Outlast
On June 13, my friend Mike and I ran a backyard ultra in Queenstown, Maryland. The format is simple and a little cruel. You run a four mile loop. At the top of the next hour, you run it again. You keep going until you can't, and the last one standing wins.
We didn't do it for a medal. We did it for people who served, and we made a deal. Whoever lasted longer would send the bigger share of what we raised to his cause. Mike runs for PGA HOPE, free golf clinics for veterans. I run for Tunnel to Towers, which builds mortgage-free homes for the families of fallen first responders and service members. My dad captained submarines in the Navy and my sister flew Blackhawks in Iraq, so this one sat close to home.
What follows is the whole day, mile by mile, pulled straight from the watch. Every number here comes off that one Strava activity, so you can check it yourself. Scroll through it.
2026-06-13
Loop 2 at 8:00 AM. Still a warm-up. Run forty minutes, sit thirteen, repeat.
Act I
Morning
Seven in the morning in Queenstown, Maryland. A four mile loop, and a rule we made weeks ago. Run it again at the top of every hour, and keep going until one of us cannot.
Last one standing wins, and the winner sends the bigger share to his cause. Mike picked PGA HOPE. I picked Tunnel to Towers. My dad captained submarines and my sister flew Blackhawks in Iraq, so this was the small thing I could do to say thank you. The first two loops barely count. You run for forty minutes, sit for thirteen, and try not to think about the fact that you have to do it again, and again, for as long as your legs hold.
Act II
Midday
By the third loop my heart rate jumped into the 160s and stayed there. Same easy pace, more cost.
That is the quiet math of an ultra. Nothing feels hard until everything does, and the bill comes due slowly. Run, sit, run, sit. I was past a marathon by noon and barely registered it. The rhythm becomes the entire world. You stop counting miles and start counting loops.
Act III
Afternoon
The afternoon is where it turned, though not dramatically. The loops just got quieter.
Around mile 32 I passed the place where our training run had died at eight hours, and for one loop that felt like a win. Then the power started to leak. You can see it in the numbers before you feel it in your legs. The watts that held near 340 all day began to sag. The engine was still running. It was just running lean.
Act IV
Evening
The tenth loop was the last full one. Somewhere inside it the running became a walk, and the walk became a math problem I kept getting wrong.
My power fell by more than half. My cadence dropped from a runner stride to a stroll. My heart rate fell too, which sounds like recovery and is the opposite. The body was not pushing anymore. It was shutting the lights off. I made it 2.8 miles into the eleventh loop. Forty two point eight, and then I was done. Mike was not. He finished the loop and started another, and that was the race. Eleven loops to my ten. He outlasted me by one.
42.8 mi to Mike's 44 mi. He outlasted me by one loop.
Together we raised $4,310 from 52 donors, split 75/25 to the winner's cause. Mike to PGA HOPE, Max to Tunnel to Towers.
How it ended
Mike won. Eleven loops to my ten, forty-four miles to my forty-two point eight. One loop. That means the bigger share goes to his cause and the rest to mine, and either way every dollar lands with people who earned it.
I lost the race. I would do it again tomorrow.
Where the money went
We closed the fundraiser on June 26. Together you helped us raise $4,310 from 52 people. After GoFundMe's fees, $4,169.02 went out the door to the two causes, and we made both donations ourselves and kept the receipts.
Mike lasted longer, so the deal sent 75 percent to his cause and 25 percent to mine.
- PGA REACH Philadelphia: $3,127.02, funding PGA HOPE, the free golf clinics that get veterans back into community.
- Tunnel to Towers: $1,042.00, which builds mortgage-free homes for the families of fallen first responders and catastrophically injured veterans.
Here is the proof. Not a promise, the actual receipts.
Mike, in his own words
I only started running seriously earlier this year, and what began as a way to challenge myself quickly turned into something much bigger. Over the last several months, we spent countless early mornings and weekends training for this Backyard Ultra. As the race went on and the heat started taking its toll, I learned that endurance is about much more than fitness. Every lap became a battle against fatigue, sore muscles, and self-doubt, but also an opportunity to see how much farther I could push myself.
What made the experience even more meaningful was being able to raise money for causes that were important to us. Thanks to the help of friends, family, coworkers, and our community, the event became about much more than just running. I was fortunate enough to be the last runner standing after 44 miles, but the biggest takeaway was realizing what can happen when you stay consistent and commit to a goal.
The experience has already inspired my next challenge. I signed up for the Pine Creek Challenge 100 Miler this September. Six months into my running journey, I'm still finding out what I'm capable of, and that's probably been the most rewarding part of all.
Mike Romano, the last runner standing.
Thank you to everyone who chipped in, followed along, and sent a message when our legs were shot. That was the whole point. Max and Mike.