Getty Image / ROBYN BECK/AFP/TrackLeaders
If you came in search of motivation today then you have come to the right place. David Park started running around 450 days ago and worked out like David Goggins for 448 days, posting videos along the way where he’d say ‘Day X of working out like David Goggins to get his attention.’
Little did David Park realize early on but it would take less than 1.5 years for him to become an elite athlete himself. And when he ran the Moab 240 ultramarathon last week, the third leg of the 200+ mile ‘Triple Crown of Ultramarathons,’ he would do it alongside his idol David Goggins.
Average Joe Works Out Like David Goggins For 448 Days, Runs Moab 240-Mile Ultramarathon
David Park’s journey started after he says he tried to take footage of himself swimming only to realize he had gotten obese. At the time, he says he was running about once a week but had fallen deeply out of shape.
So he started posting videos of ‘Day 1 of working out like David Goggins until I get him to notice me’ which of course was not the ultimate goal. His goal was multi-pronged (lose weight, get toned, gain YouTube fame, etc) but the overarching goal was to get fit by his standards.
In order to get fit, he sought out the tutelage of former U.S. Navy SEAL David Goggins who is an elite endurance athlete, motivational speaker, has 14 million followers on Instagram, and more.
If you’re not familiar with David Goggins, he’s arguably the greatest motivator in the game these days. Some of his quotes that resonate deeply are “Don’t stop when you’re tired. Stop when you’re done” and “Mental toughness is a lifestyle” and “When you think that you are done you’re only 40% in to what your body’s capable of doing. that’s just the limits that we put on ourselves.”
It is one thing to talk the talk but David Goggins also walks the walk. He completed the Moab 240 ultramarathon this year, all 240 miles of it, with a moving time of 2d10h59m and resting time of 1d01h56m. The total elevation gain on the race course was 24633 ft.
Back to David Park…
Let’s start with his ‘Day 1 of working out like David Goggins’ video. He explains what he was doing, why he started the challenge, and what he was hoping to get out of it:
Getting motivated for any reason is admirable. If you can get motivated by a beautiful sunset then more power to you. For me, it took staring in the mirror and finally realizing I had become deeply unhealthy. Since January 30th, I’ve lost 48 pounds with only 4 more to go until I hit my target weight. I’ve been using the MacroFactor App to track everything along the way and that app has been a godsend for me.
Similarly, for David Park he needed to make a change and he turned to the best motivator in the business. Flash forward 448 days and he ran side-by-side with David Goggins at the Moab 240 ultramarathon, the Super Bowl of 200+ mile ultras, and I don’t want to spoil how he handled it so I’ll let you watch the video:
What’s Next?
I’m planning on competing in my first sprint triathlon this January. I hope to follow that up within a few short months with the Olympic distance. My end goal, of course, is an Ironman. I hope to avoid becoming insufferable along the way and oversharing my journey here but the first leg has been great.
Starting January 30th I began calorie tracking and exercising more. I was already doing cardio (cycling) 3-4 sessions a week. Since then I’ve gone to 4-6 cycling sessions (60-100 miles/week), I walk 10,000-15,000 steps daily, I lift upper body on Monday/Thursday mornings and lower body on Tuesday/Friday mornings. Wednesdays are my rest days where I try and walk 10 miles but have recently been working in walk-jog intervals to build up my running stamina.
Slowly but surely, I’m getting sucked into the David Goggins world of motivation just like David Park did. There’s something deeply motivating about the conviction he speaks with and how he just goes out and does the damn thing instead of just talking about it… Nobody trusts and out of shape fitness coach, right?
Need to get motivated still, here is David Park’s last 45 seconds of the Moab 240 ultramarathon, a 240-mile race through the desert that only the most elite athletes on earth can even dream of attempting:
Here are David Park’s Moab 240 results:
History Made At Moab 240
For those that were following along this year, they already know the biggest story line was Kilian Korth had the chance to set a new record in the Triple Crown of 200s. He won Tahoe, Bigfoot, and if he won the Moab 240 he’d become the first person since Michael McKnight to win all three.
Kilian Korth did in fact win the Moab 240 and he set a new combined Triple Crown of 200s record with a time of 156:30:20. The previous record was 162:00:51 held by Michael McKnight since 2019 who also won all 3 Triple Crown of 200 Ultras that year.
Now if you are feeling a little too motivated after all this and need to come back down to earth a little bit, take a look at David Goggins’ feet after running the Moab 240. He shared this photo on his Instagram page but be warned it looks like his skin is detached from his body.