Most 70 year olds celebrate their birthdays with friends, family and cake. Larry Erlandson did that too, but not before running 70 miles in one day to raise money for Special Olympics Michigan Area 12.

The almost 70-year-old from Holland, Michigan decided to ring in a new decade a few months early by encouraging his community to run 10 seven-mile loops alongside him for a good cause.

Erlandson officially turns 70 on Jan. 27, but he scheduled the run for late November in hopes that the weather would more in his favor. No such luck, however. A high in the 20s coupled with strong winds made the 70 miles, which he completed in 17 hours and 25 minutes, feel extra long.

“It was terrible,” Erlandson told Runner’s World. “God knows my birthday’s in January, so if I’m doing a birthday run, he gave me January weather.”

This isn’t the first time he pounded the pavement to raise money for charity and celebrate his birthday.

He ran six marathons to ring in his 60th birthday, and finished a 65-mile run for his 65th birthday. So, for the man who didn’t take up long distance running until he was 52, opting to run 70 miles was a no-brainer.

“Seventy [miles is] probably not for very many people, 50 miles is probably not for very many people, but moving is and I think that’s the key to life,”he told FOX 17.

Erlandson took about four months to train for his ultra birthday run, and completed back-to-back long runs on the weekends to prepare.

As for Special Olympics Michigan Area 12, which serves more than 1,140 athletes in the region, Erlandson has a personal connection.

“Special Olympics is a wonderful organization. I have a nephew, Roger, who’s been a Special Olympics athlete for 30 years and I’ve seen the value of that for them. He’s participated in a lot of sports so that’s one of my inspirations,” he explained.

In the end, he raised more than $5,300 for the organization, according to Think Health.

He’s taking a small break from running, but don’t count him out for long. After all, he’s a man who doesn’t mind a sheet of ice covering his eyebrows if it means he can get a few miles in.