One year ago today, we embarked on an inconceivable journey, and quite honestly, it was possibly the greatest 24 consecutive hours that I have ever experienced in my life…
A year prior, I tripped into a sport and a record I had no idea even existed when I was invited to play in a 12 hour speed golf tournament and somehow figured out a way to play 245 holes of golf and break a world record…
Naturally, once that was accomplished it only seemed logical to chase the 47 year old, 24 hour world record set by Australian Ian Colston back in 1973.
Thus we created the Let Them Play Foundation 24 Hour World Record Golf Challenge and used it as an opportunity to raise a bunch of money and get local youth activity organizations to come out and join.
True to the #LetThemPlay mission, in order for teams to EARN their grants, they needed to run an entire round which was nearly 5 miles.
At the end of the day, 10 different teams showed up and literally propelled me through what I would have considered the most difficult part of the entire adventure.
No team was more impactful than the Pescadero softball team that busted out the most fantastic chants that had me ready to CHARGE through a freaking brick wall at a time when I would have been sloshing through the hottest and most challenging time of day.
Ultimately, without the teams, my own squad of family and friends, and Kowalski being by my side the entire time, there is zero chance that record would have ever been broken.
When we originally announced the World Record Challenge, I fully understood the power and frightening element of public declaration.
When we declare our intentions to the universe, it is a scary thing and makes us completely vulnerable, but it also forces us to put in the work and take accountability for our words.
Had I not broken the world record for whatever reason, I would have been ridiculed and scrutinized from all angles and would have had no choice but to be OK with it…
Regardless of what happened though, I knew that we would be able to raise a good amount of money for the foundation and that by far outweighed any disappointment or shame I would have felt had I not been able to get it done.
Ironically, I believe it was a multitude of things including this attitude that actually propelled me to play 420 holes in the 24 hour period… Public declaration is what prompted accountability and forced me to train diligently leading up to the event, while maintaining a proper perspective alleviated any sort of anxiety about not succeeding. Add in the juice full energy of the youth teams that joined and the support of the family, Half Moon Bay golf professionals, and the entire HMB community and it was a beautiful perfect storm of people and happenings that led to achieving a feat that had never been accomplished before.
After the event concluded and we were presented the official Guinness Book of World Record certificate, Kowalski and I walked back to my house and both of us were in a trance-like state when we hopped into the jacuzzi and cracked open a couple of cold frosty man sodas…
Kowalski, with a shit eating grin, stared at me and said… “Dude… What just happened?”
I then thought back to the previous 24 plus hours and tried to recall what actually did take place, but at that point, my mind and body were both completely mush and the entire day seemed like one big blur…
I then took a huge chug of my beer, looked right back into the whites of Kowalski’s eyes and said…
“I got no idea dude… But it was fucking awesome.”
-EB
P.S. I realize we are still in the midst of unprecedented times, but kids need our help more now than ever when it comes to keeping active… The LTP foundation is currently seeking out organizations that deliver tools to kids that they can use in their homes or yards to stay active. Any donation amount will go directly to making sure this happens.
As always, a great way to donate is by purchasing the LTP Tri Across America coffee table book with 100% of the proceeds going to the foundation. 🙏
Visit LetThemPlayFoundation.org/Book to order.