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Recruiter breaks world records to inspire

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Haylee James
  • 349th Recruiting Squadron
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. --  Known throughout the running community as 'Mr. Treadmill,' Staff Sgt. Brendan Brustad, 349th Recruiting Squadron recruiter, here wants to be known for more than breaking world records for running. Now, he wants to be a total athlete.

Brustad earned the nickname 'Mr. Treadmill' when he broke the world record for the most miles run on a treadmill in a week. To break the previous record, he ran between 12 and 14 hours a day. In 2010, Brustad shattered the world record by running 600 miles in one week and raised $4,000 for the Oklahoma City bombing memorial.

Most recently, Brustad broke the world record for fastest 10K while wearing a 100-pound rucksack Oct. 1, completing the run in one hour 37 minutes and seven seconds. During the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Oct. 15, Brustad broke the world record for fastest 5K with a 100-pound rucksack.

"I finished in 44 minutes and four seconds," Brustad said. "That's almost 16 minutes faster than what I needed to break the record."

Five days later, Brustad broke another record.

"I broke the record for the fastest mile with a 100-pound pack," he said. "I ran it in 12 minutes and 46 seconds."

Brustad's passion for fitness stems from realizing the benefits of being healthy and active. He works out daily and invites everyone, from applicants and Delayed Entrance Program participants to friends, family and coworkers, to join him.

"I only hope to inspire others to better themselves and never give up on life," Brustad said.

He enlisted in the Air Force in 2005 and started running marathons monthly in 2006. When he ran the 2007 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, he realized he could use his passion for running to make a difference. He then began training for the 100-mile ultra-marathon fundraising event in honor of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

His next large run was in honor of the 168 victims of the Oklahoma City Alfred P. Murrah federal building bombing. In April 2007, he ran 141.8 miles from Altus Air Force Base, Okla., to the start of the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. Once there, he ran the 26.2-mile marathon for a total of 168 miles; one mile for each life lost.

In 2008, Brustad ran from Altus AFB to Lawson's Cancer Center then to Duncan's Cancer Center then back to the start of the Spirit of Survival Marathon. He then ran the marathon to complete a 159.6-mile run dedicated to the cancer centers.

"I always say that my running is my way of changing the world, one mile at a time," Brustad said.

To further his goal of being a total athlete, he now incorporates other activities into his record-breaking feats for charity. Now he has plans to include pull-ups, chin-ups, push-ups, step-ups, sit-ups, planks and pushing a car.