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#31: Calendar Club Running Challenge – How & Why I Ran 505 Miles in a Month

Released Monday, 24th August 2020

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#31: Calendar Club Running Challenge – How & Why I Ran 505 Miles in a Month

Monday, 24th August 2020

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“When I push, my body responds…How we talk to ourselves, what we say to ourselves, what we’re thinking, it makes all the difference.”

– Lee Thornquist

On this episode of the Edge of Comfort Podcast I reflect on running 505 miles in July 2020 to complete the Calendar Club running challenge and I answer questions from listeners regarding physicality, mentality, nutrition, and other aspects of the month.

What is the Calendar Club Challenge?

The Calendar Club challenge is where each day of the month, you run the amount of miles that correspond to that day of the month.

This means on July 1st I ran one mile. On July 2nd I ran two miles. July 3rd I ran three miles and so on until 31 miles on July 31st. Successfully completing the challenge means running 496 miles in 31 consecutive days.

Spoiler alert: on the final day I was feeling terrific and more in the zone than ever before, so I ran an extra nine miles to make it 40 miles for the day and 505 miles for the month.

Surprised by my parents, who were at the finish line of my final run on July 31st.

I originally discovered the Calendar Club challenge while following serial entrepreneur and ultramarathon runner Jesse Itzler (Website | IG) when he completed it earlier this year. The grueling physicality, mentality, and tenacity required for the challenge instantly intrigued me.

I didn’t think I would take a shot at the challenge but I just couldn’t get it out of my mind.

Two or three days before July 1st, I decided now was the perfect time for my own attempt. I was furloughed from work, didn’t have any major vacations, and had minimal social obligations due to Covid-19, so I thought, “Why not at least try?”

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Why did I actually want to do the Calendar Club challenge?

My reasons for doing the Calendar Club challenge were three-fold:

> Continue challenging myself in new ways…

I wanted to do something that tested many of the running beliefs I’ve built up about what’s possible and what I can do. No rest days, minimal recovery time, continuous increase in miles, and weekly mileage that was nearly 3.5x more than any week I’ve previously done.

Before this challenge, the most miles I ran in a week was 61, with one or two rest days mixed in the week. Running 31 consecutive days seemed daunting enough, and some of the weekly mileage seemed unfathomable (like the final 7-day stretch of 205 miles).

> Fear…

This challenge honestly scared me more than any other physical challenge I’ve done and I wanted to go towards that fear instead of shying away.

While I was still in good running and endurance shape from my 50-miler in late February, I had no idea if my body would hold up.

I definitely had doubts if I could finish the month but I figured even if I didn’t reach my final goal I would become better through the effort and process of trying, which would be worth it.

> To raise money and awareness for Ahmaud Arbery and his family…

On February 23, 2020 around 1:15pm, 25 year-old Ahmaud Arbery was running near his home in Georgia when he was pursued and shot down by Travis McMichael and his father Gregory McMichael, an ex-cop for the county.

I Run With Maud – The murder of Ahmaud Arbery on February 23, 2020 sparked nationwide outrage, especially after his killers were not arrested for 74 days.

For 74 days, these two men freely walked the streets. After multiple articles by high-profile publications, the release of a video showing the murder, and nationwide outrage, these men were arrested and eventually indicted on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and more.

While I’m glad to see justice done, it’s extremely disturbing that it took 74 days and national attention to arrest these men, and reminded me that we must be better in taking action, raising awareness, and supporting victims of racial injustices throughout the country.

Ahmaud’s story struck a cord with me because running has become a huge part of my life in the past two years. Running teaches me many valuable life lessons, allows me to grow as an individual, and brings me to destinations all throughout the world. I didn’t realize how much of a privilege this is until recently.

Everyone should have the same opportunities without fearing for their life because of the color of their skin, especially when doing something as simple and harmless as running.

So, throughout the month, I was raising money for an existing GoFundMe fundraiser organized by one of Ahmaud’s friends, Akeem Baker.

Stats from the Month

Money raised: $3,441 ($3,100 thru Venmo, $341 thru direct)

I’m no longer accepting Venmo donations, but you can still donate to the ‘I Run with Maud’ GoFundMe organized by Akeem Baker

Number of runs: 50
Total miles: 505 miles (due to the extra nine miles on the last day)
Moving time: 87 hours 51 minutes
Total elevation gain: 5,507 ft

I didn’t cross the halfway point for total mileage in the month (248) until day 22.
Averaged over a marathon each of the last 10 days.

Check out my Strava if you want to see specific runs from the month.

Q&A

The main purpose of this podcast was to answer your questions! I received many submissions through my Instagram and categorized the questions into the following (with examples from each):

Physicality
- How confident were you that you would complete this challenge Were there any doubts and if so, when?
- How did you keep your legs and muscles feeling fresh while increasing mileage?
Mentality
- How did you overcome negative thoughts?
- How do you get past the mental barriers while running when you know you still have so long?
Nutrition
- How much did diet / calorie planning contribute to the success of your body strength?
- How did you fuel your body before, during, and after a run?
Other
- What do you do when you have to take a shit during a 50-mile race?
- What advice would you give to anyone undertaking an extreme physical and mental challenge?

After completing a marathon in one shot on Day 26. Grateful to be done and ready to consume 5,000 calories…still waiting for my Taco Bell sponsorship.

I genuinely enjoyed answering all of your questions so thank you for your submissions and curiosity!

Hopefully you find some value and actionable takeaways. I encourage you to experiment in your own life and figure out what does or doesn’t work for you.

Please reach out through Instagram or email ([email protected]) if you have any follow-ups or questions not addressed in this podcast.

Lessons & Takeaways from the Calendar Club

Explained in greater detail at minute 56:50.

1) You must be relentless in your pursuit of moving forward, no matter how slow/fast or small/big that movement is.

2) The power of the spoken word and positive self talk.

On particularly tough runs, I repeated 1-2 things in my head, usually, “When I push, my body responds” and “My body was designed for this.”

How we talk to ourselves, what we say in our heads or out loud, and what we believe and think makes all the difference between success and failure.

3) If possible, incorporate something greater than yourself into your WHY for your challenge or endeavor.

Scroll down for the full episode show notes and links.

Thank you for listening and enjoy!

Show Notes and Links

Connect with Me – Instagram | Facebook

Introduction. [0:00]
Why I did the Calendar Club running challenge. [3:00]
- Twelve Minutes and a Life – Runner’s World article about Ahmaud Arbery
- ‘I Run With Maud’ GoFundMe page
Fundraising and running stats from the month. [8:42]
Q&As for the July Calendar Club. [12:14]
- Physicality [13:20]
  - Pso-Rite
- Mentality [23:20]
- Nutrition/Diet [36:40]
- Other [44:10]
Three lessons / takeaways from completing the Calendar Club challenge. [56:50]
- Chadd Wright on the Rich Roll Podcast
- Jesse Itzler (Website | Instagram)