Friends complete 50-mile Lake Harriet run for Special Olympics
MINNEAPOLIS — In a stunning feat of athleticism Sunday, two men ran 50 miles around Lake Harriet in Minneapolis — a distance of nearly two full marathons back-to-back.
Patrick Larson and Jake Lepak ran 18 laps around the lake when it was all said and done.
The two friends are on the Special Olympics Minnesota Young Professionals Board. They were running to raise awareness and funds for the organization.
Larson and Lebak both ran in college, but nothing like this. Luckily, they were rarely alone.
"We've been joined by friends throughout the day, people in the running community and Special Olympics athletes, too, have joined us on the run, which is really neat," Larson said. "So really bringing together all the people that care about this organization, care about us, and it's been awesome."
Taking plenty of water breaks during the unique challenge, their official time was eight hours and one minute.
As they finished their last lap by the Lake Harriet Bandshell, a group of family and friends cheered. Lepak took a bow and the pair high-fived.
They immediately got to work eating pizza and cracking a beer.
"I don't have any plans the rest of the day except the Timberwolves game at 7," Lepak said. "Go Wolves."
The runners raised more than $6,000 for the Special Olympics, more than their $5,000 goal.