Former Alabama defensive back completes almost four marathons in a day

Mobile, Ala. (WKRG) — Running a marathon is a feat that most of us may never accomplish, but imagine running almost four marathons in one day. That’s what a Mobile man is doing.

Greg Phillips played strong safety for the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 1990s, but has now tackled running an ultramarathon.

Phillips played defensive back at the University of Alabama in the 1990s.

Phillips runs several ultramarathons a year. A regular marathon is 26.2 miles. An ultramarathon is anything over that, but is usually 50 or 100 miles. Phillips prefers the 100-mile length.

Phillips says he can hardly move when he completes an ultramarathon.

“What I get out of a 100-mile distance because of the time it takes to do it, is something that I just don’t get out of a marathon distance. It’s 24-plus hours of suffering through problem-solving, overcoming obstacles, and it’s the distance and the time that’s needed for me to get what I get,” Phillips said.

Phillips says there is a small community of runners along the Gulf Coast who prefer these grueling races. Lance Johnson and Jessica Jones are two of them.

Phillips talks with fellow ultramarathoners Jessica Jones and Lance Johnson.

“Ultramarathons really are about being out there against yourself and pushing yourself to the limits and figuring out what you can do with your own body. That is what I like about it….pushing my limits, ” Jones said.

Jessica Jones cools off midway through an ultramarathon.

“By the end of it, you look at what you accomplished. There is something about doing hard things that is a reset on your day,” Johnson told WKRG.

Blue background, with a WKRG.com logo at the bottom-right corner. In the middle is a photo of Greg Phillips and other runners

Phillips documented his quest to finish an ultramarathon in his new book, “Into the Storm.” In it, he writes how he wanted to literally outrun the heart disease that was rampant in his family. He says that after he played defensive back for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, he had gained 100 pounds. He says he had become “lazy.”

“I decided I could either stay that person, and I wouldn’t be around much longer if I did it, or I could fix it. And I knew that to fix it was going to take something that was going to be hard for a lot of people to understand or to even support,” Phillips said.

His wife, Leslie, supports him. She accompanies him to all his races. She stays up 24 plus hours and meets him at several spots on the trail. She brings him food, drinks, new shoes, whatever he might need. The two communicate using an earpiece.

Phillips and his wife, Leslie, after completing an ultramarathon. She travels with him to every race.

“He tells me at the beginning, ‘Push me. Don’t let me stop, even when I say I want to stop, keep pushing me.’ So, that’s a big part of my job, I suppose, is to keep him motivated, keep him going when he looks like he is crumbled and done,” Leslie said.

Phillips documents in his new book, “Into the Storm,” how an ultramarathon is more about a mental game than physical, and it’s that challenge that fuels him. He also shares details about how someone taking part in an ultramarathon can often feel like he or she is going to collapse.

“Life is full of storms. I mean, there are things we all are going to get hit with, everything like curveballs life can throw at you. You want to be prepared for that. You want to be strong for that, so that you can be strong for the people around you,” Phillips says in his book.

Phillips has his sights set on his next goal … a two-hundred-mile race! It will be hard, but he knows he can cross the finish line.

Philips’ book, “Into the Storm,” is for those wanting to attempt an ultramarathon, but also includes tips on how to take on any challenge.

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