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 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 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.