American Tracy McCullen set himself quite a goal: running 100 miles (160 kilometers) in 100 hours. As if that wasn’t enough of a challenge, McCullen ran the entire distance backwards. All for a good cause – he raised an impressive $100,000 for the Community Boys and Girls Club of Wilmington, North Carolina.
“At 61 years old I can run 100 miles backwards and people ask: are you sure you can run 100 miles backwards? And, it’s so funny because, in my mind it’s like, it’s already done. I just have to show up and do it,” said McCullen before his attempt in an interview with WECT.
‘Going the extra mile’
“Mission accomplished!” he wrote on Sunday evening after four days of running. “100 miles backwards, in less than 100 hours! Actually, 77 hours from the start four days ago. Plus ‘going the extra mile’ (1,2 miles to be exact) makes for a total of four marathons, 4 days in a row. Deep gratitude to all my friends who walked – and ran backwards at times – with me through this amazing journey!”
400-meter ‘Track of Optimism and Field of Dreams’
McCullen hopes that his fundraising will help the local Community Boys and Girls Club build an outdoor training space – the 400-meter “Track of Optimism and Field of Dreams” – from the money he raises with his so-called “100Ultra4Kids” challenge. The American hopes that his project inspires people in the community, especially youth, to have confidence in themselves, to set goals, go after them and achieve their full potential.
