The 4x4x48 Challenge
What is it?
This challenge is a 48 hour event in which you run 4 miles every 4 hours. This means you run 12 rounds for a total of 48 miles, close to a double marathon (2x26.2miles = 52.4miles).
I first heard about it in Jesse Itzler's book "Living with a SEAL". Jesse invited David Goggins to stay with him for 30 days to train him. It is a hilarious read and one of the challenges that David made Jesse do was running 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours. When I first read about it, I thought to myself this challenge sounds doable. Actually can you even call it a challenge? It is only 4 miles. You get to come home and put your feet between rounds. You don't need to carry all your fuel with you like you would on an ultra marathon. You might even be able to catch 6-8hrs of sleep in a 24 hr cycle.
But like any good workout, the ones that look 'alright' are the ones that screw you up.
I follow David on social media and saw him promote the challenge this year. Shortly afterwards a friend of mine told me he was going to do it. Well the seed was planted in my head. I knew I had to do it too. But, the March date when David and my friend were doing it did not work for me. It needed to be a time when the whole family was on holiday so that work or other activities did not get in the way. Also I would need a couple of days for recovery afterwards. The days before easter was the perfect time to do it with the added benefit of earning the chocolate eggs.
Why?
I thrive on challenging myself. I aim to never settle and push my own boundaries. I also want to set an example for my children.
The experience last year was that all official races had been cancelled. I wanted to schedule a challenge that was independent of external influences. Also, it is coming up for my 5-year anniversary of having completed Kokoro camp and I wanted to mark the occasion.
Details
The route I chose started back out of our garden and took me into the local nature reserve. There are a few hills to conquer, but it is generally a flat route. The route also follows either a paved road or some well established trails, I did not want to navigate the woods at night for this one. Although it dropped below freezing at night, I was incredibly fortunate to end up with three days of no rain and sunshine. The snow came back four days after the challenge.
Looking at gear, I wore the Salomon Speedcross 4 (for most runs), these are my go to hill running shoes and they have served me well for over a year now. Although the runs were fairly short at around 40-45mins, I decided to wear my running backpack, Salomon Adv Skin 5. The reason for this was to carry flasks and also some other essentials such as blister plasters at all times. I always had two types of drink with me: Jocko White Tea for hydration and caffeine and G1M sport for some easily digestible carbs. Both drinks served me well and helped me maintain sufficient fluid and fuel intake.
After every run, I would re-supply my bag, make sure I had fresh running clothes ready and everything in place to just get out of the door. This helped me stick to the timeframe and also to eliminate an extra source of stress. Frantically searching for fresh socks at 3.45am whilst keeping quiet so the rest of the family stays asleep would not have been fun.
Usually I choose what podcast or audiobook to listen to before each run. But that can sometimes take a few minutes, as the choice can be too great. For this challenge I decided to stick to one audiobook. After all, when else do I have 8 hours to listen to a book in a normal workweek, never mind within 48 hours? I chose True Believer by Jack Carr to get my ready for the launch of his next book, which is out now.
In between runs I always chose some type of massage for my legs, either a rolling massage stick or a massage gun. Again this was crucial to keep my legs from stiffening up too much and also to increase blood flow. Also I tried to elevate my feet for 30mins, which helped but I still ended up with really swollen feet for a few days after the challenge.
Sleep was a rare commodity to come by and one aspect I really miscalculated on. When you first hear of the 4x4x48 challenge, you think that there is plenty of time for rest and recovery. But by the time you have changed, re-supplied your running gear bag, taken care of your feet and legs, maybe showered and gotten something to eat, you end up with less than two hours until the next run. Coupled with a generally heightened level of excitement, you end up with not much time at all to try and get some shut-eye. I ended up with 4-5 hours sleep each night. I was depleting my body through all the running and not resting enough. I required an extra 4,000 calories per day which I could not make up with food really. So for two days post run I ended up walking around in a daze.
I chose to run the same route for all twelve loops as that provided more of a mental challenge. The local options are plenty and I could have probably run a different route for each loop. But that would take away from the monotony of doing the same loop over and over again. This way I was forced to stay focused on my micro-goals, one run at a time, one hill at a time, one step at a time.
Breakdown
Thursday 4pm: This was the easy one. Fresh pair of legs, feet in perfect condition, fuelled up and most importantly, the first run meant I was officially off work for a couple of weeks.
Thursday 8pm: After an easy 4-miler to start with, I thought it would be a good idea to alternate shoes. I have two pairs of Salomon, one that I use for trail runs and one I use for every day. Both were worn in, but I had not used the latter for running before. The thinking behind it was that my running shoes have a few small holes in it and I wanted to save them for the night runs. Well, that was a big mistake of course. Half-way through with run #2 I had blisters on my right heel (ended up taking the whole first layer off) and at the intersection of the left big toe and the arch. Good times.
Friday 12am: The running route took me just past the local farm to make it a perfect 4 mile course. On the first night run, I learned that the farmers three collies are loose and easily angered. Luckily, my dog and I heard them barking on our approach to the farm. We were able to turn around in time to put a fence between us and the hounds. I altered the route for the upcoming night runs after that.
Friday 4am: The second night run turned out to be just really cold. Temperatures were below freezing and some accidental ice skating could have been observed.
Friday 8am: Still cold, but having sun to brighten the day made all the difference. I ran past some freshly born baby lambs and saw a massive hare chasing across the field. Feet were starting to get irritating, but so far so good.
Friday 12pm: Approaching the mid-way point of the challenge, I realised that tomorrow around this time, it would all be over. At the same time I needed to remind myself that "I get to do this". No one made me run. My wife and kids supported me and I should not waste their gift by giving in to self-pity.
Friday 4pm: A nice sunny afternoon, but super busy on my chosen route. I kept my dog at home for the day runs and that was a good call. The route was filled with walkers, runners, cyclists and horse riders.
Friday 8pm: It got tough right here. The blisters on both feet were starting to really bother me and the skin on my left heel at come off. Also, I had a real anxiety around another restless night and running in the dark.
Saturday 12am: With the anxiety around the runs having build up, this was the hardest one. I did not want to get up. I was tired. It was cold outside. And all the little spooky things I have encountered on night runs before, came back into my mind. But at the same time, I knew there was no quit in me. I grabbed a couple of handful of Haribos, laced up my shoes and got out. One of the lakes I ran past is a popular camping spot. And sure enough, I heard some alcohol-infused shouting from a campsite. These guys must have seen my headlamp as they followed my progress with their torches. I made sure I ran without my light on when I past them on the way back.
Saturday 4am: Last night run. That in itself should have been enough fuel to push through, but I was limping along for the first part of the run. Legs were tight and the cold (below freezing) did not help. I made sure to run with my lights off when I passed my camper friends who seemed to be asleep anyway. This was the slowest run of them all and I needed to spent a bit more time on active recovery before the next two runs.
Saturday 8am: Still cold, but the sun was up. The end in sight. Running time improved and my new blister plasters made a huge difference. Now it was just about getting this done.
Saturday 12pm: I indulged in a self-administered leg massage before this one and it made a huge difference. Coupled with a 'pre-workout' and knowing that this was the last one, I was fired up. Overall, I was pleased with the times I had run. But the last few rounds had taken a bit longer than I had hoped. So I set myself the challenge to see if I could run another sub-40 minute round. By the time I got to my turn-around point though, I just had to send it. The audiobook was turned off and on came my 'Inspiration' playlist. The sun was beating, sweat started to pour and I was on the homestretch - best of times. I ended up running my fastest round. Best part of the run though was the big surprise waiting for me at the end: my family cheering me on with self-made banners. My wife knows that I am always hoping for someone to be there at the end of my big events. Yet, usually that is out of the question, as, surprisingly, the kids are not up for waiting 8 hours for me to finish a Spartan Ultra. This time around it was the perfect ending to a great challenge.
Takeaways
My excuses are lies.
The challenge forced me to run at times that I normally do not like to exercise. If I miss a morning workout, I usually try and make up for it later in the day. But during the week that is normally impossible. At least it seems that way in my head. Once it gets to the late afternoon, I tell myself that today is just a write-off. The challenge showed me though that I am able to get up and run 4 miles at midnight. I aim to carry that experience forward and remind myself when I try and fabricate excuses why something cannot be done anymore at a certain time of day.
Part of the mental control that Kokoro was aiming to instil in the participants was to draw on the "Big 4 of Mental Toughness". These are
Breath Control
Positivity
Visualisation
Goal Setting
These techniques provided the foundation for me to succeed with the 4x4x48 challenge.
Calming my mind down in-between the night-time runs to get some shut eye was important. I used the box breathing technique to help my clear my mind and get to sleep quicker.
When the runs got tough, I reminded myself that being able to do this challenge was a gift. It is a luxury to have the freedom to indulge in these crucibles that I choose to invite into my life.
In the lead-up to the challenge, I kept visualising the worst conditions possible for the runs. Cold, icy rain, me drenched from head to toe, blistering feet and leg cramps. But in my visualisation of these conditions I was still running. I would not quit. Encountering conditions that were much less harsh in real life made the challenge easier. Also, I had the conviction of completing the task ahead.
Yet, at the same time it is important for a big task not to become overwhelming. I used micro goals to stay engaged and find little wins in each run. Every time I laced up my running shoes I was focused just on this loop. On the route I had mentally marked certain way-points, which I would tick off once I passed them. Also I would give myself little rewards like allowing myself a sip of my sports drinks when coming up to a hill. Focusing on micro goals and staying engaged with only the upcoming run helped me break down the 48 hours into bite-sized chunks.
The challenge was a worthy tribute for my 5-year Kokoro anniversary. It is a very different beast of course with it involving only running and most importantly: you do not have a team around you. Still, the level of exhaustion and the need to 'dig deep' were much closer to my experience at the 52-hour camp than even a Spartan Ultra can deliver.
Different with this crucible was that I literally brought it home. Usually I leave home to test myself and sometimes I get to sit down and tell the kids about it. This time I was able to just let them observe what it was that I was doing. They saw my running times on our family blackboard, knowing that I got up in the night to honour the commitment. They saw the blisters on my feet and me heading out despite those little 'injuries'. They had walked the route that I was running before, so they could picture where I was when I left to hit another loop. It all culminated in them cheering me on when I finished my last lap and they were genuinely proud of the accomplishment. Being a positive example for them is all I aspire to be as a dad.
I hope races will be open again this summer. Running a Spartan race with like-minded folks always pushes me more. Otherwise I will seek to create my own one. Maybe not running though this time around. Although, it might be a great excuse to get some new running shoes after all.
