for “M&M’s”.)

I was fortunate to enjoy a bright moon, shooting stars, and perfect weather. The early miles passed by quickly, in large part because I was still half asleep. I enjoyed watching the city slowly come to life as the sunrise approached.

I managed to finish my Marathon Before Work with just enough time to shower, grab some breakfast, then head out the door for work. Many years ago when I heard about Davy, I was intrigued by how he broke the norms of how a marathon can only be done during a race. His approach to running is unconventional. And in my mind, unconventional is awesome.

I posted a challenge on Facebook for others to complete the Marathon Before Work Challenge sometime that week. And Altra was generous enough to donate two pair of shoes for a drawing for anyone who completed the challenge. The people who decided to accept the challenge were:

Avery Frantz (check out his report on the adventure HERE.)

Britta Rottschy

Carol Manwaring and Sunny Ellsworth

Crystal Boren

Dave Stephenson

Drew Adams

Jesus Garcia-Fernandez

Kit Brazier

Scot Weaver

Scott Hughes

Shannon Haus

Sheryl McMillan

And Peter Van Horn

My daughter drew two names to win the shoes from Altra. And the winners were.....Dave Stephenson and Peter Van Horn. Congrats!! (A quick shout out to Altra - I recently picked up the Altra Escalantes from the St. George Running Center. I took them to Death Valley this past weekend and they ROCK! They are light and comfortable and fast. I predict many happy miles together in the future.)

If you want to add something new and unconventional to your running, take the Marathon Before Work Challenge yourself! (And make sure you have some Dr. Pepper or coffee ready for your work day. I promise you’re going to need it.)