INTRODUCTION: THE MOMENT EVERYTHING SHIFTED
There’s a point in every endurance athlete’s life where running stops being a hobby and becomes a mirror. A mirror that reflects who you are, what you fear, what you avoid, and how badly you’re willing to chase the version of yourself that keeps you awake at night.
For me, that shift didn’t happen during a race.
It happened when I didn’t get to race at all.
All summer, I was locked in. I had pushed my weekly volume to 135 miles. I was running 35-mile sessions at 6:45 pace—not touching threshold, not touching VO₂, just sitting deep in Zone 3 like it was home. I had never felt more ready. My lungs, my legs, my mind… everything pointed to one truth:
I was going to break 6 hours for 50 miles in Lockport, NY.
Then the Canadian fires rolled in—August skies thick with smoke—and the race organizers did what they had to do:
They canceled the race.
No start line.
No finish line.
No closure.
And that does something to you. When you train with absolute purpose for months and it evaporates, you don’t just shrug. You absorb it. It gets under your skin. You get annoyed. You get disappointed. You get human.
I fell into a weird post-race depression… even though there was no race.
That’s when the question came back to me with the same intensity I had in 2020, the year I did my first Ironman, placed 5th in my age group, 50th overall, and walked away saying the line that has shaped my life ever since:
“No one knows their limits.”
And that line answered something in me.
That line built the Ultra Project.
THE IDEA: ONE ULTRA EVERY MONTH FOR A YEAR
The concept was almost too simple to ignore:
12 ultras.
12 months.
2026.
No crew.
Self-coached.
All gas, no shortcuts.
I knew only a few people who had done something even remotely similar. Andy Glaze is one. But this? This wasn’t a copy. This wasn’t about chasing someone else’s path. This was about going so deep into endurance that I would come out the other side a different human being.
Running, to me, has always mirrored work and business:
What you put in is what you get out.
I knew that if I pushed myself to a place most people never go, I would learn exactly what I wanted to learn about limits, adaptation, resilience, and the human body under extreme stress.
This project isn’t gimmicky.
It isn’t a stunt.
It’s not “let’s run 3000 miles across America” or “let’s run 100 marathons in 100 days.”
It’s something different.
It’s deliberate.
It’s scientific.
It’s brutally personal.
And it’s designed to push the ceiling of what a self-coached athlete can do.
THE LINEUP: 50 MILERS TO 100 MILERS
In 2026, I’ll stand on 12 different start lines:
Some 50 miles.
Some 100 miles.
Some flat.
Some mountainous.
Some fast.
Some designed to break you.
I’m approaching each race with the same energy:
Show up to win, compete, push, and leave every ounce of myself out there.
This isn’t survival running.
This is performance running.
And it’s going to be documented in full:
Training updates.
Recovery.
Nutrition.
Mindset shifts.
Bloodwork.
Data.
Everything.
Because this isn’t just about me.
This is about creating a blueprint for every runner who’s ready to raise their standards and go further than they ever believed they could.
PART I — THE SCIENCE & STRATEGY BEHIND THE PROJECT
No Crew. No Pacers. No Outsourcing.
Most serious ultrarunners rely on crews, pacers, and external support.
I’m intentionally removing all of that.
Why?
Because real growth happens when you remove the safety net. When your only strategy is execution. When there’s no one to save you from your own decisions.
This project tests:
- Self-reliance under stress
- Real-time decision making
- Hydration and nutrition discipline
- Psychological durability
- Self-directed pacing and strategy
- Loneliness tolerance
- Late-race cognitive fatigue
I don’t want the “perfect race environment.”
I want the truth.
The truth of who I am when everything is on the line, and the only person who can fix it is me.
PART II — THE SPONSORS THAT MAKE IT POSSIBLE
This project only works because I take the science behind performance seriously. I didn’t choose random brands. I chose brands that are redefining endurance performance with real data, real innovation, and real results.
1. RYTHM HEALTH — REDESIGNING BLOOD TESTING FOR ATHLETES
Endurance training at this level isn’t just about miles.
It’s about physiology.
Your hormonal profile.
Ferritin levels.
Electrolytes.
Liver enzymes.
Recovery markers.
Inflammation.
Vitamin levels.
Red blood cell health.
Most athletes guess.
I’m not guessing.
I’m testing monthly.
Rythm Health is the only at-home blood test I’ve ever used that is:
- Instant
- Painless
- Accurate
- Explained in plain English
- Built for high-performance athletes
You prick your finger, and within seconds, data hits your dashboard. “Speed is king” isn’t just a slogan—it’s their entire identity.
Their panel covers 14 elite biomarkers, focusing on exactly what ultra athletes need to see:
- Iron & ferritin (oxygen transport)
- Cortisol (stress load)
- Testosterone (recovery & muscle repair)
- Sodium/potassium balance
- Vitamin D (bone & immune health)
- B-vitamins (energy metabolism)
- hs-CRP (inflammation)
This project would be impossible without understanding what’s happening inside my body. When you’re racing monthly, testing isn’t optional—it’s mandatory.
Real-time adjustments can prevent:
- Overtraining syndrome
- Anemia
- Electrolyte mismanagement
- Immune suppression
- Hormonal crash
- Chronic injury
This is how pros do it.
And now I’m doing it too.
2. PRECISION HYDRATION — SCIENCE-BACKED FUELING & ELECTROLYTES
https://www.precisionhydration.com
Let me make something clear:
You don’t run 12 ultras in 12 months by winging hydration.
Over 70% of DNFs in endurance events come from:
- Sodium imbalance
- Dehydration
- GI shutdown
- Fueling errors
Precision Hydration is the only brand I trust because they don’t do “one size fits all.”
They do:
- Sweat rate testing
- Sodium concentration testing
- Carb utilization analysis
- Pre-race fueling plans
- Post-race recovery plans
Nicci—their lead sweat scientist—literally performs individualized sweat tests that identify:
- How much sodium YOU lose per liter
- How much fluid YOU burn per hour
- How many carbs YOUR body can absorb without GI issues
This allows me to nail:
- Hydration volume per hour
- Electrolyte concentration per bottle
- Exact carb grams per hour (usually 90-120g/h for elite ultras)
- Fuel timing to avoid late-race bonking
This is performance science—not marketing.
In 2026, my race day formula will be dialed to the milligram.
3. RAPID REBOOT — NEXT-LEVEL COMPRESSION RECOVERY
Compression boots aren’t a gimmick. There’s real science behind them:
How They Work (the simple version):
Compression boots use sequential pneumatic compression to:
- Increase venous return (blood rushing back to the heart)
- Flush metabolic waste (lactate, ammonia, creatine kinase)
- Reduce inflammation
- Increase lymphatic clearance
- Improve circulation
- Speed muscle repair
Peer-reviewed studies show:
- 40–60% faster reduction in muscle soreness
- Significant decreases in CK levels post-ultra
- Improved range of motion within 2–4 hours
- Better next-day neuromuscular readiness
For me, doing monthly ultras, recovery is the difference between making it to the next start line or breaking down by race 4.
Rapid Reboot is allowing me to:
- Recover day-to-day
- Maintain weekly volume
- Prevent tissue overload
- Reduce swelling in feet/calves
- Avoid cumulative fatigue
This is pro-level recovery.
And I’m using it every week.
4. OTHER SPONSORS (UNDER CONTRACT REVIEW)
I have several additional major sponsors in final contract stages. I’m not announcing them publicly yet, because the ink isn’t dry—but when they drop, they’re going to elevate this project to a completely different level.
These are brands I will genuinely, authentically represent—and they will help push this project into national visibility.
PART III — WHY I’M REALLY DOING THIS
People think endurance athletes do these things to prove something.
They’re wrong.
This isn’t about ego.
This isn’t about attention.
This isn’t about checking a box or saying “look what I did.”
This is about something deeper:
1. To show what’s possible when you refuse to settle.
We all have a version of ourselves we’ve never met because we stay comfortable. We stay predictable. We avoid the edges of discomfort.
12 ultras in 12 months forces me to live at those edges.
2. To document every step so others can level up too.
Running saved my life.
Training gave me purpose.
Endurance taught me discipline.
If I can show someone how to raise their standards in their own life—whether they want to run 5 miles or 100—it’s worth every mile.
3. To inspire people through honesty, not perfection.
I’m not pretending this will be easy.
I’ll fail workouts.
I’ll have bad days.
I’ll hit mental walls.
I’ll question everything.
I’ll suffer.
I’ll bleed.
I’ll break.
And then I’ll get up the next morning and start again.
People relate to real struggle, not highlight reels.
4. To explore the limits of the human body and the human mind.
Performance.
Adaptation.
Fatigue.
Resilience.
Heart rate drift.
VO₂ kinetics.
Blood chemistry.
Hydration variability.
Load management.
This is the deepest physiological experiment I’ll ever run.
5. To do something brutally hard—because hard things change you.
Pain is information.
Suffering is a teacher.
And endurance is the most honest conversation you’ll ever have with yourself.
PART IV — WHAT I LEARNED FROM 135-MILE WEEKS
Training at 120–135 miles per week over the summer taught me more about my body and durability than anything else I’ve ever done:
1. High volume drops heart rate dramatically.
7:33 pace at 150 bpm in 2021
became
7:33 pace at 116 bpm in 2023.
Stroke volume increases.
Capillary density increases.
Blood plasma increases.
The heart becomes more efficient.
Mitochondria multiply.
Volume is king.
2. Zone 3 is my weapon.
Sitting in Zone 3 for 2–4 hours taught me how to:
- Close the gap between LT1 and LT2
- Improve lactate shuttling
- Sustain high aerobic power
- Build diesel engine durability
Zone 3 is misunderstood—but when you’re training like an ultra athlete, it’s the key to being unstoppable.
3. Mental neutrality is a skill.
When you run 3–4 hours daily, your brain tries to pull you into emotions:
- “I’m tired.”
- “This is too long.”
- “This hurts.”
- “Why am I doing this?”
You learn to detach.
You learn to stay neutral.
You learn to move forward regardless.
PART V — WHAT THIS PROJECT MEANS FOR THE WORLD
This project isn’t a stunt.
It’s an invitation.
An invitation for people to watch someone willingly step into suffering—not because they have to, but because there is something on the other side of it worth reaching for.
An invitation for people to confront their own limits.
An invitation for people to raise their standards—not just in running, but in life.
When people ask why I’m documenting everything, the answer is simple:
Someone out there needs to see the process, not just the finish line.
Someone needs to see the lows.
Someone needs to see the doubt.
Someone needs to see the early mornings and the late nights.
Someone needs to see what it looks like when you commit to something bigger than comfort.
Endurance is a universal teacher—even if you never run a mile.
PART VI — THE JOURNEY BEGINS
2026 is going to hurt.
It’s going to challenge me in a way nothing ever has.
It’s going to break me down.
And it’s going to build me into something new.
This project is for:
- The dreamers
- The doers
- The underdogs
- The overthinkers
- The broken
- The motivated
- The ones who want more
This is for anyone who looks in the mirror and knows they’re capable of something bigger.
I’m not running 12 ultras in 12 months because it’s easy.
I’m doing it because it’s hard.
Because hard things shape people.
Hard things build character.
Hard things redefine possibility.
Hard things force you to meet parts of yourself you’ve never known.
This project is my declaration:
We don’t rise to the level of our goals.
We fall to the level of our standards.
And it’s time to raise them.
CONCLUSION: LET’S GO DO SOMETHING IMPOSSIBLE
If you’ve read this far, thank you.
You’re now part of this journey.
This project isn’t about me running far.
It’s about showing people how to live fully.
If watching me suffer, grow, break, rebuild, and fight through 12 ultras helps one person take one step toward their own best self—
then every mile is worth it.
2026 is going to be brutal.
It’s going to be beautiful.
And it’s going to be documented in full, so you can watch what’s possible when you stop negotiating with your potential.
This is the Ultra Project.
This is KEEP.
This is what happens when you refuse to settle.
Let’s get to work.