In May of 2021, two ultrarunners named David Kilgore and Margot Fleming were invited to a unique event whose only rules are there are no rules and there are no spectators. In the spirit of Hunter S Thompson’s mind-expanding trip across the desert in the iconic book Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas, The Speed Project is a race from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. The route is anywhere from 300 to 340 miles and is a journey just as counter culture as Thompson’s book, just without the drugs.
David and Margot were each supported by their crews on this multi-day race and to make things more interesting for all of us data-lovers, they had their biometrics measured the whole time by a wearable technology device called WHOOP. WHOOP measured their heart rate, heart rate variability, sleep quality, recovery and more.
You would think that after 50 to 80 mile days of running in the desert, all biometric trends would progressively get worse as each athlete deteriorated with the effort. But that’s not what happened.
A little background, David Kilgore is an accomplished ultrarunner, who ran for the University of Colorado and on Team USA in the Trail and Ultra Running World Championships in 2019. Today, he leads marketing for On Running in New York City, where he now lives and trains.
Margot Fleming is an ultrarunner and marathoner, has worked with Nike as a global brand manager, and now heads the global footwear marketing team at Lululemon. She is also the daughter of famed marathoner and 2 time NYC Marathon winner Tom Fleming who tragically suffered a heart attack at age 65. Margot is deeply ingrained in the NY NJ run scene and has worked closely with New York Road Runners in honor of her father’s legacy.
Claire Bartholic sits down with David and Margot to learn what it was like to push yourself to such limits through running, what it was like to race through the desert for days, how they fueled, and how they recovered.
For those of you that already love the world of ultra running, this one will hit the spot and for those of you who cannot even fathom such a journey, David and Margot will help paint the picture of what it’s really like.
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