The body is capable of more than the mind realizes, says a Stettler man.
He should know, having just completed a "Backyard Ultra" marathon over the weekend.
"It's a bit of a long story," said Shawn O'Hara, when asked how he found himself running the marathon.
Shawn says he has been running for eight years and he has always been an "athletic person."
"I wanted to find something to keep me active," said O'Hara.
"There's a connection between physical activity and mental health."
In 2017, O'Hara entered his first race, and running has helped him achieve the "goal of being physically active for mental health.
"I'm a single parent," said O'Hara.
"I want to remain healthy for my kids."
As O'Hara's running career progressed, he found himself doing longer and longer distances. In 2020, at the height of the COVID pandemic, O'Hara says he was approached by his friend, another runner, about doing the Backyard Ultra.
In a Backyard Ultra, runners need to do 4.25 miles an hour, every hour, for at least 24 hours.
Unfortunately, O'Hara was unable to complete the run in 2020. He pulled out after 10 hours, while his friend, Scott kept going but still fell short pulling out at 18 hours.
"One day, I knew I wanted to come back to it," said O'Hara.
"I decided this is the year ... it was certainly a cumulative process."
O'Hara says that he couldn't have done it without the support of family and friends, or the competitive nature which drives him to compete against others and himself.
"I'm spurred by what I can see other people achieving," said O'Hara.
For his feat, O'Hara ran a 4.25-mile loop near his Cabin at Rochon Sands, and this time around he went in with a plan.
O'Hara actually allowed himself to slow down, doing three laps in around the 55 or 56-minute mark, before doing it again.
Every fourth lap, he would turn on the gas, finishing the lap in around 40-45 minutes, giving him around 15-20 minutes of rest.
During the longer break of the fourth lap, he would change, use the restroom, or get some food and electrolytes into himself as his body would be craving calories.
O'Hara says that around 19 hours in, during the darkness of night, the challenge threatened to overwhelm him, however, on his 20th loop he was able to "dig a little deeper."
He succeeded in doing that lap in a time faster than he thought able.
"My body held up," said O'Hara.
"That was a turning point."
Completing the ultra, O'Hara completed 102 miles in 24 hours setting a new record for himself in the process.
