THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT, November 15, 2013

Heath Wiltse likes to take on challenges.

This year, it was competing in four marathons in a matter of 23 days.

WILTSE, WHO runs Peak Health and Wellness in Post Falls, competed in the Le Grizz Ultramarathon on Oct. 12 in Columbia Falls, Mont., as well as the Hayden Lake Marathon on Oct. 18 and the Trail of Terrors on Oct. 27 near Silverwood Theme Park.

"It was more of the timing," Wiltse said. "Because I won the Le Grizz last year, I really wanted to do it again. A friend of mine is the organizer of the Trial of Terrors, so I did that and won and finished fourth at the Hayden Marathon in its first year."

The Le Grizz was a 50-mile marathon, whereas the others he competed in were 26.1 miles long.

The final event was competing in the New York City Marathon on Nov. 3.

"By the time I got to New York, I just wanted to finish the race," Wiltse said. "I did, but developed a dead leg in the final 3 miles, and just couldn't get it to go."

To prepare, Wiltse added he ran every night, including 30- to 40-mile runs on the weekend.

"I'd been upping my miles all summer long," Wiltse said. "I did the Coeur d'Alene and Missoula marathons to get ready. As soon as the other races got closer, I pulled back on my mileage. Each race became my training or I couldn't have ran the next week and I had to put my legs up as often as I could to rest."

Wiltse finished 500th out of 50,000 runners in the New York City Marathon. He also signed up for last year's event in New York City, but it was canceled due to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

"I'd gone to New York for the race, but wound up getting stuck at the airport all weekend," Wiltse said.

"I usually take on at least one challenge per year and this was my challenge to do four races in a matter of 23 days."

To Wiltse, each race had its own share of difficulty.

"With the Le Grizz, it was more of a backcountry run," Wiltse said. "I wore a new pair of shoes and had to take them off a couple of times because they weren't broken in and were hurting my feet, so then I had to recover from the beating on my feet. With Hayden, it was a super hilly course, so I had to recover from all the downhill running."

NEXT YEAR, Wiltse, 38, will add the Boston Marathon to the list.

"With what happened during the race, I signed up immediately after," Wiltse said, referring to the incident where two bombs exploded near the finish line, killing three and injuring an estimated 264 others. "My goal is to do 40 marathons by the time I'm 40."

He's at 34 now and has also competed in nine Ironman competitions.

"I was kind of an Ironman junky for a while," Wiltse said. "I've always wanted to make it to (the World Championships in) Kona, but I'd be one or two spots away from qualifying. That just frustrated me and I wasn't enjoying it anymore. I'm not the best swimmer, yet my run would be better than most of the pros. It was always frustrating that my technique and endurance on the bike and run was great, but my swim wasn't, so I gave it up about three years ago."

To Wiltse, running a marathon is all about preparation.

"I try to tell people, you can do it too, and you don't have to run 100 miles per week," he said. "If you run three days a week and give yourself a year to get ready for it, not a month, you should be fine. It's going to be hard on your body, but if you prepare, you'll enjoy it."

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at JEPressSports.