OCALA, FL (352today.com) – “Come on, guys!”
The orders were clear for the Australian Terriers tethered to a leash with Dr. Jeff Gray on the other end. It was time for their favorite four-letter word.
W-A-L-K
“I’ve had big dogs most of the time, like Airedale Terriers and Irish Terriers,” remarked Gray.
Gray enjoys taking his furry, four-legged companions on a stroll along the greenway, where he feels blessed to call home.
You might say the 64-year-old Ocala pathologist is obsessed with maintaining physical fitness.
Gray was all about running and mountain biking before his exercise routine had to evolve.
After decades of hard workouts, Gray says his body began to feel the wear and tear.
“I slowly but surely, after 30 years, started to slow down a bit and stopped running,” said Gray.
Gray knew he wanted to continue exercising and began hiking with his dogs. Hiking then turned into rucking, where the hiker wears a weighted backpack or a weight vest while on their journey.
Gray says rucking dramatically increased the number of calories he burned.
He began rucking as a full-time replacement for running. As the flat lands of Ocala present less of a challenge, Gray began looking for a new challenge.
The 29,029 Everesting challenge honed into view. The event calls for participants to scale 29,029 vertical feet, the equivalent height of Mount Everest. It takes place in the mountains of Sun Valley, Idaho. You scale the mountain, take a gondola down and then repeat for a total of 29,029 feet.
Gray signed up the day tickets were released.
“My wife was the one who found this event for me. I’ve done several ultra marathons, 50k mile runs, and 12-hour mountain bike races, but never something like this,” said Gray. “I had to sign up for this on the dot on December 1 of last year. Tickets sold out in under 15 minutes.”
Gray took it a step further than most people; rucking was an optional choice for the challenge, an option Gray decided to choose.
To prepare for the event, Gray followed a 20-week workout plan that included a detailed day-to-day itinerary on exercises to better position himself for tackling the mountain.
“I had mindset calls, coaching calls. I had access to a number of coaches that would coach you anytime you wanted,” said Gray.
Gray says he also stayed on track with his own workout regimen.
“I took on a little less cycling and more specific stroke work on hiking upwards. I tweaked my workouts with treadmill workouts at a 20-degree incline, some step master workouts, and did some elevation training in Georgia,” said Gray.
While in Georgia, Gray hiked up to the top of Brasstown Bald, the highest point in the state.
“I started at the very bottom, made my way up to the top, then had my wife come pick me up and drive me back down to do it all over again,” said Gray.
In the span of a week, Gray made his way to the top of Brasstown Bald a total of ten times, a simulation practice that helped him build up his stamina and endurance.
Then, it was time for the real thing.
The Everesting challenge started on June 6. Participants have 36 hours to rack up the 29,029 feet.
“I wanted to get 12 laps in before I took a break, if I needed one,” said Gray.
The combination of heat and altitude added to the strenuous task.
“We were basically climbing up double black diamond ski slopes and some of the access roads. It was insanely difficult,” said Gray.
Gray had to ascend the trail 15 times to complete the goal.
“In my head, I was thinking, ‘Okay, that’s one. That’s five.’ I just began counting,” said Gray.
Gray’s times remained consistent at around an hour, for each trek up the mountain.
“I would then get on the gondola and have 20 minutes to eat, change gear, socks, shoes. I changed shirts at different times throughout the day, as it would get hot during the day and cool during the night,” said Gray.
After 19 hours of rigorous climbing, Gray had completed 12 of the 15 laps.
“After I did a few night hikes on the first night I told myself it’d probably be best if I got a little rest,” admitted Gray.
He retreated to his tent.
“I went to bed that night, slept about three hours, then got up to knock out the last three laps the next morning,” stated Gray.
Gray woke up around 5:30 a.m. and after a quick breakfast, he made his way back to the mountain to finish his journey.
Out of roughly, 200 participants, Gray finished 21st. But organizers are clear. It’s not a race. There are no awards. It’s you versus you.
“Every single climb was hard. Every single time going up was really, really hard,” said Gray. “But in my mind, I wasn’t going to stop until I was done.”
Organizers say it’s about supporting each other and becoming the best version of you.
“When the founders started the event, they had a crude saying which was ‘no a**holes allowed.’ Their goal was to gather a group of people who were like-minded and who were grateful to be there, appreciated being there,” said Gray. “It’s not so much the accomplishment of doing this, it’s the accomplishment of trying it, being grateful for the ability to do it.”
Back home in Florida, Gray is still processing his experience.
“I’m still digesting it. I’m not sure what I got out of it entirely yet. I just know it was a very positive thing to do,” said Gray. “I took away a lot of positive interactions with people and a lot of self-growth. I’m hoping to use the positivity in whatever way presents itself.”
To no one’s surprise, Gray’s already thinking about what’s next.
“It’s all about taking what I’ve learned and what I’ve done and using it for the next challenge.”