This weekend, James Boria bear crawled an ultramarathon through the streets of NYC (a world record) and it’s something that I’ll never forget. I started to write this blog as I was going on 48 hours without sleep and don’t have the perfect words (just yet), but let me share bit about one of the most deep, beautiful, and meaningful experiences I’ve ever had.
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31.07 Miles (23:26:08)
I started working with James 16 months ago because (like most of us), he wanted to get clear on life. What started out like most coaching relationships evolved into something much more. For the past 14 months I’ve had the absolute honor of watching James show up with unwavering conviction about the things that matter most to him. Even when life was uncertain, the vision of this crawl kept him grounded in something much bigger than himself. I had an inside scoop on the crawl but nothing could have prepared us for the painful, beautiful, organized chaos that was this weekend. There were some high, highs and some low, lows; some things went to plan and most things didn’t. It’s hard to describe the feelings that come with seeing a grown man on his hands and knees on cold pavement, in so much pain because he’s emptied the tank (to catch another wind and realize that there was still more to give). This weekend inspired me to push harder even when the tank feels emptied. We broke down the crawl one mile at a time (in detail) on a recent podcast (see below).
The last mile of this crawl was the most arduous and it’s where I felt obligated to be in the fire with the man who poured his heart out all across NYC. On all fours, I crawled with a warrior and cried at the same time. There’s something so powerful about shared suffering and I’ll be forever grateful that James shared part of his suffering with me and with the world.
It’s a beautiful reminder that life is hard, endurance is required and we don’t have to do it alone.
Keep an eye out for the next episode of the Project Endure Podcast where James and I take you through it all; from conception to completion. Shoutout to all of the beautiful people who helped James make this happen and who will forever hold a place in my heart, hurting, helping, laughing and loving through the streets of NYC.❤️
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If this endeavor taught me one thing, it’s that we always have more to give. Even during our darkest hours and most painful moments, we can continue on when the reason is bigger than us. I hope that James has inspired you like he’s inspired me and I need to end this blog with a powerful quote that will leave you thinking…
“Every athlete who has pushed beyond his or her known limits of endurance in the quest for improvement understands these sentiments. There is no experience quite like that of driving yourself to the point of wanting to give up and then not giving up. In that moment of “raw reality,” as Mark Allen has called it, when something inside you asks, how bad do you want it?, an inner curtain is drawn open, revealing a part of you that is not seen except in moments of crisis. And when your answer is to keep pushing, you come away from the trial with the kind of self-knowledge and self-respect that can’t be bought.”
Matt Fitzgerald
Do hard things.
Joe Rinaldi
IG: @joearinaldi
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