Posted on the Ultralist:
Randy Gehrke
Howdy all. Please read this entire post as it relates to all and it could happen to anyone of us.
Many of you know what happened to Danelle Ballangee trail running in Moab, Utah. If you don’t, there is a good story at:
http://www.summitdaily.com
To make a long story short, she slipped while she was shortcutting up a canyon and fell over several cliffs and severely broke her pelvis. She was by herself with her dog, Taz, and she ended up laying in the desert for 52 hours before she was rescued by SAR. Taz had lead the searchers to her from the trailhead–about 6 miles in. She was lifeflighted to Grand Junction where they examined her and because of the seriousness of the injuries, she was then flown to Denver by airplane. After an extensive surgery and hospital stay, she is now with her parents in Evergreen, Colorado where she is confined to a wheelchair for 3 to 6 months and then she will have to
learn how to walk again. Danelle faces an extremely hard road ahead but like with ultras and adventure racing, she says, “i’m just taking one step at a time.” And as you can imagine, her medical bills are staggering. Even so, she is confident that she will come back and race again.
So…..I am organizing a national fundraiser for her via the first, “National 24 hour Treadmill Championships.” Here is how it will work. It is set to start at 9:00 A.M. (mountain time) on the 10th of March. The runner or runners can do at anywhere they please. I belong to a gym here in   Hailey, Idaho and they will be staying open for 24 hours to do this. We have seven treadmills and since a lot of the runners can’t fathom to run for 24 hours, they will be doing it in a relay. My goal is to shoot for over 100 miles but more realistic, it will be to stay upright and not fall off.
My main goal is to raise money for Danelle but at the same time, this will provide a venue for 24 hours of treadmill running. Those that would be going for a 24 hour treadmill record—-i have no idea of what that might be—-would have to have a witness present during their run. And if it came down to a small margin, I would assume that the machine would have to be certified.
I am asking for a $50.00 entry fee for solos and a $25.00 entry fee for each member of a relay team.
You can have as many members as you would like. My vision is to do this at gyms across the nation and i am sure that other members of the gym and public would also contribute. I already have our gym and alot of the people here in Hailey, Idaho behind this cause. I have done other fundraisers for those that have needed it over the years and i have found that people are very generous—they just have to know about it and be asked.
Danelle has been a teammate of mine and she is a very accomplished athlete and a great person and this is her time of need.
I will have certificates for everyone who enters with their time and place in the 24 hours. I am also working on getting shirts for the event. (if you know a source, please let me know) You can send your entry fee and contributions to:
Update:
Subject: 2 Changes to the “International” 24 hour Treadmill Challenge
I’ve received quite a bit of interest in this fundraiser/run. A couple of changes are in order—first of all, it will be an international event so the official title is “The International 24 hour Treadmill Championships.” There is interest abroad and that is awesome!
Next, there will be an additional category for those who want contribute but not run for 24 hours. This idea was actually suggested by several other runners and it will be an hour run at a 15 percent grade(I think that’s max on most treadmills) We’ll go ahead and establish a world record for that during this event. And if anyone is going for and knows what the current world record is, I’d like to know what it is.
So, in brief summary:
March 10/11–
Anywhere you like–
International 24 hour Treadmill Championships
entry fee/donation—–
Solo $50.00
Relay $25.00 per team member
Hour at 15% grade $25.00 per entrant
Again, this is a fundraiser but at the same time, if you would like to go for the record, do so.
You can send fees/donations to me at:
Randy Gehrke
The Danelle Ballengee Fund
P.O. Box 745
Picabo, Idaho USA
1-208-471-0021
[email protected]
THANK YOU.
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