What Mile Forty-One Teaches Us About Grit, Leadership, and the Choice to Keep Going

In May of 2025, I ran another ultramarathon—a 50-mile race (50.89 to be exact) in and around the Smith Rock area of Oregon. It’s a different kind of crazy, something I’ll explain another time.

This race followed a tune-up event—a 40K in Arizona back in January—and then roughly three months of training at home. That training block totaled 330 miles of running and 53,276 feet of climbing, or elevation gain.

Race week arrived, and I was ready. Despite a few shortened training runs and a slight calf injury going into race day, I had done everything I could. It was go time.

Adrenaline flowing and confidence locked in, I started strong. In fact, I was ahead of my goal by 10 minutes and 46 seconds—feeling good, feeling unstoppable—through mile 38.

Then came mile 39. The low of lows hit, as it often does in these races. The key is working through it: problem-solving and assessing in real time. The ability to do this successfully is one major factor that separates the finishers from the DNF’s (Did Not Finish). At that point, I was tired, nauseated, dehydrated, and questioning why I was even doing this.

By mile 41, the proverbial wheels had fallen off. Scorched by the relentless sun, I had slowed dramatically. My body and my mind were failing, and it was time to decide:

Sharpen the shovel and dig, or wave the flag and call for relief?

I sharpened my shovel.

My training had prepared more than my legs—it had prepared my mind. It trained me to go somewhere else mentally when the path ahead seemed too punishing, too impossible; to push forward when every part of me wanted shade, silence, and rest.

Weaving, winding, climbing, and descending toward the finish, I couldn’t accept not completing what I had set out to do. I refused to negotiate with any alternative.

Miles 41–50.89 became a physical and mental war unlike anything I had ever waged before—and it changed me. It made for a grueling, exhilarating, and incredibly rewarding finish. The best, hardest decision I made that day.

And just like that, the M41 Project was born.

The moral of the story is this: Miles 1–40 are the easiest miles. It’s what you choose at mile 41—when things get truly hard—that defines you.

That moment when fatigue, pain, doubt, and frustration try to kick the door down and take over.

If you’re at your own mile 41—wondering what to do or where to go next in leadership, in life, or even in the gym—I have a solution. Let’s connect. Let me help you discover just how capable you really are.