ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN – A treadmill run offers neither historical tradition such as the Boston Marathon nor the stark grandeur of the Grand Canyon Ultramarathon.
But Lt. j.g. Geoff Weber, assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln’s Operations Department as intelligence division officer, managed to combine elements from some of his classier marathons while setting a world record for running 31.2 miles on a treadmill.
With a time of 3 hours, 46 minutes and 12 seconds, Weber’s time eclipsed the old “Guinness Book of World Record” time of 3 hours, 53 minutes and 13 seconds by seven minutes and one second.
All this on a Sunday morning in the middle of the Pacific during the Everett-based Lincoln’s deployment, before Weber’s noon watch. Weber had the added challenge of dealing with the weather outside; a tropical depression brought 80-knot winds and waves up to 25 feet.
Weber had hoped to better the old mark by at least 3 minutes. But he said he got a little excited by mile 20 and increased his pace. Mile 27 bit back when he felt a hamstring cramp and had to slow down.
“If I let them, the miles can really start to eat me,” Weber said. “It is a very humbling experience to run distance.”
Weber was quick to credit friends and co-workers who came up to run with him, encourage him and urge him on.
“Everyone who came up and joked, cheered and clapped helped me reach the finish line,” said Weber, 37, a Tucson, Ariz., native.
“Breaking the record was easier to accomplish than I anticipated,” Weber noted. “By the first 10 miles, I really felt confident. Just as I feel confident that someone else will come along shortly and break it right after me.”
Lincoln fitness coordinator Cecilia Fresques pointed out that there are side benefits to what Weber just accomplished.
“It is certainly different, and of course, he’s got to also be a little crazy to do it,” Fresques said. “But the real benefit is that he has definitely motivated a lot of us to push ourselves toward a goal that we might think is out of reach.”
Studio video cameras recorded the event for the “Guinness Book of World Records.”
Weber said he was running more than 100 miles a week during the initial stages of deployment.
“I toned down my 100 miles to 70, then just did 50 a few week ago and last week only did two eight-mile runs,” he said. “I’ll use this run to gradually get myself back up to around the weekly 140-150 miles mark.”
Weber’s key to finishing a super marathon is simple: Keep moving.
Weber completed his first major run, the Boston Marathon, with an unofficial time of 3 hours and 56 minutes when he was 17. His personal best has been an unofficial time of 2 hours, 50 minutes and 50 seconds in the 1990 Boston race.
In 2003 he was awarded Athlete of the Year for Naval Station Everett.
His list of accomplishment extends to numerous 5-kilometer runs, as well as competitive cycling events.
So where does Weber go now that he’s a world record-breaker?
Weber said he’d like to break the 50-mile and 100-kilometer treadmill world records. And he’d like to win the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon across Death Valley, and run the 2,174-mile Appalachian Trail in 40 days to set a new world record.
“And,” he continued “I also hope my wife, Nancy, runs a marathon with me.”
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