The Goggins Challenge: Tenacious Swarthmoreans Run in Circuits
(Left to right) Amon Gibson of Philadelphia, Jed Carman of Wallingford, and Brandon Lausch, Greg Milbourne, and Scott Pollins (all of Swarthmore) recently undertook the Goggins Challenge. Photo: Susanna Gibson
How did you spend the second spring break of the Covid-19 pandemic? Given how hard it was to go anywhere, some friends and I decided to organize an experience closer to home: running 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours. Our goal was to celebrate fitness and friendship, both of which the pandemic has sorely diminished.
The Goggins Challenge, as this event is known, was named for David Goggins, a special forces veteran who came up with the idea for this structure. I had never before attempted something so difficult and disruptive — a test of endurance, and one that required managing interrupted eating and sleep.
We chose a fairly flat 4-mile loop through Swarthmore and Ridley, winding behind Fairview Road and bounded by MacDade Boulevard and Ridley High School. (It brought us past Milmont Pizza so many times that we almost stopped for a slice!) It might sound counterintuitive, but we decided to begin in the evening. That way, we would finish in the afternoon — rather than in the middle of the night, as we would if we started in the morning.
On Saturday, March 27, at 6 p.m., we met in front of Marks Barber Shop on Yale Avenue. The temperature was mild and the conditions clear. A large assemblage of mylar balloons spelled out “4 x 4 x 48.”
I wore my red-and-black Robertson kilt — my grandmother’s family tartan. I enjoy the looks I get running in a kilt, and the conversations it starts. With me were Scott Pollins, Jed Carman, and Brandon Lausch. (Brandon opted to run just the first half of the event.) A few other area runners joined us as we began our quest to run 48 miles over the course of two days.
On the first loop, excitement and emotions ran high. I had had a stressful week at work, and we had “tapered” in the days leading up to the event — running much less than we usually do — so I was anxious to get going. Running 4 miles does not daunt us, and we knew the trick would be to avoid going so hard at the beginning that we would flounder in later miles.
The course ran through neighborhoods, away from heavy traffic. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that our route had many streetlights, with few dark spots to cause anxiety or concern.
During the first two loops, we kept the pace conversational. When we met up at 2 a.m. for loop three, we were thrilled to find that Kristin Houston, a Swarthmore College grad who lives in Media, had driven over with her husband, Jon Francis, to join us. Kristin is an excellent athlete, and I ran that third circuit faster and harder than necessary, to keep up with her and enjoy her company.
Despite the pleasures of running with friends, the first night was hard. My anxiety about the challenges ahead was high, and I couldn’t settle down enough to sleep much between circuits. I did manage to nap on Sunday (in between posting social media updates!), and, by Sunday night, I was able to sleep better — maybe in part because I was back in my bed instead of stretched on the couch. Friends encouraged me to stretch between loops, but I never did.
On Sunday morning, more friends joined us for the 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. loops, wearing fluorescent green “teaminess” shirts we’d created for running years ago. (Billy Hodges, Jon Feinberg, and Terry Lynch coined the term, Brandon Lausch came up with the “Run S’More” logo, and I made the shirts.) The fresh energy we got from Terry Lynch, Andy Hooper, and Heather Saunders, among others, made the miles melt away.
During the 2 p.m. loop, the company of a college friend, Beth Capaldi (who’d driven a couple of hours to join us), Amanda Furhman, and Jon Feinberg kept us enthusiastically going despite the rain. The 6 p.m. loop was the last with Brandon, and we finished it minutes before the skies opened and the winds blew our balloon assemblage apart!
Thankfully, new friends joined the 10 p.m. loop, invigorating us (thanks, Duncan Johnstone!). One runner, who had completed a 40-mile ultramarathon the day before, regaled us with running stories that took our minds off the pain we were starting to feel. But the 2 a.m. run — our first with just the three core runners — was mentally tough. Scott started to lag. After resting until 5:30 a.m., he opted to save his dwindling energy for a run some other day.
When Jed and I met up at 6 a.m. on the final morning, missing Scott, we were delighted to find another group of friends (including Steve DiBona and Billy Hodges) ready to join us for our now-automatic 4-mile repetition. At 10 a.m., we were thrilled to be completing our penultimate lap — this one alone.
For the last lap, at 2 p.m. on Monday, Jed’s 15-year-old son Kyle good-naturedly kept me company as I walked the uphills. The last mile hurt a lot; my body was just holding on. But I was so happy to see my wife at the finish line and hear Scott blasting the “Rocky” theme that I was too embarrassed to slow to a walk.
The next week, I rested a lot. Now that I’ve resumed running, I find that I feel stronger and happier than before. I’ve gained confidence that I can do hard things, which is especially good to know during this overwhelming global pandemic. Pushing oneself hard (but safely) can be incredibly rewarding. What a gift it was to have friends from far and near join the endeavor!
If we do the Goggins Challenge again, I hope many Swarthmorean readers will consider joining us too.
