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PEOPLE PROFILE mike buss
Medically discharged from the army, Buss found adjusting to civilian life hard. He then qualifi ed as a personal trainer and turned his attention to breaking a number of world records for running
100 marathons in 100 days – why?! I found out that there was a world record for the most back-to-back marathons, and at the time it was 50 – so I decided to do 55. Then along came Eddie Izzard in the spring of this year and did 47 marathons in 53 days. Suddenly my 55 sounded quite tame, as I’m a professional athlete whereas he’s a comedian. That’s when the HERO 100 was born:100 marathons in 100 consecutive days, for Help for Heroes.
What was the hardest part of the challenge?
When I got to the 30–35 marathon mark, and I knew I still had about 70 marathons left, I knew I could complete them physically but mentally I was starting to struggle – being on the road for so long, on my own, going back to empty hotel rooms and being trapped in a bubble for three months.
Are there any moments during the challenge that you particularly remember? The day I broke the world record (marathon number 51) was special, but the last four marathons were excellent. I was at Leisure Industry Week, running in front of 80,000 people. Many of the exhibitors knew me already and many of my fi tness industry sponsors, such as Star Trac and Gatorade, were there to cheer me on.
What’s behind these feats? When I left the army I found it extremely diffi cult to adjust, even becoming homeless, but I’ve found salvation in fi tness, training myself for this – and other similar challenges – as well as training others. Running in particular has become my salvation and really has saved me from going back to the streets.
How long have you been a PT? I’ve been training people on and off for more than 10 years. I now have trainers working for me, so I can step back and focus on developing advanced skills in those trainers, as well as running my Bulldog Bootcamp residential military fi tness camps for civilians.
What classes do you teach? I mainly do Bootcamp fi tness classes and coach people getting into Ultra racing.
What’s your typical day like? I run approximately 100 miles a week, as well as four weights sessions in the gym and a group cycling class. I will then often do motivational after-dinner and conference talks and speeches to corporates. Youth organisations and schools have also been booking me. My life has become one big 24-hours-a-day motivational workshop!
What drives you?
A passion for pushing myself beyond the limits that most people believe are possible, hence my tag line ‘Beyond Impossible’.
What’s the number one weakness in the fi tness industry? Retention. I see it far too many times with many of the big names in the industry: too many of them focus on sales. In my view you don’t need a sales team – you need a retention team.
Buss after the last marathon at LIW november/december 2010 © cybertrek 2010
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