From 5 Miles to 100 Miles: 5 Unexpected Ultramarathon Lessons

From 5 Miles to 100 Miles (In 3 Months)

Three months ago, I had never run more than 5 miles—
And that was back in high school.

The first 8 months of 2023?
I probably logged 15–20 miles total, mostly wearing a weighted vest while training for Murph.

And yet last weekend…
I finished a 100-mile ultramarathon in 26 hours and 43 minutes.

And honestly? I feel pretty good considering.

Why I Did It

This wasn’t about proving I’m superhuman.
This wasn’t about trying to be David Goggins.

Far from it.

I’m not genetically gifted.
I’m not a freak athlete.
And I definitely don’t train like one.

I average 2.5–3 hours a week in the gym. That’s it.

But what I do have is a solid foundation of functional strength and a highly efficient, effective training approach—one that I believe anyone can benefit from.

If you want to be able to:

Jump into a CrossFit workout with coworkers
Tackle a Murph once a year
Run a 10k with zero prep…

…your exercise program should support your life, not take over it.

I’ll share more soon about what that looks like. But for now—here are the five biggest takeaways from this ultramarathon journey.

1. My Family Is My Greatest Gift

I got plenty of compliments during and after the race:

“Beast mode”
“You’re built different”
“Animal” and “Savage”

I was told by a good friend of mine that I love and respect greatly, who also finished the race: “You’re the type of guy I want to have the ball in his hands with the game on the line in the 4th quarter.”

Everyone that knew me felt pretty confident that I was going to finish those 100 miles despite having never done anything close to it.
God has given me a gift of enduring, persevering, and gritting things out.

And while I appreciate the words, those comments don’t fill me up like they once did.
It’s not to say I don’t appreciate hearing them or think they’re kind things to say.

I’ve just grown more confident in who I am and how God’s made me that I don’t need to hear them.

I’ve also matured enough to know my physical abilities and mental grit are not the greatest gifts I have.

Because now, I know where my true strength lies: my family.

For those that don’t know my wife Lindsey, she is absolutely amazing.

I’m not just bragging on her because my wife – but real talk not many women out there could have pulled off what she did this past weekend, with as much ease as she was able to pull it off with.

I would have had a much harder time doing what she did than running 100 miles.

She was pit crew for myself and one of our friends, she prepped essentially everything for the trip and race day to help me mentally prepare and just be able to show up, she kept our kids warm/fed/entertained all by herself for 30+ hours (outside, in the cold at times, and in about a 50 foot radius around our car).

Oh and she totaled up a half marathon, mostly while pushing a double stroller, over the course of the time I was running.

My wife Lindsey was my support crew, my kids were cheering me on, and people—runners, volunteers, strangers—kept coming up to compliment them.

That hit different.

The greatest reflection of your life isn’t your accomplishments—it’s your family (or those you influence most).

2. Running 100 Miles Is NOT Hard

Yes, it’s physically and mentally challenging.

But compared to:

Following God in a world that mocks Him
Leading your wife selflessly
Raising kids in a chaotic world
Supporting loved ones through trauma
Building a business that fails more than it succeeds…

Running 100 miles is simple.

Hard?
Is showing up in your marriage, parenting, leadership, and faith—every single day.

3. Endurance Is a Sneaky Way to Escape

I’ve said it before: fitness can become a form of escape.

I used to spend 6–12 hours a week in the gym under the guise of “being healthy.”

But really? I was avoiding the harder, more important things—like being present for my family and team.

I see this in many endurance athletes:
Training becomes an obsession.
Relationships suffer.
Time is devoured.

Make sure you know why you’re doing it. If you’re looking for approval, hoping that performing better or doing more will improve your relationships or situation, then it’s time to ask yourself:

Are you running from something… or toward something?

That’s the question I had to ask myself 18 months ago.

4. I’m LESS Healthy, Not More

You’d think strength training + lots of running = optimal health.
Not in my case.

Over the past few months:

Body fat increased
Muscle decreased
Digestion worsened
Joint pain increased
Sickness hit more often
Strength declined
Libido and energy dropped

The lesson?

More fitness ≠ more health.

If your goal is to look and feel good long-term, high-volume endurance training might not be the answer.

Instead, here are some healthier and more sustainable things I’m focusing on these days when it comes to my health and fitness.

5. Most People Greatly Underestimate What’s Possible

At the start of 2023, running a marathon felt unrealistic.
I wasn’t even convinced I would ever run one.
A 100-miler? Out of the question.

And yet… I did it.
On 3 months’ notice. With minimal running background.

That makes me ask:

Where else am I limiting myself?
What am I holding back from out of fear or comfort?
What could I accomplish if I stopped playing it safe?

The best (and hardest) part of doing something extreme is discovering how capable you really are.

You don’t have to run 100 miles.
But you do have something you’ve been putting off.
Something hard. Something important.
Something that could change everything.

So—what’s your “100 miles”?

Final Thought

Running 100 miles didn’t make me superhuman.
But it gave me clarity.

Clarity about what matters.
Clarity about what’s hard.
Clarity about what’s possible.

Now I’m ready to return to what I love most:
Helping others build real strength—from the inside out.

If you’re ready to look good, feel good, and be ready for whatever life throws at you, stay tuned.
There’s so much more to come.