For most runners, completing a marathon is the accomplishment of a lifetime. For Troy Shull, it’s his warm-up.
The 58-year-old Plano author has run as many as 80 miles a week in preparation for a 100-mile race this weekend benefiting the McKinney Fire Department.
Not even fractured shins could stop him earlier this year when he completed his first 100-mile race in support of Plano Fire-Rescue. It took him nearly 60 hours to complete the race, running through rain and multiple sunrises and sunsets to raise about $1,500 for Plano’s first responders.
“I just can’t quit. I cannot quit,” he said. “If I have to crawl across it, I will.”
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Author Troy Shull has been practicing “like a madman,” last week running 80 miles. As race day nears, he’s beginning to taper off.
Christine Vo / Staff Photographer
Shull is a lifelong runner with a goal to give back. After enrolling in Plano’s Citizens Fire Academy, a class highlighting the city’s emergency medical services, firefighting and special rescue operations, he was struck by the courage and life-saving decisions made by first responders every day.
“They’re running into danger, not away from it,” he said.
Shull had attempted and failed the 100-miler twice before, suffering hypothermia in his first attempt and blisters on the second. But he said this year’s race in Plano was his hardest yet, and he took six weeks off of running in order to recover. The difference on his third attempt, he said, was the mission behind his race.
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Luis Aguilar, McKinney Fire Department’s public information officer, said Shull is one of the most genuine people he’s ever met, the embodiment of endurance and discipline.
“To know that he’s already been there and he’s willing to put himself through that all over again for this cause, it’s a big deal,” Aguilar said. “His heart is so big that he’s willing to endure it again.”
After recovering from his April run, Shull met a retired McKinney firefighter while jogging a Plano trail. Their friendship inspired a similar race to support McKinney’s department. Despite the potential for injury, Shull says the feat is worth it if even one life is saved. While he’s earned several medals and trophies in his 50 years of running, he said the Firehouse 100 is his most meaningful challenge.
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The challenge is more about mental strength than physical endurance. It’s not about how you feel during the race, Shull said, it’s about how you push through despite your feelings — you can’t run on feelings.
“If you struggle through something,” Shull said, “you’ll develop the mental fortitude to get to the next level.”
Proceeds raised by donors inspired by Shull’s Firehouse 100 Run will go toward the Neighborhood Hero Program, a community fundraiser to place hundreds of AEDs, devices that can save someone experiencing cardiac arrest, within four minutes of any location in McKinney. Shull’s sponsors include HEB, Fleet Feet and Salomay coffee shop.
The course will include three 33.3-mile loops through McKinney that stop at seven McKinney fire stations. Some runners will join Shull for parts of the race, including some firefighters, and he’ll take photos and meet with attendees at each station. He expects the race to take 36 hours.
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Shull trains for months in advance, six days a week. He hit the ground running with his training routine in August, starting at 50 miles a week then working up to 80.
“You got to fight through the schedule,” he said. “After a while, you are always running on tired legs.”
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