A Red Deer man remained committed to finishing as many marathons as he could in seven days, despite an injury midway through his goal.
Dusty Spiller wanted to run 294.7 km, or seven marathons, to raise money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Alberta, N.W.T. and Nunavut. On Oct. 23, he set off from Heritage Ranch, then ran along the trails to Bower Ponds and finally to McKenzie Trails before turning around to go back.
He did the same route twice a day.
A marathon distance is just over 42 km a day. After three days, Spiller was doing well. But on day four, or Wednesday, he suffered an injury. Spiller figures his muscles were over-exerted and his knee gave out a little bit. He was done with running by then.
He ended up walking the distance of half marathons on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
“I only ended up doing five-and-a-half marathons instead of doing seven,” said Spiller, 23, on Saturday.
Spiller said that trying to complete so many marathons in such a short period of time was a lot easier than he thought it would be. If it weren’t for the injury problems, he knows he would have completed the task.
Some days it was hard to get out of bed in the morning. He liked to wake up at 6 a.m., have a hearty breakfast and then get running at 8 a.m.
He had support with him from several other runners, who joined him along the way.
“This one guy came out with me every day and ran a half marathon,” said Spiller.
“He did a pretty big running event himself.”
Spiller’s best time of the week was 3:40 — the second day of his goal.
Previous to this endeavor, he’s done only two other marathons in his life.
He’s also completed 10 triathlons, a multi-sport endurance race that entails swimming, cycling and running.
Spiller hopes to raise at least $5,000 for the foundation. So far, he’s collected $1,600.
People can still make donations until Nov. 7 at the Runners Den at 5511 Gaetz Ave. or at the Heart and Stroke Foundation at #202, 5913 50th Ave.
His grandmother has been dealing with heart issues over the last few years, which is why this cause is important to him.
Spiller has no other big challenge in mind, other than to get faster on the triathlon circuit.
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com
- copyright Red Deer Advocate