From Sports Illustrated:
This year at the Badwater ultramarathon [135 miles through Death Valley, including 130 degree heat and an 8,000 foot climb from sea level], Arthur Webb felt "wrong" and broke down at mile 17. he was rushed to a medical station. You are 67 years old, the doctor reminded him. Your fluids are imbalanced, and you need to rest. So Webb did, for nearly nine hours. Then, still woozy, he asked his wife, Christine, to drive him back to where he'd stopped.
Finishing would be a Herculean task; buckling [i.e. the accomplishment of finishing the course within 48 hours] seemed out of the question. Still, Webb stuck in his earphones, pumped up Led Zeppelin and began again. Usually, competitors alternate between running and walking; by mile 55, Webb realized he needed to run nearly the rest of the route, much of it uphill, to have a shot at buckling. So he ran. Through day and night. Up the side of Mount Whitney. He even clocked a couple of seven-minute miles. And then, finally, he hobbled across the finish line. The clock said 46 hours and 35 minutes. That might at the awards ceremony he received a standing ovation from the other competitors. Think about that when you're feeling too lazy to go to the gym.
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