The first American to complete the challenge!
My guests this week are Dustin Johnson and Brian Hoover. This is Brian’s third appearance on the show. He was here in Episode 12 and Episode 28.
Brian is an ultra runner, but hasn’t been running much for the last 6 or 7 years. He was running and then he got into hiking and in 2019 he hiked the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mexican border to the Canadian border through California. He is a nomad. That is, he lives in a van. Three years ago he sold most of his possessions and now has only a small van to travel around the country.
Brian will be acting as support for Dustin in this, his second attempt to run the circumference of the earth.
Dustin has been running competitively all his life. He ran in the American State Games and Junior Olympics, and then when he got to high school he became more competitive on the field. He began college and then he joined the Navy. While he was there and traveling around the world in the Navy he started running in all kinds of interesting places, wherever he was.
He was suffering from depression and PTSD after he got out of the Navy, and he stopped running. His wife suggested that he write down all the things he really wanted to do again on his dream list, and at the top of it was running around the world. He had been following the World Running Association for years and an American had never run around the world. And it was in 2019 when he finally decided that he was going to make it to the Guinness Book of World Records, he started planning everything out.
He left on May 1, 2019 and ran from Missouri to Myrtle Beach South Carolina and then flew to Lima Peru. From there he ran from the south in Chile through the Atacama Desert over the Andes Mountains at about 20,000 feet altitude. From there we ran south to Buenos Aires. From there he flew to Europe.
When he got to Istanbul there were problems with Australia being on fire,
In early 2020, the association let him have two weeks off because of what was going on in Australia, but then Australia began to shut down because of Covid.
He went back to LA and ran all the way back to Missouri so he ended up with about 10000 miles. He did 35 miles a day on the road, pushing a jogging stroller with all his supplies, but unfortunately he couldn’t get credit for an around the world run because he didn’t do Australia.
For this run, it all comes down to GPS tracking. When you are done with the run you have to send in all your devices to the World Runners Association, and they check them to make sure they have not been tampered with.
Dustin and Brian are planning on doing the fastest circumnavigation, doing about 45 miles a day. They haven’t announced it yet, but they are going after a few other Guinness Book of World Records as well, like the most consecutive days running a marathon, and the most consecutive days running an ultramarathon.
For Dustin it is a route he knows very well and he has been to many of these places in the military but for Brian it will be a new world.
The first time around, Dustin took with him everything he thought he needed. He packed all the basics for the tent, his sleeping bag and many other things he thought he might need. But he was limited on equipment because Peru only allowed a certain amount of luggage, a suitcase and a bicycle.
Brian and Dustin speak a little Spanish which will be very useful for when they start their adventure again. Otherwise they plan to use an app to write down what they want to say and translate into the local language, although in some countries they will be able to communicate in English. Also this time they are more prepared about what they are going to bring for the trip and have local contacts where they will be able to send some things they need along the way.
They are doing this as a way to raise money and awareness for military veteran suicides because Dustin is a survivor of a suicide attempt. 50 percent will go to Stop Soldier Suicide, which is a veteran suicide awareness organization at a phenomenal organization in North Carolina. The other 50 percent will go to an organization that he can’t say exactly yet because he is still getting approval from the house, but what they do is they help homeless veterans in getting their own tiny homes.
For training, Dustin just got into the training phase where he is going to get back in the weight room and do light weights and resistance training. He plans to do more light weights and then get back to running. He wants to do 25 to 30 miles a day during January and February, and he would like to get up to 30 to 35 miles a day. In March he will back down to about 10 miles a day, and then in April they will be setting off on the first leg of their trek.
Brian and Dustin have not met in person yet. They have talked on the phone, texted and been on Facebook, but this podcast was like meeting For the first time.
For Dustin the motivation he wants is to keep his discipline and do the work. Brian says that he looks at the trek as a routine, it’s like going to work every day. you know, you get up some days looking forward to going to work. Other days not so much.
It will be a big challenge for both of them when they face the weather in the Andes Mountains as it will be -10 -15 degrees during the day -20 -25 at night. They plan to arrive in each country with the most favorable season of the year for them. It took them 6 months to plan the safest route with the right passes in the right areas.
The goal is to set records in the World Runners Association as the first American, the youngest in the world, and then the fastest in the world. And then with the Guinness Book of World Records there are some others like the most consecutive days for the marathon and the ultra marathon, but they’re not so focused on the Guinness Book.
There have been a lot of people who have tried to do this run, but things always come up, accidents or tragedies. In fact, there were 4 or 5 other people who have failed since Dustin’s last attempt. Dustin, himself, got run over last time, when he was in Germany and had to take a couple of days off. And he knows that there are unforeseen problems that could send them home permanently. But they are sure that they’ll both work together and will be able to help each other.
Links
Facebook: Dustin Johnson
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