Zack Horvath completes 100-mile ultra-marathon

So, what’s a young man to do after he has trained for nearly a year to participate an Ironman Triathlon that got canceled?

If you are Corbin’s Zack Horvath, you run a 100-mile ultra-marathon instead that ended at Sanders Park shortly before 5 p.m. Saturday.

Over two-dozen friends and family members were waiting for Horvath as he ran into town with a Corbin Fire Department escort and then touched the bricks outside Sanders Park before laying down on the ground for a couple of minutes.

“I have wanted to push my limits and show people that when you set your mind to it, the impossible turns into the possible,” Horvath said about why he choose to do the run.

While in high school, Horvath ran track and played football for the Redhounds.

He is a freshman at Eastern Kentucky University studying criminal justice.

Horvath said that he isn’t competing in any collegiate sports right now, but he admits trying out for the track or cross country team might not be a bad idea following his long run.

“We’ll see,” he said.

Horvath said he got the idea for the 100-mile run after reading a book by former U.S. Navy Seal David Goggins.

Horvath said he decided to do the run about one week ago after the triathlon got canceled, and hoped for the best that his training for the triathlon would transfer over to the long run.

When he told his family what he planned to do, Horvath admits, “They thought I was crazy. They thought I was insane. They told me not to do it.”

Horvath’s journey started at 5:35 a.m. Friday running from Tattersall Trails to Cumberland Falls before going on to McCreary County. From there he ran on Highway 92W to Williamsburg, and then took US25W to Bee Creek Road. From there, he went towards Keavy before heading back towards Corbin.

“I’ve been running through the night. It’s been one heck of a trip,” he said.

“You get to the first 50, and it’s like ‘alright.’ The next 50 you are just sitting there in your own head. It is all gut check really,” he said.

So, was his family right that he was crazy for doing this?

“Later on, in the course, I was thinking this was a crazy idea, but I pushed through it and got it done,” Horvath said adding he is glad that he did it. “It is a big accomplishment. I proved to myself that I could do that. My biggest thing is challenging my limits.”

Horvath plans on taking part in the Colonel Sanders Half Marathon on Nov. 14, and will be training for another Iron Man Triathlon next October.