46 days. That might seem like a reasonable amount of time to try a new diet, read every day, or work out each morning. For Karel Sabbe, this is the amount of time he took to complete a supported run of the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in record time, averaging over 50 miles a day, from Mexico to Canada. Karel’s ability to endure and overcome sufferfests is an experience that is unknowable to almost every other human. Yet, unlike most world-class athletes who exclusively train and compete for a living; Karel is—on the surface—an ordinary man. A husband, father, outdoor enthusiast, and a man with a day job. He schedules his runs around his appointments as a dentist, not around physio and nutrition experts' recommendations.

• Nils Mindnich