I’d like to personally thank all of you who donated their time and money towards this fundraiser, making it a huge success. At the end of the day we were able to pull together a little over $9,000 for Back on My Feet Dallas! I started volunteering with this charity in 2011. I remember sitting at the inaugural breakfast listening to Anne Mahlum's, founder of BOMF, story on how BOMF was born. Her story was inspiring and I knew I wanted to help. The unique program gave an opportunity to a select few of less fortunate homeless people who wanted to earn a chance to make a change in their life. Over the years I've dedicated time to teach financial literacy courses, and I have helped hosted the Rugged and Raw trail run fund raiser event.
The treadmill challenge was held on Friday 12-9-2016 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the American Airlines Center Victory Park in front of the WFAA Studios. The morning started off in the high 20’s / low 30’s and eventually warmed up to the low 40’s. By evening time we were back down into the low 30’s. I have LOTS of respect for the volunteers who were there throughout the day. I know it wasn’t easy for them to stand there in the cold.
I was expecting the run to be a mind numbing experience, but the rotation of different runners throughout the day helped the hours melt away. I was able to stick to my nutrition plan, and I had no problems with my time on the treadmill. I had one toe issue, but after 12 hours on a treadmill I was expecting at least that much to happen.
Treadmill Challenge Fun Facts
· Number of Miles: 72.4
· Number of Steps: 117,400
· Nutrition: 16 Powerbar strawberry banana gel packs, 1 ½ Powerbar peanut butter flavor, 3 2oz packs of almond peanut butter, a hand full of grapes,
· Hydration: Four 24 oz bottles of Powerman perform, water and BASE salt. 2 16 oz bottles of water
· Shoes: Altra One 2.5
· Shorts: 2XU Elite MCS Compression
· Calf Sleeves: 2XU Calf Guard Compression
· Socks: Smartwool low cut trail socks
· Injuries: Blistered right big toe along with toe nail loss.
· Hardest Moments: Starting back up after a 2 to 5 minute bathroom break. The cold weather cooled the body down tightening up the hip flexors.
· Best Moments: Enjoyed the different conversations throughout the day, meeting new people, and having my 9 year old daughter on the treadmill next to me to walk the last five minutes with me.
· Recovery meal: Several slices of pizza
I was able to take several FaceBook live videos as I ran throughout the day. Feel free to friend me if you would like to see them along with other pictures.
The day was all about raising awareness and raising money for BOMF. I’m very fortunate that I was able to use something I love to do to help those who are in need. My side hobby is endurance sports racing. This year I focused on endurance trail racing to help me prep for this treadmill challenge. This wasn’t something I signed up for and just showed up to run. I made sure my body and mind would be ready to handle the 12 hours of being on a treadmill. I had a really good year of events, and this treadmill challenge was the perfect ending to 2016.
Thank you all again for being a part of it!
Happy Holidays!
..ej