It took two large Hawaiian pizzas, 19 gallons of water and some gummy bears, but Air Traffic Controller 1st Class (AW) Mike McCastle managed to pull a Ford F-150 22 miles across Death Valley on Sunday.
It took 19 hours, he told Navy Times on Tuesday, to drag the 2.2-ton truck one mile for every veteran suicide that occurs each day, according to Veterans Affairs Administration statistics.
"I didn't have any expectations," he said. "I had an end goal and a plan to reach it but I accepted everything as it happened."
The event was the fifth in McCastle's Twelve Labors Project, an initiative he started to use feats of strength and endurance to raise money and bring awareness to charitable causes.
To date, he's broken a Guinness World Record for pullups in 24 hours, climbed a gym rope until he'd reached Mount Everest's height and flipped a 250-pound tire for 13 miles.
Now preparing to leave the Navy in early June, he's planning to parlay his fitness expertise into a master's degree from Portland State University in Oregon.
McCastle trained four hours a day leading up to Sunday, then let it all go once he got into the California desert, he said.
"In the weeks leading up to the event, in as much detail as possible, I visualized everything that could possibly happen to me out there so during the pull," he said. "I remained extremely focused despite the physical pain my body was in and I accepted anything the day had in store for me."
He started out around 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, using the cool morning temperatures to get ahead of his planned 1.25 miles per hour.
Because he was alone, he programmed breaks into his GPS to eat, hydrate, relieve himself and post updates to his Facebook page every three-to-four miles.
"I was extra cognizant of symptoms of dehydration and heat exhaustion since this was a self-supported challenge," he said. "Not finishing was never an option."
The mid-afternoon heat, which topped out at 98 degrees, slowed him down, but he picked the pace back up after the sun went down. He officially reached 22 miles at 1:40 a.m. on Monday, he said.
"Sometimes it required me to dig deeper, make adjustments and push on but it's all in the beauty and chaos of going outside your comfort zone," he said. "I look for those moments the most. It's when I find out who I really am and what I'm made of."
His effort also raised $8,000 for a group of veterans organizations including Operation Enduring Warrior, 22 Kill, Stop Soldier Suicide and the National Alliance to End Veterans Suicide.
McCastle is reluctant to discuss his next venture, but for now is working on recovery, working on eating, sleeping, hydrating and staying active with swimming and stretching.
"My body is still in a bit of shock and hasn't been able to quite shut down yet," he said. "Death Valley was very humbling."
Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.
