Preparing for the Wall

Have you been wondering how someone like Jason Lester might prepare for a feat as challenging as running 2,500 miles across the Great Wall of China in under 100 days? Well, the photo above is just part of the intensive training that he’s already actively engaged in.

This is Jason, 5 hours into a 7-hour run to the summit of Mt. Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain in the world. Sure, Mt. Everest holds the distinction of highest elevation above sea level with an impressive 29,035 feet, but Mt. Mauna Kea’s total height of 32,808 feet gets the prize for the tallest mountain because its base starts below sea level. In this photo, Jason is at 12,000 feet on his way to the summit elevation of 13,780 feet above sea level!!!

Travel websites warn that the oxygen levels at the summit are 40% lower than at sea level and suggest that less than healthy people should avoid the trip, even by car! Good thing we’re not talking about any ordinary person here!

Jason will continue to train with increasingly difficult challenges to help prepare himself for the official start of the M5M China Run on August 1st. We’ll be with him every step of the way.

Preparing for Your Wall

You might not be preparing to run the Great Wall of China in 100 days like Jason, but we all face great obstacles in our lives. And, with a little preparation, you can tackle the things that stand in your way. Maybe you have set a high business, physical, financial, or spiritual goal for yourself. You’ll never accomplish it if you jump in blindly. Here are our tips to remember when preparing for your “Wall.”

1. Set a measurable goal. Perhaps you wish to run one mile a day for a month or put 15% of your monthly income in savings for a year. Whatever your goal is, make it clear enough that at the end of a designated period, you can measure your progress.
2. Create a plan of action. Chances are things won’t go the way you planned. But as long as you have a clear path to follow, you can get back on track in no time.
3. Surround yourself with encouragement. Empty your life of the relationships that drain and degrade you or make a list of your inspirational quotes to read daily.
4. Don’t let fear lie to you. Fear can make things seem a lot scarier than they actually are. View your journey as simply getting from point A to point B; and getting to point B is not an option.
5. Don’t slack on your training. If you skip one day, the next one will be even easier to skip. But a consistent habit formed is hard to break.
6. Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. The more you do an action, the more familiar you’ll be with that action; and your preparation will become second nature.
7. Be patient for the breakthrough. Distance runners say that once you get past the fourth mile, you can go on forever. Wait for that “fourth mile” and you’ll start to see real progress.
8. Run your own race. Comparison is the thief of joy. Don’t compare your race to another’s. Just focus on what works best for you.
9. Visualize your victory. What will happen when you accomplish your goal? Focus on the prize, the reward and the status you’ll achieve by conquering your Wall.
10. Just do it! Planning is important, but thinking too much about your Wall can intimidate you into never tackling it. Quit thinking and just dive in!

If you aren’t participating in our 100-Day Challenge, we encourage you to join us with a Wall of your own that you want to overcome. Dream big!

Is there something you’ve always wanted to do but never got around to doing it? Do you need to conquer a fear that’s been affecting you for years?

The simple truth is that if you want to see what you’ve never seen before, you have to do what you’ve never done before.

Let’s do this together. It’s time to prepare for the Wall.