A North Dakota State University student started an Olympic size journey today (Sunday). Ben Clark will be running 400 miles in 7 days around the NDSU campus. Ben will be running around a roughly 3 mile loop constantly, stopping only for short periods of time.
Ben Clark says, "A lot of pain in the legs. Just constant pounding."
It takes a certain type of person and mind frame to be an ultramarathoner.
Ben says, "I try to slow my mind down to a low mental state to where it's almost like I'm sleeping, then I just run."
But Ben Clark is stretching the word ultra to the max. He's running 400 miles around NDSU's campus. And yes, he says people think he's crazy... even his friends.
Ben's friend, Dillon Hofsommer, says, "This is something that is mind boggling to me."
By the end, Ben will know the NDSU campus fairly well, because he'll have gone around it about 135 times.
Ben's beginning to running only started three years ago, to help him battle depression.
"Kind of going through some hard times and I thought well, maybe I'll give running a shot," says Ben.
And now he's making the hobby a life changing tool. He's running to raise money for the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association, and his friends will be at a booth on his route taking donations.
Hofsommer says, "I figure if Ben can run around here a couple days straight, I could sit here for a few hours."
But the donations mean something more.
Ben says, "Both my parents have autoimmune diseases, my mom has multiple sclerosis and she's disabled. My dad has peripheral neuropathy."
And that makes the pain, the sweat and the miles worth it.
"Donations. That's the reason I'm doing this," says Ben.
Ben's inviting anyone who donates to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association to run with him.
When he's all done, you'd think sleeping would be a priority, but he says he's usually in so much pain after long runs like this that he can't sleep. Instead, since Ben's an NDSU student and school starts next week, right after he's done, he gets the daunting task of moving into his dorm room.
This isn't the first time ben has gone the distance for a cause. Last year, he covered 366 miles to raise money for flood ravaged Minot. And when he's not running, Ben finds time to focus on school, where he's double majoring in math and computer science. If you don't have time to catch up with Ben, you can donate on his blog website. http://benclarkruns.blogspot.com/ You can also follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/benclark314
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