Never mind that Ashley Horner has never done a full Ironman triathlon before. Now, she’s tackling 52 of them across the U.S and Haiti in 52 days in what she’s calling the #WomanOfIron challenge.
The 34-year-old fitness trainer from Virginia is taking on the 7,030-mile challenge to raise money for the Maison Fortuné orphanage in Hinche, Haiti. She first visited the orphanage in 2015 and, being a mother herself to three boys ages 11, 9 and 4, the experience left her wanting to help in any way she could.
As she aims to raise at least $100,000 for the organization whose mission is to educate orphans and underprivileged children in the country, she’ll spend 12 to 16 hours each day swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running 26.2 miles at a time. When not logging miles, she’ll be eating and sleeping as her support team gets her to the next state in a Sprinter van.
“The big danger is falling asleep on the bike,” she told the NY Post. “I might have whoever’s in the car behind me blow an air horn if I feel myself dozing off!”
Though she’s a rookie to the Ironman distance, Horner has plenty of experience with long distance racing and adventuring. She’s done a half Ironman before and, in April of 2017, ran 230 miles around Haiti while raising $64,000 for the orphanage.
Not only that, but in July, she cycled 1,300 miles from Virginia Beach to Oklahoma in 13 days to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
“The first three or four days of my [Virginia-to-Oklahoma] ride, my body was just miserable. It was beat up. I hurt everywhere,” she told ESPNW. “Then, after the five-day mark, every single ache and pain went away and my body just adapted. … I just got stronger every day.
“I know that by doing these Ironman distances, there’s going to be a certain point where my body understands that this is its job.”
Believe it or not, Horner will continue weightlifting three to four days per week during the challenge in order to maintain her strength, which she believes helps keep her injury-free.
Should she finish the quest, she’ll become the first woman to conquer the challenge. James “Ironman Cowboy” Lawrence completed 50 Ironmans across 50 states in 50 days in 2015.
Horner is keeping her schedule flexible, but as of this writing, here are the locations and dates of her #WomanOfIron challenge:
Virginia Beach: Aug. 15
Salisbury, MD: Aug. 16
Harrington/Dover DE: Aug. 17
East Brunswick, NJ: Aug. 18
Clinton/Westbrook, CT: Aug. 19
Warwick, RI: Aug. 20
Plainville/Foxborough MA: Aug. 21
Portsmouth, NH: Aug. 22
York, ME: Aug. 23
Springfield VT: Aug. 24
Albany, NY: Aug. 25
Allentown, PA: Aug. 26
Morganton, WV: Aug. 27
Lexington, KY: Aug. 28
Cincinnati, OH: Aug. 29
Indianapolis, IN: Aug. 30
Kalamazoo, MI: Aug. 31
Chicago area, IL: Sept. 1
Madison, WI: Sept. 2
Rochester, MN: Sept. 3
Des Moines, IA: Sept. 4
North Kansas City, MO: Sept. 5
Salina, KS: Sept. 6
Holdrege/ North Platte, NE: Sept. 7
Pierre, SD: Sept. 8
Bismarck, ND: Sept. 9
Billings, MT: Sept. 10
Jackson, WY: Sept. 11
Boise, ID: Sept. 12
Kennewick, WA: Sept. 13
Bend, OR: Sept. 14
Fresno, CA: Sept. 15
Las Vegas, NV: Sept. 16
Flagstaff, AZ: Sept. 17
St.George , UT: Sept. 18
Durango, CO: Sept. 19
Albuquerque, NM: Sept. 20
Amarillo, TX: Sept. 21
Tulsa, OK: Sept. 22
Little Rock, AR: Sept. 23
Memphis, TN: Sept. 24
Monroe, LA: Sept. 25
Jackson, MS: Sept. 26
Montgomery, AL: Sept. 27
Atlanta area, GA: Sept. 28
Charlotte, NC: Sept. 29
Columbia, SC: Sept. 30
Jacksonville, FL: Oct. 1
Location unknown: Oct. 2
Location unknown: Oct. 3
Getting to Haiti: Oct. 4
Haiti: Oct. 5
She has raised nearly $6,000 for the orphanage thus far. If you’d like to support the cause and help Maison Fortuné Orphanage buy more books, hire more teachers and expand its reach, visit MightyCause.com.