On a warm, breezy evening, I had the pleasure of crossing the “finish line” at the Santa Monica Pier with the Route 48 Team. (With decidedly fresher legs—I only ran the last mile with them!) To recap, Nico Melo and a group of his friends bought an old school bus and renovated it. They drove it from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, completing the David Goggins 4x4x48 challenge in different locations. When I heard about this amazing challenge—and that they would finish less than a mile from my home—I knew I had to cheer them on and be a part of this excitement.

I jumped in with them 48 hours and 47 miles after they’d started.

They’d stopped everywhere. From Salt Lake City to Las Vegas to the Mojave Desert, they made their way to the California coast. Just before Santa Monica, they ran through the beautiful Palos Verdes. “It was a little out of the way, but we knew we needed to get it in,” they said.

Are they running a marathon or SOMETHING?

Their legs were tired, but their spirits were high. As we chugged down the oceanside running path, our pack of more than 15 runners got quite a few stares. “Are they running a marathon or something?” someone asked. Or something!

Along the way from SLC to LA, the crew picked up friends and supporters, and there was a good-sized pack by the time we made it to the pier. As the local Santa Monican, I had to be the bearer of bad news that, at mile 47.8, they had to run up a massive hill in order to finish right at the pier.

More Than One Cause for Celebration

And Nico, one of the team members, was celebrating a birthday, so what better way to end a long run (or any run, really) than with donuts? I asked them if they were going out to celebrate after, and I heard a chorus of “we just can’t wait to shower.”

By the time they crossed the finish line, the official fundraising total was $16,216! We are all so appreciative and in awe of the Route 48 team’s hard work and hope they’re getting some much-deserved rest right now.