My First 50 Mile Ultramarathon is Finished

I struggled through 45 miles at the Fat Ox Ultra Marathon on November 23, 2024. I really wanted 50 miles, but shit went sideways as my legs methodically broke down. At 2 am, I finished my last mile. A mile that took about 30 minutes to complete. Apparently, I looked really bad, so my one person crew, an experienced nurse, pulled the plug. I pressed stop on my running watches (I always wear two) and told the race director my attempt is finished. Immediately, my mind lasered in on the Jackpot Ultra for my next 50 miles ultramarathon attempt. Preparation for the Jackpot Ultra literally began within minutes of exiting the Fat Ox course.

At the Fat Ox Ultra, I trailblazed another ultradistance for unilateral and bilateral Exosym (hybrid prosthetic-orthotic) runners. I am proud of pioneering these distances, but I am not satisfied. I know I can go further.

The following week I began to hunt for a coach. I wanted a coach that understands running in extreme heat and on mojave terrain. The UltrAspire crew recommended Emily Hugo of Praxis Running. Emily is based in St. George, Utah with her incredible and adventurous family. She is a superb ultra runner, coaches high school track, and coaches a stable of driven runners that support each other. I knew Emily was a match because she was prepared to experiment as a coach. Meaning, Emily was ready to invent an approach to get a para-runner like me to trailblaze another distance.

Pic of me and Coach Emily

For background, I am the only Exosym (and hybrid prosthetic-orthotic) runner attempting and finishing ultramarathons to date. There are thousands of individuals wearing the Exosym, IDEO, and similar devices, including elite athletes, but most cannot run distance because it’s many times more difficult to run in Exosyms than prosthetic running blades or normal human legs. An Exosym is not a dynamic AFO, rather a true hybrid prosthetic-orthotic.

Coach Emily developed a 2.5 months program. She based this program on my run history, goals, and our communications. In the 2.5 months, Emily trained me to run faster, run slower, go further, and stay as healthy as possible. Progress was made. For instance, in the past, running 50 miles in a training week only occurred a handful of times. With Emily, I acclimated to running 70+ miles per week. Note, in the future, I will publish more details into how I developed as a runner in hopes of helping other aspiring runners.

I’ve never experienced a training cycle without complications. This training cycle wasn’t different. Complications included:

1. I got mild pneumonia the month prior to the Jackpot Ultra. I trained through the pneumonia except for 3 days. I realize it’s stupid to keep training, so fucking sue me.
   
2. My right limb changed and I needed a new Exosym, but getting to the clinic wasn’t possible. This is not a problem with the Exosym, this was an inevitable anatomical change in my limb. Anyways, I ran through some pain. In order to slow the pain, I needed to slow the pace. My finish times were longer than usual. This was not ideal but a needed adaptation.
3. The political climate pushed my professional life into a precarious spot. Is what it is, no need to cry about it, but it did add some serious stress to my life.
4. We have three kids and balancing parenting life, professional life, and running life is challenging.
5. I am reconstructed surgically from my head to my toes. Each day is a challenge to stand, let alone run. A methodical approach to movement and recovery is required.

Despite these complications I never seriously doubted that I would finish the 50 miles.

The morning of the run I felt good. For the first time, I slept the night before a big competition or run. In fact, I slept at least 5 hours each night during race week. I felt decently fresh.

While running:

I expected that a couple of people would make ass comments about my legs. They did.

I expected that I would get frustrated with my slower speed. I did.

I expected I would swell. I did.

I expected to puke. I did.

I expected to potentially piss myself. I did.

I expected I might use running poles for several miles. I did.

I expected this run to go sideways like Fat Ox and it did.

But this time, I was more experienced, more capable, and I kept moving forward.

As tough things happened, good did too. My coach traveled to the event and crewed me for hours. For this I am forever indebted. Get yourself a coach like Emily Hugo.

Ryan Blanck dialed in my Exosyms and they did not fail me.

Dakota Jones's crew learned about my story from my wife and began to gas me up each time I finished a loop.

Many of the other runners gave me props for running as a runner with significant physical challenges.

Most importantly, my family arrived at different times and provided support throughout the evening.

In this run, I attacked my greatest weakness, my legs, for 50 long miles. I can’t adequately explain the feeling of this battle. You see, my birth defects, especially my legs have:

Haunted me...

Ruined giant periods of my life...

Made me an outcast...

Scarred me...

Took me off the field of play as a child due to the pain...

Filled me with incredible uncertainty...

Triggered my peers to treat me differently...

Prompted older kids to bully me...

And to this day still carries Mt Everest size challenges...

I took this weakness, my legs, and used them as a tool to show the world my adaptability. During each of these 50 miles I forced myself to focus on this reality. 

After many hours of forward movement, on February 16th at 2:28 am I hobbled across the finish line with 50 miles done.

Know this, I never asked to be born with my birth defects, but I wouldn’t change how I was born. I am on this earth to transcend my challenges in front of you and this run was another opportunity. In this life, I hope my family knows that I’ve done the absolute best with what I’ve been given. I made a choice to adapt and thrive despite the adversity I face. You can do the same.

Published on March 18, 2025