Student Voices

Going the Distance

Interview By Tina Lefevre

A Q&A WITH MARCUS VON RECKLINGHAUSEN ’20

On an overcast-turned-rainy Sunday in October, Marcus vonRecklinghausen ’20 turned a one-mile trip to the Vanilla Bean Café into a fifty-mile run. Why? To prove to himself he could do it. Recently, we sat down with Marcus to learn more about this extraordinary accomplishment.

CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE RUN?

I knew it was about a mile from the south end of campus to The Bean, so I decided to run back and forth twenty-five times, which would equal roughly fifty miles. Throughout the day, I took breaks to refuel and regroup — once after twenty miles, and again at miles thirty and forty. The whole fifty-mile run, breaks included, took me about eleven hours to complete.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO RUN SUCH A LONG DISTANCE?

I wanted to challenge myself. Not just physically, but also mentally. When you’re running and you hit that moment of wanting to give up, when your body is telling you to quit, you find a way to block out the pain and just keep moving forward. That applies to other situations in our lives. If things aren’t going well in the classroom or on the basketball court and I get to the point where I might consider giving up, I can look back on this run and know that I’m strong enough to overcome any obstacle.

DID YOU PLAN TO RUN FIFTY MILES THAT DAY, OR DID YOU JUST PLAY IT BY EAR?

It was planned. In fact, the Friday before the run, during my chapel talk, I shared my plans to run fifty miles that weekend. I didn’t announce it to brag or to get attention for it. I mentioned it to create a certain level of accountability for myself. Once I told everyone I was doing it, I knew I was committed.

HOW DID MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY RESPOND?

Everyone was very supportive. Every time I took a break, people would come up to me to ask how I was doing. Throughout the day, the school’s executive chef, JD Mellowship, gave me tips about what to eat and made sure I had everything I needed. All the encouragement really lifted me up and motivated me to finish.

DID YOU EVER HIT A POINT WHERE YOU WANTED TO GIVE UP?

Though I never really wanted to give up, miles twenty to thirty were definitely the most challenging. During the first twenty miles, I felt super motivated — I was excited to get out and accomplish my goal. But miles twenty to thirty were especially difficult. That’s when my body just wanted to shut down — my legs began to ache and the bottoms of my feet started to really hurt from running on the pavement all day. That’s when I had to really dig deep and stay focused on my goal.

DO YOU HAVE ANY RUNNING QUIRKS?

I’m not sure if this is a quirk, but when I run, I don’t listen to music. People think it’s insane, but I don’t want the distraction. When I’m running, I’m just thinking about the run and reflecting. I’m thinking about my next steps. I’m reminding myself why I’m doing it.

IF YOU COULD RUN WITH ANYONE, ALIVE OR NOT, WHO WOULD IT BE?

David Goggins, no question. He’s my idol. He’s a former Navy Seal and an ultra-marathon runner. His book Can’t Hurt Me really helped shape my perspective on so many things.

WHAT HAS RUNNING TAUGHT YOU ABOUT YOURSELF?

Running has taught me that I’m capable of much more than I sometimes give myself credit for. And that, most often, the problems I face aren’t really as big as I might make them out to be. I think many of us tend to give up too easily when we really have so much left. Our mind convinces us that we should give up; the brain wants to avoid pain. But if you can get past those first signals from your brain telling you to stop, you realize your capable of so much more. If you can push through those first roadblocks, you can get into the clear and achieve something so much bigger than you ever thought possible.

WHAT ARE YOUR RUNNING GOALS FOR 2020?

I’m taking a break from the crazy distances for now and I’m back to running about eighteen to twenty miles a week. In the spring, I definitely want to get back out there. I don’t have any specific goal in mind. I just know that I want to try to expand on what I’ve done. I want to continue to push the limits.