Fitness guru, author, influencer and retired Navy SEAL David Goggins wanted to get back into endurance racing after a five-year layoff.
And to dip his toe back into those waters, the 50-year-old Buffalo-area native chose the Bigfoot 200, a 200-mile jaunt through Washington wilderness that takes runners up and down 44,000 feet of elevation, provided they can finish the punishing course.
Not only did Goggins finish the course near Mount St. Helens, but he did so in 66 hours, maintaining a pace of 4.1mph while spending two days in motion and another 20 hours recovering, according to official race tracking data.
Improbably, Goggins was not first overall in the 50-59 age group. Jeff Price, 55, finished in just under 60 hours while 57-year-old Wes Ritter accomplished the feat in 61:46.
But as is always the case with endurance sports, place and time are secondary to the accomplishment of finishing — or as Goggins sees it, having the guts to enter the race in the first place.
‘This past weekend was the Bigfoot 200 endurance event. I haven’t done a race of any distance in 5 years so it felt good to re-certify once again,’ he wrote online. ‘This picture was taken at the finish line.
Not only did Goggins finish, but he did so in 66 hours, maintaining a pace of 4.1mph while spending two days in motion and another 20 hours resting, according to official race data
‘I want to congratulate all of the finishers of the Bigfoot 200,’ he continued. ‘It’s truly an epic race that will break you the f*** off if you aren’t ready for it.
‘More importantly, I want to congratulate those who signed up but didn’t finish the race. Having the courage to sign up for a race like this sets you apart from so many people in this world.
‘You may not have made it to the finish line, but along your journey at Bigfoot, you found out so much about yourself. You reached beyond your limits to get as far as you could and now you will know the next time you show up to a race like that, you now have the knowledge to finish it.
‘These races aren’t about winning or losing or even finishing. It’s exploring oneself and the human potential that lies within all of us.
‘No matter what place you came in or if you DNF’d, you came out a better person.’
Goggins, 50, is a retired Navy SEAL who helps raise money for the families of veterans
Goggins ended his uplifting message with his catch phrase: ‘Stay hard!’
The top time in this year’s Bigfoot 200 belonged to Kilian Korth, a 30-year-old who finished in 45:03 after previously winning a similar 200-mile event in Tahoe earlier this year.
Goggins first gained notoriety around 2005 when he began long-distance running to raise money for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which raises scholarship money for the families of fallen soldiers.
Last year, Goggins sued Amazon for selling what he alleges are bootleg copies of his books. Goggins is seeking to recoup damages from the allegedly counterfeit sales.
Goggins has also trained elite athletes including MMA star Tony Ferguson, prior to his fight against Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett at UFC296.
Ferguson had claimed that Goggins had ‘damn near broke me’, according to MMA Weekly.com, during his preparation for the bout.
Goggins did take some criticism in October for praising an intense workout video involving a young martial arts student. Many felt the extreme training techniques veered into child abuse, but Goggins was excited to see the young man balancing a log on his shoulders as he stood with his feet on two separate logs.
‘I love this f***ing kid!,’ Goggins began.
‘While most of you won’t agree with the mental and physical training this kid is going through, what will come out the other side will be a motherf***er you do not want to f*** with!’
Many of Goggins’ followers disagreed.
‘Nah, this is child abuse,’ one wrote.
‘He’s too young for this kind of “training”,’ another added.
Several described the video as ‘child abuse.’
‘This is f***ing outrageous child abuse!!!’ one Instagram user wrote. ‘As a psychologist, I can tell you that this is NOT OK. And it does NOT build resilience. This is completely unacceptable behaviour from an adult towards a child.’
