“This has been a challenging year. I want to end it by turning up the good.”

That’s how Nick Weidmayer challenged his friends, acquaintances, and anyone else who might have wanted to support him in a great cause this past weekend.

Last year on December 31, 2019, Nick, a lifelong runner, had decided to challenge himself to run 50 miles. So, he did. This year, he wanted to expand it and shift its focus to others. In the process, he decided to use his end-of-the-year challenge as a fundraiser for the Manchester Community Resource Center (CRC).

The expansion in the running arena was to run seven-mile loops (with a 70-minute time limit for each loop), and see how many he could do. He “kind of had it in his head” to do 10 loops—70 miles, an ambitious goal by any scale. Beginning at 5 am on December 31, 2020, he got on the road and did his first two loops in total darkness. The sun came up towards the end of loop three and more runners started to join the ranks. Ultimately, nine other runners completed one loop with him, and one runner completed two loops! The “motivation” he had sought in having a little bit of competition in his running challenge was definitely not a problem.

Friends from The Distance in Manchester were incredibly supportive of Nick’s efforts and were among those that joined him, both on the road and in spirit, during his challenge.The running challenge had included a $50 donation to the fund-raiser for anyone who joined Nick in completing a loop. Runners and non-runners alike were invited to make other donations—per mile, per loop, or whatever—either monetary or food pantry donations to the CRC.

According to his wife, Sara, Nick chose the CRC as the beneficiary of his fundraiser because he “saw them as a local organization that was doing good things for the community; and with more people needing services from organizations like (the CRC), he really wanted to bless them.”

“Nick isn’t really an in-the-spotlight kind of guy, and he didn’t want to put himself out there,” Sara added. “But eventually he decided that putting this run as a ‘public’ event, would challenge him to get out of his comfort zone.” The event was shared in a couple of different running groups, and runners from Grass Lake and Jackson were among those who came out to join him.

Nick’s own words from the event Facebook page pretty much sum up his philosophy about how this all came about.

“Magnify the good!

“Is there something that you wanted to do that you haven’t done yet this year? That’s why I found myself running 50 miles on December 31st last year. It was a challenge I wanted to try last year that just had not happened. That’s life for all of us—well, maybe not the 50 mile part. (This December) I have another challenge that I have been thinking about. This year I wanted to do something where I could include other people and make it bigger than running … also helping to support a local organization that greatly benefits the community.”

Nick also challenged those reading his Facebook post to reflect on their own goals—running or not—for the past year and if they had any unfinished goals, to complete them. “Even if it’s not like you pictured,” he wrote. “If you don’t have a goal, let’s make one.”

When all was said and done, Nick ended up running seven loops (49 miles). While this fell short of his “goal,” it was a wise move to stop at this point as he had suffered an Achilles tendon injury during the second loop, that was exacerbated by his attempts to compensate for it.

From his Facebook post after the event was completed, “Today my body failed, and although I wanted to do more I’m okay with where I finished. My right achilles started to bother me on loop two. Trying to compensate for that eventually caused other problems. Everyone’s support kept me going much further than I would have, and I am so thankful for all of it. God has blessed me with an amazing support team for running and for life!

“People wonder why I would do something like this. There are a lot of reasons, but I’ll share a big one. It is for self-evaluation. I don’t need to compare myself with anyone else, but I want to end the year with a clear and honest assessment of where I’m at. Running is a small part of that. How am I doing as a dad, husband, and all around human. Because tomorrow starts a new year. Tomorrow we can start to set (new) goals and make plans to make those goals happen.”

The other part of the event, the expansion of the fund-raising effort for the CRC, was an unqualified success, collecting $5,000+ in donations to the charity as well as a pile of donated items.

“Nick was the catalyst, but this was definitely a collective effort,” Sara said. “It’s so awesome to see how the generosity of people in our community will help others in our community.”

Nick’s main challenge was to encourage others to “Do what you can with what you have.” We all have something to give and can use our time, talents, and resources to help others.

It’s a lesson we can all carry into this new year of 2021.