100 Miles in 24 Hours
By: Jennifer Herseim | Categories: Alumni Interest
Wilson Fisher, AE 25, MS AE 26, staggered over the finish line on May 31 after running 100 miles in 24 hours and raising $32,829 for Parkinson’s research.
Fisher’s grandmother, Carol, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 15 years ago and he wanted to honor her while she could see his impact. “I wanted to do something while she was still here to show that a passion can be used for good. At the end, I wanted nothing more than to just give up. I wouldn’t have gone so far if I didn’t have that purpose driving me,” Fisher says.
Although he had never attempted 100 miles in one run before, he spent months preparing. He completed a 50K ultra marathon leading up to the challenge and ran an average 70 miles a week, lifting weights three to four times a week.
On the big day, Carol was one of the many supporters who showed up to cheer him on. His parents, Kelli Fisher, Mgt 98, and Rob Fisher, IE 99, who met at Georgia Tech, were there, too. So were his friends from the Georgia Tech Run Club, which Fisher was part of all four years at Tech. They took shifts to run alongside him. “My friend took an Uber from Atlanta to Johns Creek to be there at 5:50 a.m. to start running with me,” Fisher says.
He chose to not listen to music so he could focus on being with those who showed up to run with him. When pain and exhaustion at the halfway point made him question if he could keep going, they pushed him forward. “One friend told me, ‘you’re going to regret this for the rest of your life if you don’t give it your all.’”
The next 12 hours felt like an eternity, he says. “I largely attribute me finishing to the continued support of people who came in—family members, friends—who were constantly taking shifts to run with me, so I was hardly running alone.”
