Welcome to 40 Running 40!

I'll preface this introduction with a warning: I am not a blogger, and have never seriously attempted a routine blog before now.  I don't anticipate that this will be read by anyone other than a few family members and close friends, but that is not really what 40R40 is for.

My bottom line up front: I want to run forty miles on my fortieth birthday. 

The main goal of this blog is to figure out WHY.  Why would I want to subject myself to 40 miles of misery, not to mention the training involved to make sure that I don't maim myself?  Why do I feel the need to celebrate this milestone with an ultramarathon run?  And why do I feel the need to document my progress in the coming year?

The second goal is to define WHAT: what do I really want to accomplish?  What does this benefit myself, and could it possibly benefit others?  What will I do if I can't make it?  What will I do afterwards if I do make it?

The WHERE and WHEN are pretty well established: June 3, 2014.  Starting sometime in the early morning, I plan on running a 40+ mile course I have laid out near Chautauqua Lake, NY. 

And finally, HOW do I intend on preparing for this task?  If you came here looking for running advice, please turn and run in the opposite direction.  I am no running expert.  I have read a couple of books, but other than the experience of putting feet to pavement I am no expert in distance running.  I don't care about personal records (PR), or how fast I go.  I'm not even that interested in what I'll be wearing.  But, occasionally, I will probably talk about my progress and reveal the secrets to my distance running method (hint: it involves a lot of running). 

Anyway, thanks for reading this far.  I hope you'll enjoy the journey along with me. 

Respectfully,

Dustin Huber