“27 Miles and Me”-How and Why I walked 8 hours Nonstop

“Tell me how long you can stand, and I’d tell you how soon your legs will give up”.

Unfortunately, the human body is set by limits, we aren’t cheetahs built with speed, nor giraffes with strength to stand an entire lifetime, but we have the power to create realities we only imagine. This short piece takes us on a journey of determination, discipline, consistency, diluting self-doubt, elevating determination, unravelling perseverance and achieving self-mastery. A mind willing to achieve sees no boundaries of the body. A true story of an 8hour walk by one man, his legs and a strong mind.?

-????????By Michael Amankwa, The Mental Catalyst?(TMC)

‘One, two, three… breathe, one, two, three … breathe’ I coached myself, four hours into an eight-hour walk. A creeping harmattan Sunday morning, my legs undecisive but not giving up. A challenge was accepted. The real question was what this challenge was and why? To begin with, a handful of amazing individuals came together to form a catalyst group, birthed from The Mental Catalyst (TMC), a long-term initiative toward building a billion healthy lives over the next twenty years. As crazy as it sounds, this catalyst group set the pace with monitored 4-5am wake up times, exercises, tracking of daily steps and reading as a ritual to promote good health, this was done with a little competition among ourselves of course through a buddy system.

?On Saturday 27th?November, one catalyst by name Maame Yaa dropped a personal record of 37,910 steps. That was when the journey began.

On Saturday 18th December, Maame Yaa once again dropped a second best of 27,443 steps, an incredible delivery, this plus Tim’s steps brought their team total to over 41,000 steps that day. Gingering my determination to beat her highest record of the initial 37,910 steps, I braced myself for the challenge.

Sunday 19th?December, 2021, Harmattan was hovering in the air as I woke up at 4:45am, putting on my jogging gear; black trainers, grey trunks and a blue shirt, AirPods, phone and knoxxi watch all charged up ready to go with my tracker. At 5:05am I set off into the peaceful glimpse of a new day, with a target of 40,000 steps neatly cemented at the back of my mind. My gospel playlist intact as I lay out the blueprints of my walk, how exactly was I going to pull this off? Initially, I decided to split this over the course of the day to keep a balance with 20,000 steps in the morning, 10,000 at noon and a final set of 10,000 in the evening. This was a good enough plan to beat that 37,910 so I hit the road on my usual route, thanking God for life with praise songs, my motivation for a magical morning.

My focus was like a hawk’s eye on Maame Yaa’s personal record. I had earlier promised myself a marathon someday, for some reason since this was already in the mill it was appropriate to grind it all as one. With a marathon full distance being 26.2 miles, my promise had to be fulfilled, with the little voice in my head cheering me on, I endeavored. Keeping to my familiar route which was in a circular pattern, allowing continuous walks. The sun intensified as I hit 13miles. Gradually that record was nailed. It would have been a good enough reason to stop, however something spoke deep inside, a voice simply said “Michael, lets beat their combined record right this minute, no pause, no breaks, just go!”??I kept going until my left air pod died, it’s counterpart right gave up thirty minutes later, leaving me without the gospel chimes which fueled my determination, an easy blackhole to get sucked into. Indeed, the challenge had now taken a different turn, it is agreeably hard doing exercises without having empowering tunes as boosters. A reason which placed before me alluring options to throw in the towel and call it a day. I knew I had to push myself at this point.?

I immediately fell on the power of imagination and visualization, my partner was not informed ahead of time thus her inability to participate in this team work, all the same she is a person of diligence, I was ready to walk her part. The only way out was to envision a situation critical enough which demanded my entire being as a savior. As expected, my body labored, blisters at their early stage of development appeared as though they had been summoned purposely, bruises between thighs as a result of friction and rubbing, those very thighs pleaded for separation, sores peeled over my skin but then my mind jumped into archives, scrambling for memories worth replaying to aid completion of this huge challenge. 26.2 miles required tactic, what made winners win? How did sports champions finish races and end up with jaw dropping records? What made success possible even in the most unfavorable situations? No music, dying spirit, where was the perseverance? All these created a mine field in my head, I was on one journey my body gladly started rejecting with each step.

I imagined a scenario of an evil king keeping ten close friends hostage and further proportioned 2 miles for each loved one whom I needed to rescue, the last 2 miles was dedicated to a person who hurt me. This was going to be my motivation, dipped in kindness, love and forgiveness. A perfect depiction of the power of togetherness. Humanity was about people so I built momentum to save those close to my heart.???Quickly the stories of champions slipped through cracks of my consciousness, while the other part was seeing things I could not even name, creating reasons to keep going. The Nepali mountaineer Nimsdai Purja a holder of multiple world records embarked on a seemingly impossible target which entailed summitting all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks within just seven months, this together with countless records makes him one of the ground breaking mountaineers of our generation. Determination was the beginning, mindset was everything. I dragged my aching legs which almost felt stronger. Humidity was not friendly, it hurt, my lungs were over worked, leaving me panting in dehydration. What if I dropped in exhaustion???Then my friends were never going to be set free, this was as clear as water. Which would have meant giving up too easily. Addi Zerrenner, a 25-year-old a running coach did not give up during the California International marathon, as qualifying for the Olympics meant the world, she pooped in her shorts three times over the 26.2 miles. That did not stop her, she proudly stated that was her best race. Anyone of us can instantly say a situation such as that will be an immediate red light, embarrassment and discomfort, drenched in stench. If that did not stop her, why then should I be stopped? I wondered. My body began to feel an excess load of weight, numbing effects rippled from waist down. How on earth did they do it? My next four miles had the passion of a mountaineer.

My toes curled at the thought of how often Eliud Kipchoge must have felt exactly like this a million times. The Kenyan professional long runner competed in the 5000-meter distance marathon, a 2016 and 2020 Olympic winner, a set world record at the 2018 Berlin Marathon, the greatest marathoner of modern era. It sent chills down my spine. I covered the next two miles with the spirit of Eliud hoping to rescue another friend from evil’s grip. Surely my body was breaking down, muscles whispered in pain, sweat dripping as a waterfall curtain over my eyes creating a burning sensation with every mini droplet making contact with my iris. I wondered how worse it could get and how much longer I could maintain my balance. It felt unbelievable, I was doing it, with each step I encouraged myself, reminding myself of why I started and why I shall not end till the target was hit.?

Each two miles played the life of Jean- Dominique Bauby, a French journalist, editor and writer. A man who suffered an intense stroke leaving him completely unable to move with the exception of his left eye, his determination to write a book by blinking was crowned with his effort. Indeed, whatever man sets to achieve shall be achieved. At this point I was soaked in sweat, my legs each weighing a ton, toes muffled, knees on the verge of collapse, I was on my 24th?mile. The thought of TMC energized me, a community set as a foundation of greatness. Like never before my mind was closer to the last rescue, this was myself. To fulfill a purpose, I had to visually save myself in order to peacefully escape with my ten loved ones.

?What was the meaning of a man setting out on an eight-hour marathon walk on a Sunday morning, amidst the thinning air and burning ground? At 25 miles I broke barriers, tuning off the elements around me, calibrating the strength of the wind and movement of trees, I could promise not seeing color, dazed, dehydrated yet setting a milestone. A total of 27.47 miles, covered in eight hours 24seconds, a total of 52, 415 steps, locking me down on a 4kg loss. Incredible, I felt the true definition of mind strength, a walk I became a champion of, exceeding my very own expectations of just 26.2 miles, I wondered how I managed to cover 27 miles instead? My body should have shut down immediately the target was hit, why did my body go beyond the limit set? It became clear, what I am trying to say is that the limits we set are parallel to our capabilities. The mind and body agree to disagree, however that very mind will always be in control. My mind was willing and ready to go an extra mile yet my body did not notice. How far we can go will amaze us, being determined allows one foot to be placed in front of the other even in the darkest of places. My marathon walk was envisioned to take place over a year from present day, instead I failed to see the readiness of brain power, once it registered it could not be changed. Let this mark the beginning of massive breakthroughs in all you set to achieve. Self-actualization breeds in an environment of determination no matter the circumstances. Till today I look back unbelievably, back to that Sunday morning as I dragged myself for a regular walk unprepared for a marathon distance. My willingness made it possible, magical morning with the catalysts made it possible.

?I encourage everyone to dream bigger than ever, no limitations, don’t lock yourself up like a hazelnut frozen in winter, break free till you soar above the clouds. Like an eagle hit the highest altitudes, like a whale, the depts of the ocean, like a lion let your roar be heard. Nothing is impossible, if tree snakes can ‘fly’ without wings using a mechanism of muscle contraction and force, how much more us. May this experience unlock possibilities, humans were made to be exceptional. Don’t live ordinarily. Achieve results and keep challenging yourself. Consistency and will power shall remain solid as rock, remain undefeated always, remain true to yourself and proud, but remember nothing comes easy without bruises, aches, pain and blisters. There are many more chapters ahead. Many more marathons to run.

??Contact Info- Email:?[email protected]

Web:?www.thementalcatalyst.com

Date: Tuesday 21st December, 2021

Authored by:?Michael Amankwa and?Ishallynn Efua Tamakloe