Cole Brecka ran seven marathons in seven days across different locations with plane travel between stages, battling broken ankles, severe dehydration, and sleep deprivation. He describes how extreme pain paradoxically deepened his gratitude, and wonders if modern training science could make completing such a race possible.
The great world race. It sounds like seven marathons in seven days. Like, you run a marathon, you get to sleep and you lay down on the plane. It's not that you pack your shit. You get on the plane, you fly there, you run a marathon and the race kicks off. I still to this day don't know where you went in that pain cave because you didn't quit. Everything that could go wrong just started going wrong. I'm running on broken ankles. I can't keep any food down. I can't keep up the climate. I haven't slept. It was like the most raw and vulnerable and like primal that I'd ever felt, ever. The more pain you're in, the easier it is for you to find something that you're grateful for. Listen, if we take everything we know about human performance optimization science, in 100 days time, is it possible to not only go out and attempt this race, but complete it? And so we did just that. I wonder if you talk a little bit about the race prep. At some point you cross a threshold where you have to have. Ultimate human.
