This format is much easier than the mountain, trail, road, and even canal path 100s that I've run over the years. You don't need to worry about weather, carrying gear and calories around, or running in the dark by headlamp. All your gear, clothing, drinks, and calories are accessible at any time. There's always a nearby spot to sit or lie down. You can blast music at whatever volume necessary. All things considered, I think 48 hours is generous for 100 treadmill miles. It's also a great way for someone to earn their first buckle, in some cases taking the full 48 hours to do it.
The virtual event can be run during any consecutive 48-hour period during the month of December. Runners register on UltraSignup and upon completion, send timestamped photos of their treadmill mileage to the RD. Mileage is added up and verified via timestamp, with results posted on UltraSignup in early January. Runners who complete at least 100 mile during the 48 hours receive a custom belt buckle in the mail, along with some other cool swag.
Okay, here’s the recap of my 2025 run December 10th to 12th. Please excuse any and all typos, geographic errors, non-stylistic sentence fragments, and erroneous Oxford commas. I’m banging out this report on my iPhone while fighting off the train to night night land.
Back for my fourth round of indoor pedestrian masochism. (My third Dreadmill 48, plus a Satan’s Sidewalk just for the hell of it.) For once things went 99% according to plan and I actually exceeded my own expectations. I guess I’m getting the hang of this unadulterated display of dumbassery.
The first night in my basement was easy enough. My goal was to start at 8:00 p.m. after the kids went to bed and run until 3:30 a.m. or 35 miles, whichever came first. Five minutes unto the run the circuit breaker inexplicably tripped, duly deleting my first half-mile and kicking things off with the 1% that didn’t go as planned. The next 47 hours and 55 minutes was smooth sailing, however. I spent the night listening first to an audiobook of a Chris Cornell biography and then to my “Dreadmill Rock” playlist of 90s alternative and grunge to distract from having to stare at the basement’s north wall’s God-awful paint job that was left by the previous owners and that we haven’t had time yet to repaint. Before I knew it I was shoving down real food at 4 a.m. and preparing to pass out until kids and cats would provide an all-natural wake-up alarm. I’d reached 33.5 miles and had the mental benefit of knowing I was already more than a third of the way done.
Part two was more of the same at the Island Health & Fitness gym while the kids were at school. At mile 50 I took a break to eat lunch with coworkers in our break room. (I work at a doctor’s office upstairs from the gym.) The goal was 67 cumulative miles and a shower before leaving at 5 p.m. to get the kids. I found myself struggling hard until Ryan Allen-Parrot, a fellow ultra runner I know, hopped on next to me for some company. That gave me a much needed energy boost and I left the gym with two thirds of a belt buckle in the bag.
After family dinner I sat down and began nodding off. My wife corralled our two five-year-olds for bed. The cacophony of protests, whining, and tired crying was like a white noise machine — a steady din that’s easily tuned out. I didn’t set an alarm and my one-hour nap turned into three hours.
The extra rest was worth it. After rising from the dead and over caffeinating, I was back in action in the dungeon, albeit somewhat slower than the first night. I wanted at least 13 miles to surpass 80 elapsed; at 80 I felt strong and kept it up for another 4.
Another three hours of sleep. Another resurrection from the proverbial grave. Back downtown to the public gym. I wanted to get the last 16 miles over with quickly, then decide what to do with the remaining time. After slamming two cans of yerba matè for like 300 mg of caffeine, I cranked Pennywise — the southern California-based melodic hardcore punk band I’ve loved since age 15 — into my earholes and held a steady 10:20 per mile pace for almost two hours, carrying me to the requisite 100-mile mark.
I took another breakroom lunch and with 3+ hours until I needed to go home, I walked it in for some bonus mileage, unconcerned with distance or pace. I zoned out with my audiobook and called it at exactly 111.11 miles, a Dreadmill 48 Hour personal best. I ran the last half-mile and finished feeling great, like I could go on forever.
Thanks again to RD Benn Griffin for organizing this! It seems now like the Dreadmill community grows every year. At some point I think I saw it mentioned that finishers of all four events — Dreadmill, Satan’s Sidewalk, Spring Surge, and Circadian Endurance Challenge — in the same year get some kind of special prize. Bummer, because the promise of a vague something is enough to make me do all four without even feeling like I’m given a choice. And right now I can’t stomach the thought of another treadmill mile, let alone 300 of them!
Results | My treadmill segment data | Dreadmill 48 lifetime mileage
The rest of this post is the recap email I sent to race director Benn Griffin within hours of finishing, with only a few minor edits.
Okay, here’s the recap of my 2025 run December 10th to 12th. Please excuse any and all typos, geographic errors, non-stylistic sentence fragments, and erroneous Oxford commas. I’m banging out this report on my iPhone while fighting off the train to night night land.
Back for my fourth round of indoor pedestrian masochism. (My third Dreadmill 48, plus a Satan’s Sidewalk just for the hell of it.) For once things went 99% according to plan and I actually exceeded my own expectations. I guess I’m getting the hang of this unadulterated display of dumbassery.
The first night in my basement was easy enough. My goal was to start at 8:00 p.m. after the kids went to bed and run until 3:30 a.m. or 35 miles, whichever came first. Five minutes unto the run the circuit breaker inexplicably tripped, duly deleting my first half-mile and kicking things off with the 1% that didn’t go as planned. The next 47 hours and 55 minutes was smooth sailing, however. I spent the night listening first to an audiobook of a Chris Cornell biography and then to my “Dreadmill Rock” playlist of 90s alternative and grunge to distract from having to stare at the basement’s north wall’s God-awful paint job that was left by the previous owners and that we haven’t had time yet to repaint. Before I knew it I was shoving down real food at 4 a.m. and preparing to pass out until kids and cats would provide an all-natural wake-up alarm. I’d reached 33.5 miles and had the mental benefit of knowing I was already more than a third of the way done.
Part two was more of the same at the Island Health & Fitness gym while the kids were at school. At mile 50 I took a break to eat lunch with coworkers in our break room. (I work at a doctor’s office upstairs from the gym.) The goal was 67 cumulative miles and a shower before leaving at 5 p.m. to get the kids. I found myself struggling hard until Ryan Allen-Parrot, a fellow ultra runner I know, hopped on next to me for some company. That gave me a much needed energy boost and I left the gym with two thirds of a belt buckle in the bag.
After family dinner I sat down and began nodding off. My wife corralled our two five-year-olds for bed. The cacophony of protests, whining, and tired crying was like a white noise machine — a steady din that’s easily tuned out. I didn’t set an alarm and my one-hour nap turned into three hours.
The extra rest was worth it. After rising from the dead and over caffeinating, I was back in action in the dungeon, albeit somewhat slower than the first night. I wanted at least 13 miles to surpass 80 elapsed; at 80 I felt strong and kept it up for another 4.
Another three hours of sleep. Another resurrection from the proverbial grave. Back downtown to the public gym. I wanted to get the last 16 miles over with quickly, then decide what to do with the remaining time. After slamming two cans of yerba matè for like 300 mg of caffeine, I cranked Pennywise — the southern California-based melodic hardcore punk band I’ve loved since age 15 — into my earholes and held a steady 10:20 per mile pace for almost two hours, carrying me to the requisite 100-mile mark.
I took another breakroom lunch and with 3+ hours until I needed to go home, I walked it in for some bonus mileage, unconcerned with distance or pace. I zoned out with my audiobook and called it at exactly 111.11 miles, a Dreadmill 48 Hour personal best. I ran the last half-mile and finished feeling great, like I could go on forever.
Thanks again to RD Benn Griffin for organizing this! It seems now like the Dreadmill community grows every year. At some point I think I saw it mentioned that finishers of all four events — Dreadmill, Satan’s Sidewalk, Spring Surge, and Circadian Endurance Challenge — in the same year get some kind of special prize. Bummer, because the promise of a vague something is enough to make me do all four without even feeling like I’m given a choice. And right now I can’t stomach the thought of another treadmill mile, let alone 300 of them!
Results | My treadmill segment data | Dreadmill 48 lifetime mileage
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