I get two questions all the time: What do you eat? and Why do I run such long distances? I will try to explain.

What do I eat?

Short answer: As much as possible. With an early afternoon start, I ate breakfast and lunch basically how I usually would. Oatmeal for breakfast and a chicken sandwich for lunch.

On the run I carried:

800 calories of Tailwind (electrolyte drink mix)
800 calories of trail mix
3 packs of peanut butter crackers
800 calories of GU energy chews
600 calories of salami/turkey/cheese rollups

At the crew point at Newfound Gap I ate:

A bowl of ramen noodles
A cup of coffee
An oatmeal cream pie
Fritos
Three pieces of cheese pizza

All this totals to roughly 4000 calories. I typically eat very little solid food while running but the pace of this adventure run and the nearly perfect temperatures made it possible to be able to eat these heavier foods.

WHY?

1- There is a lot to be learned about yourself and others while pushing one's self to a very fatigued state. I make the choice to do these long endeavors. I want to know what my boundaries are; what my limits are. When you think you have reached your limit, physically and mentally, you can always push further. This knowledge/experience extends into daily life and into situations that are completely out of my control. And I think I am a much better person for it.

2 - I have met a lot of fantastic people in the running community. The friendships, adventures and the stories that come from them are memories that I will treasure forever.

3 - God has blessed me physically to be able to do these types of runs. I want to get out and explore all of the beauty that God has created on this planet while I can.

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