I Tried David Goggin's 4x4x48 Challenge
crazy but worth it, here's what I learned + tips
Top 10 Tips:
Start at 8pm. This will ensure your last runs (aka the most difficult) are done during the day.
Stretch after every run, except the second batch of night runs; those are optional. The reason for this is that at night, your time may be better spent sleeping, and you’ll already be in so much pain that honestly stretching won’t help much.
Prepare food beforehand (or at least have easy to cook food in your house). You won’t want to go get food when you’re in the middle of the challenge.
Also get some gatorade or electrolyte mix.
I’d recommend sleeping after the 8pm, 12am, and 4am runs, then napping where needed.
Also coffee helps
Get up immediately when your alarm goes off. Do not snooze or put it off. This will only make it worse. p.s. this is also good life advice
from my friend Brendan Get a massage gun. This will really help with muscle soreness.
Make sure your running shoes are good before you start. This one I didn’t do, and I paid the price. My right shoe had a rough part where the siding met the bottom, and over 48 miles that gave me a gnarly blister.
Once you start, don’t let weakness or the thought of quitting enter your mind. Your brain loves a firm commitment, and if you can simply tell yourself you have to finish, and believe it, then you’ll be able to.
This was the hardest physical thing I’ve ever done, but I think that overstates how hard it is. Most people never have to do super physically difficult things. If you have a bit of running ability, you can do this. Most of it’s mental.
STAY HARD!!!
My best lessons learned:
The mind loves a firm commitment
Most of it is mental
You’re capable of so much more than you think
Don’t lose any one second decisions. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Helpful resources:
Lex Fridman and Andrew Huberman on tips for the 4x4x48 + advice from David himself -
David Goggins Subreddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/davidgoggins/
4x4x48 posts from the David Goggins subreddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/davidgoggins/search/?q=4x4x48&restrict_sr=1
Run Times: (note: these times are higher than my actuals because on each run I had to set up my tripod to get running shots, and then go back and grab it, and I didn’t pause my run tracker while doing this)
Run 1:
Time - 41:34
Avg. Pace - 10:15
Run 2:
Time - 42:08
Avg. Pace - 10:24
Run 3:
Time - 42:14
Avg. Pace - 10:30
Run 4:
Time - 43:53
Avg. Pace - 10:54
Run 5:
Time - 39:45
Avg. Pace - 9:54
Run 6:
Time - 38:52
Avg. Pace - 9:39
Run 7:
Time - 40:03
Avg. Pace - 10:00
Run 8:
Time - 39:20
Avg. Pace - 9:50
Run 9:
Time - 41:40
Avg. Pace - 10:23
Run 10:
Time - 40:28
Avg. Pace - 10:07
Run 11:
Time - 38:47
Avg. Pace - 9:41
Run 12:
Time - 41:01
Avg. Pace - 10:14
Oura Ring Data for the 3 days I was running (the first and third day include data outside the time I was running). I took over 38,000 steps on the full day of running :0
Average HRV:
First night: 33ms
Second night: 23ms
*My average is usually 59ms
Respond in the comments if you have any questions/thoughts!