4x4x48 100,000m in 48 hours Challenge

[gordon666]

Hi I am interested to know if anyone out there is going to complete a David Goggins style 4x4x48 challenge this March

I will complete this on the 5th of March and plan to row a total of 100,000m doing 8,333m every 4 hours for a total of 48 hours

Yes that means eat, sleep, row repeat !

I have never done an endurance challenge like this before and I am looking for pointers and keen to see if anyone else is up for it

Normally it is for runners completing 4 miles every 4 hours

Cheers

Gordon

[Dangerscouse]

Hi I am interested to know if anyone out there is going to complete a David Goggins style 4x4x48 challenge this March

I will complete this on the 5th of March and plan to row a total of 100,000m doing 8,333m every 4 hours for a total of 48 hours

Yes that means eat, sleep, row repeat !

I have never done an endurance challenge like this before and I am looking for pointers and keen to see if anyone else is up for it

Normally it is for runners completing 4 miles every 4 hours

Cheers

Gordon

Blimey, that's a BIG challenge. I can do distance, but I'd struggle to keep jumping back on I think. I'm planning on doing a 100k sometime soon, but it has to be one single session, so I can't break it up over 48 hours.

Pointers? 8,333m isn't such a long distance to be a massive issue, but doing it 12 times, along with broken sleep, will take definitely take a toll, and is a very significant challenge.

Staying hydrated and eating lots of carbs is very important. You will need to eat solid foods when you're awake in the day, and circa three hours will be enough time. Prior prep of simple heavy carbs will be essential e.g potatoes, pasta, oats, flapjacks etc. Make sure you have a decent amount of protein too, as well as fats eg nuts, avocados, oily fish.

If you don't want solid food, fruit juice mixed 50/50 with water and a big pinch of salt and sugar will be a great alternative, if you feel like you need some sugary carbs.

My assumption is that it's going to be more reliant on willpower than anything else. It's going to be very attritional, and waking up in the middle of the night to row will be very tough.

I'd also recommend that you stretch after each session, as you want to reduce any DOMS that you may get. Best of luck with it

[gordon666]

Thanks for the tips ! Yes each chunk is not so bad but the lack of sleep and continuous hit will be the mental challenge

I plan cold baths too !

Oh and an extended play list

Good luck with your 100k

[Cyclist2]

I think I'd break it up like this: Do the first 8333m piece, wait until 7:15 hours (assuming you can do the 8333m in :45), then do 16,666m. Repeat. This gives you a 6:30 hour break between pieces while still doing the 8333m in every four hour period. Yes, the pieces are longer but not overwhelming, and it gives you a nice break for sleeping, eating, recovering. I'm not familiar with the "rules" of the challenge, but that was my first thought.

In any case, it will be tough. Good luck!

[MiddleAgeCRISIS]

Hi I am interested to know if anyone out there is going to complete a David Goggins style 4x4x48 challenge this March

I will complete this on the 5th of March and plan to row a total of 100,000m doing 8,333m every 4 hours for a total of 48 hours

Yes that means eat, sleep, row repeat !

I have never done an endurance challenge like this before and I am looking for pointers and keen to see if anyone else is up for it

Normally it is for runners completing 4 miles every 4 hours

Cheers

Gordon

Wouldnt it be easier to do it in a day? Say 5km every hour for 20 hours? 48 hours and messing with the sleep would kill me.

Is a 4 hour rest going to be beneficial do you think? Whats going to happen in these 4 hours? I think you will be too fired up to sleep .

Really interesting idea though and definitely an achievement , I might try a version of it.

[gordon666]

Thanks, the rules of the game include taking only a limited amount of rest so hence the exercise every 4 hours which effectively means also 12 showers in 48 hours, 12 sets of clothes etc and limited time to chill out, eat and sleep

The distance 8,333m in each slot does not appear to be too much of a challenge but I am trying to pace myself keeping the heart rate in the low cardio range so I am not too wired for sleep

My friends are running 4 miles instead of rowing we will see how we all fare on the weekend

It is a rather unique challenge and agree a straight forward sit on the seat and row for hours may be more appealing than the sleep disruption

It will be like having a baby in the house again

[Kyleadam]

Hey mate,
I’ll be starting Goggins’ challenge at 8pm Friday 5th March. I’m only rowing the 4miles (6.4km). Thought about up-ing from the 83.2km to 100km this morning before I saw your post but couldn’t figure out the maths while in the shower / I’ve already committed to 83k on my gofundme page.

I’m not ultra distance athlete so my main concerns revolve around nutrition and whether my forearms will blow up from holding the oar for that long / repetitively.

I plan on sitting at a 1:55/500 pace with 26-30 SPM. Seems to be a cruisey speed for me that hopefully I can repeat every four hours. The goal is for each leg to be under 25min

I’ll be up-ing my calories, taking the majority straight after each leg. Double protein shake (optimum nutrition - gold standard) with milk, light meals that are carb based - toast / fruit etc, good oils (nuts and avocado), and a litre of water after each leg.

In saying that I have no idea and will just make it up as I go. So I’m open to suggestions.

#boatcrewtwo

[gordon666]

Good luck with the challenge this weekend not long to go now

Taking it easy now

I will start at 4:00am on Friday

Still pushing for the 100km target splits around 2:05 so just under 35 mins per segment

Starting to get a bit of crepsis in the wrist which is a bummer

All the best

[gordon666]

All

I started the challenge at 4:00 am this morning.

So far I have done 25Km towards the 100Km target

Working out every 4 hours is a weird thing. Starting to feel a bit tired from the early start. First three rows have been fine but I think this is where the hard work will begin.

Energy levels starting to dip and still a long way to go.

Good luck to every one who is taking on this silly challenge

cheers

[Dangerscouse]

All

I started the challenge at 4:00 am this morning.

So far I have done 25Km towards the 100Km target

Working out every 4 hours is a weird thing. Starting to feel a bit tired from the early start. First three rows have been fine but I think this is where the hard work will begin.

Energy levels starting to dip and still a long way to go.

Good luck to every one who is taking on this silly challenge

cheers

Be prepared for the tough moments, as they will definitely happen, but also remember they don't last forever and you can cope.

Your energy will take a battering as it's not used to the stress you're putting it under, but whilst you're struggling, you're also adapting.

Best of luck with it

[gordon666]

Thanks dangercourse

Challenge is now completed and I smashed the target with timing getting quicker as the event unfolded

It is like having a major case of jet lag whilst trying to perform

Not worked out my average pace yet for the whole event but it was quicker than my target

My target was to get under 35 mins per segment

Today for the last 50km I have been under 34 mins and the last one I emptied the locker and hit 32mins 37 sec

Struggle to eat today but still smashed the targets, most probably due to being a bit fat.

Also whilst I used to row a bit up until this event I had not really been on the rower for a long time. So only trained 100km in three weeks prior

All in all a good fitness and mental challenge

Go for it

[mitchel674]

Congrats! That was quite a challenge.

[Dangerscouse]

Really impressed you got faster as it progressed. You sound like you're really suited to endurance sessions.

The lack of quality sleep and nutrition will have added another notable dimension to the task.

[robbiep]

Only just seen this : I did the running version (4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours) last June.

My take from the event :

1. Know your sweat use and fluid needs. For me, I found in training that I needed to take on roughly 750ml of fluid to compensate for each run. Add in 'subsistence' fluid and I needed to take on a minimum of 1L fluid per 4 hours, to prevent long-term dehydration. Harder than it sounds, especially in the middle of the night when you just want to get in and out of the shower and into bed !
2. A cool shower. Especially after the 2am run, when you're going to get (at most) 2.5 hours sleep, have a cool shower, not hot ! You'll get to sleep a lot sooner.
3. Food. Eat anything you can stomach, whatever works for you is all that matters. For me, lots of toast, cereal bars, christmas cake (in June !), if it keeps you going, then use it.
4. Spare room. Your partner will not be hugely happy with your sleeping pattern and alarm clock. If you can, sleep in a spare room if you have one.
5. Accept that sleep deprivation is going to be the hardest thing, rather than muscle tiredness. Running at 2am after only a couple of hours of sleep is a dark place in the soul. In my case I didn't run much (due to work, I'm NHS and it was the spring of 2020) in the buildup to it, just due to being utterly shattered most days. I probably only ran 50 miles in the month before the event.
6. Walking breaks are essential, and should be viewed as recovery. Embrace them. My route had quite a few climbs in it. They all got walked !
7. Whilst the OP on this thread started at 4am, I started at 6pm on a Friday - after a day in work (probably not the best preparation), meaning my last run started at 2pm on Sunday. Book a couple of days off work to recover, I didn't go back into work until the Wednesday

Whilst it was hard going, I completed it, at an average pace of something like 10:20 per mile for the entire lot.
It teaches you that what you thought were limits probably really aren't. There's nothing in the whole thing that's hard, apart from when you put it it all in a pile. Then the 35-45 minutes of running, the limited time between runs, the sleep deprivation, managing meal times and ensuring you've eaten long enough before a run that you don't throw up, the dehydration ... it all really starts to get to be hard work.

I've run marathons and even an ultra (50 miles), and it's harder than doing those. Probably because with those you can 'see' the finish point from the off. With Goggins it's a long way into the future.

[jcross485]

Bumping this older thread as I am looking to take on something similar at some point this summer. 11 x 8k, 12th session being 12k for an even 100k.

My family has a couple of trips planned this summer, one of which I won't be able to make, so I might give this a go on the weekend they are gone to minimize disruption on them.

I was thinking of making it a point to down 10g BCAA and 25g whey immediately after each session with some electrolytes as a way to stay on top of calories, specifically protein, and recovery.