The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM)

The Rest of the Story: “52 Miles To Freedom”
Just  30  days  after  beginning  the  habit  of  running—something
that  had  been  so  foreign  and  unpleasant  to  me  for  my  entire  life—I
had completed 50 miles, culminating in my first 6-mile run. I called
Jon  to  celebrate.  He  was  excited  for  me,  and  always  looking  to  help
me  raise  my  own  standards,  he  presented  me  with  a  challenge.  Jon
knew me well enough to know that in the peak emotional state I was
in,  I  would  likely  accept  any  challenge.  “Hal,  why  don’t  you  run  an
ultra-marathon?    If  you’re  going  to  run  26  miles,  you  might  as  well
run 52.” Only Jon would suggest such logic.
“I’ll think about it.”
This  time,  when  I  told  Jon  I  would think  about  it,  I  actually
meant  it.  I  was  intrigued  by  the  idea  of  pushing  myself  even  further
and  running  52  consecutive  miles.  Maybe  Jon  was  right.  If  I  was
going to run 26, I might as well run 52. I mean, shoot, if I could go
from  running zero  miles  to  being  able  to  run  6  consecutive  miles  in
just  four  weeks,  and  I  still  had  six  months  until  the  Front  Row
Foundation’s annual Run for the Front charity run, why not set the bar
a little higher and go for 52? So I did. I was even somehow able to
convince a friend and two of my brave coaching clients to do it with
me!
Six months later I had logged 475 miles, including three 20-mile
runs,  and  had  traveled  across  the  country  to  meet  with  two  of  my
favorite  coaching  clients  James  Hill  and  Favian  Valencia,  and  long
time friend, Alicia Anderer, so the four of us could attempt to run 52
miles  during  the Atlantic  City  Marathon.  Jon  even  flew  out  to  show
his support. There was just one logistical challenge though: Atlantic

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City  wasn’t  set  up  for  any  “ultra”  marathon  runners.  So,  we
improvised.
We met on the Boardwalk at 3:30am. Our goal was to finish our
first  26  miles  before  the  official  marathon  began,  then  complete  the
second  half  with  the  regular  marathon  runners.  The  moment  was
surreal. The energy between the four of us was a blend of excitement,
fear, adrenaline and disbelief. Were we really going to do this?!
We  might  have  been  able  to  see  our  breath  in  the  chill  October
air had the moonlight been brighter. Nevertheless, our path was well
enough lit, and so we began. One foot in front of the other, one step at
a  time,  we  moved  forward.  We  all  agreed  that  was  the  key  to  our
success  that  day—keep  moving  forward.  So  long  as  we  didn’t  stop
putting  one  foot  in  front  of  the  other,  as  long  as  we  kept  moving
forward, we would eventually reach our destination.
Six  hours  and  five  minutes  later,  largely  due  to  the  collective
support and accountability of our group working together as one unit,
we completed our first 26 miles. This was a defining moment for each
of  us.  Not  because  of  the  twenty-six  miles  we  had  behind  us,  but
because of the mental fortitude it was going to take to get ourselves to
run the twenty-six miles we had ahead of us.
The excitement which permeated every fiber of our being just six
hours  earlier  had  been  replaced  with  excruciating  pain,  fatigue,  and
mental exhaustion. Considering the physical and mental state we were
in, we just didn’t know if we had it in us to duplicate what we had just
done. But we did.
A  total  of  15  ½  hours  from  the  time  we  started,  James,  Favian,
Alicia,  and  I  completed  our  52-mile  quest…  together.  One  foot  in
front  of  the  other,  and  one-step  at  a  time,  we  ran,  jogged,  walked,
limped and literally crawled across the finish line.
On the other side of that line was freedom—the kind of freedom

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that can never be taken away from you. It was freedom from our self-
imposed limitations. Although through our training we had grown to
believe  that  running  52  consecutive  miles  was possible,  none  of  us
really  believed  in  our  heart  of  hearts  that  it  was  probable.  As
individuals,  each  of  us  struggled  with  our  own  fear  and  self-doubt.
But  the  moment  we  crossed  that  finish  line,  we  had  given  ourselves
the  gift  of  freedom  from  our  fears,  our  self-doubt,  and  our  self-
imposed limitations.
It was in that moment I realized that this is a gift of freedom not
reserved  for  the  chosen  few,  but  one  that  is  available  to  each  and
every one of us the moment we make the choice to take on challenges
that  are  out  of  our  comfort  zone,  forcing  us  to  grow,  to  expand  our
capacity, to be and do more than we have been and done in the past.
This is true freedom.