Poquott Man Plans Run in 170-Mile 'RacingThePlanet' Marathon

Shawn Gaffney jokes about what kind of headlines he'll make as he embarks on a 170-mile, seven-day marathon in Iceland.

"'Local Man Plans Elaborate Death in Iceland'?" he suggests. 

Gaffney, 34, a Poquott resident by way of Boston, will head to Iceland next week to challenge himself to complete the event, which begins Aug. 4. While he kids about the grueling competition, he says he recognizes the enormity of the challenge.

"I think it will be the hardest thing I’ve ever done," he said.

Along the way, he will carry a backpack that has all the supplies he will need for the seven-day run: food, clothing, toiletries, sleeping gear – even a compass, whistle and headlamp, in case of an emergency. It will add about 20 pounds of weight as he runs.

Gaffney is also bringing along his iPod – which he said he has loaded with audio books, rather than music, to try to keep his mind off the intensity of the race – and a solar charger to keep it running.

It won't be his first trip to Iceland, which, according to RaceThePlanet, is famous for geysers, glaciers, green hills, waterfalls and volcanoes.

"It’s beautiful," Gaffney said. "The geography and terrain are really impressive so it will be really cool to experience that continuously for seven days."

He jokes about being lazy, but if his other hobbies are any indication, he's really no slacker. He said he is also an avid caver – a term similar to "spelunking" that implies more seriousness – and rock climber. In June, he said he completed a half-Ironman event, in which he did a mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run.

He said his parents think he's crazy for signing on to the RacingThePlanet challenge.

"They’re getting used to thinking it, between this and the triathlons and caving, and recent mountaineering trips," he said. "They don’t really get it, but they wish me luck."

He said that after a relative got him hooked on running, he has competed off-and-on in triathlons since 2005. But whereas many runners will describe something along the lines of a "runner's high" – which one study actually proved exists, according to The New York Times – Gaffney said his experience is, well, different.

"The feelings or experiences during any of the races are usually pain, regret, questioning what did I do to get myself into this," he said. "And then when you’re done, you say 'I can’t believe I did that and I can’t wait to do it again.'"