A few years back I enjoyed this read: I Walked 64 Miles Around the Beltway. What the Hell Was I Thinking? It's the tale of two friends tracing a path, as close as possible, to the DC beltway. The TL;DR version is this: they got way more than they bargained for. What seemed like a novel idea turned into a death march. An entertaining to read death march, but a death march none the less.
I enjoyed the story because it's a wonderful reminder that adventure doesn't require hopping a plane to a far off land. There are challenges and discoveries to be had in our own backyard. It's also a humble reminder that miles always seem small on paper. How gruelling can a 64 mile hike be? Turns out, very.
Why mention this story now? Over the weekend, Shira shared this tweet with me:
I finally made a 20+ year dream come true with the help of so many friends. I ran around the entire Washington, DC beltway. It was, of course the hottest day of the year & I suffered unbelievably but I eventually made it. I was completely spent. 144.82k, 89.9 miles in 17:54:59. pic.twitter.com/npk1OvlIWh
— michael wardian (@mikewardian) June 30, 2019
That's right, fellow Aringtonian Michael Wardian *ran* around the beltway. In one day. And he didn't cover 64 miles; his route took him almost 90. Even Mother-Nature didn't want to cooperate, and made the weather extra hot for his run.
You can read more details of Michael's run here and here. You can see the route he took here.
In short, what a superhuman effort.
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