Mike Brooks checked in and he’s now run for 8 days.
He’s been enjoying the weather for the past few days. He’s now run 427 miles, keeping pretty close to his average of 50 miles per day with 49 miles in the past 24 hours.
He’s looking forward to getting to the 500 mile mark soon but nothing is guaranteed.
Mike is now having to wear a back brace. Him and a few other guys are suffering from runner’s lean from going on such a short loop in the same direction so many times with the road pitched that one way.
Update:
I got an email from Denise (Mike’s wife) and thought I’d put it here:
I spoke to Mike around noon today. he has completed 427 miles. He is sounding discouraged and kinda beat up today. (This is the first I’ve heard this in his voice this week.)
He is having a lot of back pain and has “runner’s lean” (He’s leaning off to one side.)
I think that something that would help him is e-mails of encouragement and reminders of Camp Sunshine and his reason for his lofty goal!!!!
Mike is up to about $7000 in donations, so if you’d like to help out then you can make a donation to Camp Sunshine through his website, TenDaysForSunshine.org or you can mail a donation directly to: Camp Sunshine, 35 Acadia RD., Casco, ME 04015.
Mike Brooks has now been running for 7 days, and he’s definitely looking forward to the end of the next 3 days.
Today he claims that he’s run 178 miles, so my guess is that he has run 378 miles which would have given him another 44 miles in the past 23 hours (he checked in about an hour early today.)
The heat wave has finally broken; a cold front came through overnight and brought some showers with it, so today’s temperatures are in the 50s rather than the 90s.
You can listen to the entire update here:
Audio Version:
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Mike is up to about $7000 in donations, so if you’d like to help out then you can make a donation to Camp Sunshine through his website, TenDaysForSunshine.org or you can mail a donation directly to: Camp Sunshine, 35 Acadia RD., Casco, ME 04015.
Mike Brooks has now set a 6-day PR after going 334 miles over the past 120 hours, going 50 miles in the past 24 hours. That’s 14 miles further than he ran when he did the 6-day version of the race in the past.
Mike’s friend Andy has agreed to donate $500 if Mike makes it 500 miles, but won’t donate if Mike doesn’t make it so Mike will have that much more of an incentive to make it the full distance.
Mike is still dealing with temperatures in the 90s, this is the 4th day in a row, and his feet are really hurting. Every step feels as though he’s walking through nails.
You can listen to the update here:
Audio Version:
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If you are interested in helping Mike out, he really likes getting the “per mile” donations so that he’ll have that much more of an incentive to keep going. You can make a donation to Camp Sunshine through his website, TenDaysForSunshine.org or you can mail a donation directly to: Camp Sunshine, 35 Acadia RD., Casco, ME 04015.
Mike Brooks has now been going for 120 hours and has covered 284 miles, 48 of them in the past 24 hours (as of noon today.) He had a little company yesterday as his brother, Walter, came down to visit:
“Its incredible because he really got into marathoning at a late age. He amazes me, an old guy like him suddenly picking up a sport.” Walter Brooks is Mike’s older brother and has come down for the day from his home in Massachusetts to support him. Of Mike he says, “he is tough as nails.” I ask him why he thinks Mike has taken on perhaps the toughest race in the world. Walter says, “It just shows his dedication for the families he is running for. It is not about ego, it is about raising money for the families.”
The 6 day race has now started, and Mike is amused by how fast everybody started out and how much they slowed down once the sun went down and the middle of the night came around.
You can listen to the full audio update below:
Audio Version:
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Mike is up to about $6000 that he has received in donations so far (I’ve pledged an additional 20 cents per mile.)
If you are interested in helping Mike out, then you can make a donation to Camp Sunshine through his website, TenDaysForSunshine.org or you can mail a donation directly to: Camp Sunshine, 35 Acadia RD., Casco, ME 04015.
The Boston Marathon is quite an experience, and this week I’ve read quite a few reports that capture what it feels like to be part of it. This is Mike Girouard’s view of the marathon from the first corral. I met Mike at the 2009 Boston Indoor Games. If you’d like to know more about him, he has recently started a new blog at giromike.blogspot.com.
This was easily the most relaxed I have ever been going into a Boston Marathon, my 4th one. After finally deciding to do it in January, I went into it with one goal: to enjoy it. I wanted to, for once, appreciate the whole marathon experience. I didn’t feel like there was any way I’d be ready to duplicate the kind of race I had at Bay State in October so soon (2:49:19) and I didn’t have the energy to try. And I really wanted to enjoy it. For once. That seemed like a good goal. Enjoy the Boston Marathon. (Click here to continue reading…)
Mike Brooks is now 3 days into his 10 day run, and has run 56 miles in the last 24 hours for a total of 188 miles (a 72 hour PR – his previous best was 187.7 miles.)
Some very good news today, as Mike has received a $3,000 grant from Finishline Sports for their youth fund. This means that he has already collected $6,000 for Camp Sunshine, and should be collecting about $3,000 more when he makes it 500 miles. That’s only $1000 below his goal of $10,000 which is great news.
Mike was featured on the race blog this morning, PerfectionJourney.com (photo source). There, he describes how his motivation is to finish each lap knowing that he has just raised that much more money for Camp Sunshine.
Mike is having a little trouble getting rest since there are 3 expressways around the loop and every time that he falls asleep a plane flies by right overhead.
You can listen to today’s audio update below:
Audio Version:
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Mike Brooks checked in and he’s now run for 8 days. 
Well, race weekend is here. The Cox Sports Marathon is on Sunday morning, so I’m going to hold a contest of sorts this weekend.
Mike Brooks has now been running for 7 days, and he’s definitely looking forward to the end of the next 3 days. 
Mike Brooks has now set a 6-day PR after going 334 miles over the past 120 hours, going 50 miles in the past 24 hours. That’s 14 miles further than he ran when he did the 6-day version of the race in the past.
Mike Brooks has now been going for 120 hours and has covered 284 miles, 48 of them in the past 24 hours (as of noon today.) He had a little company yesterday as his brother, Walter, came down to visit:
Mike Brooks has now completed 96 hours and has gone 236 miles before the 6 day racers even got started. 
The Boston Marathon is quite an experience, and this week I’ve read quite a few reports that capture what it feels like to be part of it. This is Mike Girouard’s view of the marathon from the first corral. I met Mike at the 2009 Boston Indoor Games. If you’d like to know more about him, he has recently started a new blog at 
Mike Brooks is now 3 days into his 10 day run, and has run 56 miles in the last 24 hours for a total of 188 miles (a 72 hour PR – his previous best was 187.7 miles.)
