Blake was disappointed with how the walk ended

 

FLORIDA — To celebrate his most recent birthday, a Madeira Beach man completed a walk across the state, starting at Fort Pierce and ending his 152.88-mile journey in Siesta Key on March 23.

Sheldon Blake made his first attempt on Jan. 3 with the goal of being the first person to walk across Florida in 50 hours without sleeping or stopping.

As with all of his endeavors, he didn’t train for the walk. And after a quick swim in the Atlantic Ocean at Fort Pierce, he hit the road, hoping that despite the lack of preparation he could make it to the Gulf of Mexico.

“I ended up making it 40.4 miles and 16 hours and 53 minutes of walking, and then my knees gave out,” the man who won't share his age told Patch. “So, it was done. I couldn’t move. It was over. There was no stopping and I mean just a straight walk, no sleeping, no stopping for food, just literally walking.”

Blake was disappointed with how the walk ended, but immediately decided he needed to finish what he started.

Find out what's happening in St. Petewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Let's go!

“I realized my birthday was March 23 and I said, ‘I’ve got to finish this walk now or never. It’s gonna get too hot,’” he said. “It was already like 94, 97 degrees during the walk, which is just brutal. Headaches, like it was bad. Some low moments.”

Days before his birthday, he picked up where he left off in January, in Okeechobee with about 110 miles left to go, mostly along State Road 70.

“And so, I did it again. I started walking and I went from Okeechobee to Lake Placid, Lake Placid to Arcadia,” Blake said. “Arcadia to Sarasota through Myakka State Park down (State Road) 72, cut over to 72.”

He added, “Finish what I started was the whole thing.”

But he nearly didn’t make it again. With 13 miles left to his trek, his knees gave out.

“It was like crying, excruciating pain,” he said. “I couldn’t bend them. I couldn’t move. I thought it was over again. But I told myself, ‘I gotta do it. You just got to keep going and going and going.’ If I needed to, I would have stayed there a month if I couldn’t walk for a month until I finished. I was not leaving until I finished.”

He was determined, and as he finished his walk, Blake had an emotional moment when his father greeted him in Siesta Key. Then, he jumped in the water to end his long trek with another swim.

“My feet stepped on every foot of concrete and sand across the whole state,” he said. “I started by swimming in the Atlantic and I finished by swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.”

While the walk was physically difficult, it was also mentally challenging. While he was followed by a documentary filmmaker who sometimes took footage of his travels and occasionally joined by others for short pieces of the walk, he was largely alone on the road.

“During the whole walk, in January and March, I didn’t see one other human walking. No bicycle, no skateboard,” he said. “A lot of my walk was at night. So, towns I went through were shut down and I didn’t see anybody else walking on the road.”

The night he completed the walk, he threw himself a birthday bash at Nova 535 in downtown St. Petersburg. Blake wouldn’t share his age, saying that he keeps it a secret to motivate others.

“I want to be as old or as young as people think they want me to be,” he said. “I don’t want people to think they’re too old or too young to ever do anything.”

His journey really started in January 2022, when he ran the St. Pete Beach Classic Half Marathon.

He won a dance competition at the 5K race in 2020, which earned him free entry to a future event. The 2021 race was canceled, though, because of the pandemic and he forgot all about it. But when he saw an email for the 2022 half-marathon the day before the race, he decided to sign up.

Again, Blake, who admits he isn’t very athletic, entered the half-marathon without any preparation or training.

“No training. My whole business motto is just show up and see what happens,” he said. “No training. Just show up to the start line. Get a pair of shows.”

His knees gave out during that half-marathon and he had to abandon the race.

“Game over. I couldn’t complete it. I was done. Dead in the water,” he said. “I was pretty pissed off I couldn’t do it. I felt like a failure.”

At the time, he weighed about 41 pounds more than he does now, which he thinks contributed to his knee problems. After the St. Pete Beach Classic, he decided he would try to lose the weight.

“But not working out. No gym, no running,” he said. “Just normal living. I can’t run. I can’t do anything for this whole timeframe. I just ate healthier, cleaner and tried different things to see if it helped, like fasting, 20 hours of no eating, four hours of eating, to try to get under to lose weight.”

Two weeks after his knees first gave out, he saw an advertisement for another marathon in Celebration, Florida. It was a highly rated race with a good afterparty, so he decided to sign up.

He ran the marathon on Jan. 30, 2022 — despite his knee issues — completing it in 5 hours and 58 minutes.

“As soon as I crossed the finish line, I’m like, ‘What’s next?’” Blake said.

So, he signed up for the April 2022 St. Anthony’s Triathlon in St. Petersburg.

“The next thing you know, I’m doing an Olympic-distance triathlon,” he said. “And I just showed up for that, too.”

After each event, he wanted to challenge himself further, he said. “I wanted it to always get harder and more difficult.”

After the triathlon, came a May 2022 Half Ironman competition in Tennessee, which he completed in 7 hours and 32 minutes, followed by a triathlon at Fort DeSoto Park on Father’s Day of last year. And in June, he signed up for a full Ironman event in Maryland.

“That was a full, real deal,” Blake said. “I did that in 15 hours and 51 minutes. I believe that was the exact time and so I had an hour and 9 minutes to spare before the cutoff. You have 17 hours to do it.”

He added, “That’s 140.6 miles. That’s a 2.4-mile swim, followed by a 112-mile bike ride, and then a marathon, a 26.2-mile run. I did that and I just showed up.”

He connected online with singer Mike Posner, who also challenged himself with physical stunts, like walking across the United States by himself and climbing to the top of Mount Everest.

https://pasteio.com/xEXYBa2qSBLi
https://pastelink.net/92du6jv6
https://paiza.io/projects/k05FjhMUt1DuwlD0vH42SQ?language=php
https://ide.geeksforgeeks.org/online-c-compiler/89a3c313-f199-487f-861e-b944c8e02911
https://bitbin.it/8j9EKiGv/
https://paste.ee/p/uB2oe
http://paste.jp/73a36cb0/
http://pastie.org/p/5A9uZJqM5NSRQtujFaSvwn
https://pastebin.com/L3Yx5LuD
https://paste2.org/dC6kgBeh
https://www.bankier.pl/forum/wiadomosc-zapisana?post_id=59970723&obs=&emal=&st=1&thread_id=
https://paste.rs/it5
https://jsfiddle.net/ft5kh4wx/
https://ideone.com/LQkrp1
https://rextester.com/
https://etextpad.com/0jtxqpk8x0
https://paste.feed-the-beast.com/view/71a78590
https://yamcode.com/adsdfgnadsdfgadsfdf
https://www.pastery.net/bcrgjg/
https://telegra.ph/asfgadsdf-04-05
https://controlc.com/02c6931f
https://notes.io/q9kPh
https://tech.io/snippet/1CQyWFt
https://click4r.com/posts/g/8930445/
https://wow.curseforge.com/paste/eee1d43a
https://privatebin.net/?908161ab1a8fdc36#5i5Mphun9ZAP2PijHdqYa2S8YTMybftcHUKUMMxoAqPL
https://paste.thezomg.com/165160/68071778/
https://paste.laravel.io/7e38d0a4-5461-4cb8-a186-87ac8eba9c3b
http://pastebin.falz.net/2500588
https://ide.geeksforgeeks.org/online-c-compiler/a2f16094-c49f-42ff-8919-a6f44eccafca
https://rextester.com/l/php_online_compiler
https://glot.io/snippets/gjrj3kabti
https://www.toptal.com/developers/hastebin
https://textbin.net/
https://paste.drhack.net/?6bffb149429ee5eb#BCCbaMryKMx58mG5rMt1c6oHDQLcxQaYNXFHQVbwen78
https://ctftime.org/team/221151/
https://community.gaeamobile.com/forum/dragons-of-atlantis-heirs-of-the-dragon/news-and-announcements-ab/876769-sdfgdasdfgadsd
https://justpaste.me/k7UY
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/mrxqnqibnof-eurokool-192?utm_term=JP72pAeYJ
https://ok.ru/profile/586489578896/statuses/155868729153680
https://paiza.io/projects/iJFS3w1xnSmMWGna2vWfxg
https://rextester.com/CPP30392
https://pastebin.com/jAYFEhNj
https://ide.geeksforgeeks.org/online-php-compiler/719225f4-aeed-4798-b27c-45071e238a17
https://0paste.com/455065
https://pastelink.net/vmkrobn0
https://jsitor.com/aH9yXqfsXb8T
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/b732f256732e6c7b7358ee49f65828d471ad2c9e2965196f1a38c6b2b7ca7d95
https://dev.bukkit.org/paste/7b92998d
https://www.bankier.pl/forum/temat_sdffds-fdsfds-fsd-fdssd-fdfsfdsfdfdsd-ffdsfdsdfs-dfdsfdfds,59970787.html
https://rentry.co/f6r48
https://paste.thezomg.com/165161/68071784/
https://paste.artemix.org/-/tQn54$
https://paste.chapril.org/?8d6c4e794af7142c#79nwhjueC7aNtjeTBn43DqPvnPHRgrAq7eUGr4z5m4z7
https://pasteio.com/xLbZk6RjaZVe
https://glot.io/snippets/gjrj4tdesg
https://www.nairaland.com/newtopic?board=14
https://justpaste.me/k7VI
https://foorum.naistekas.delfi.ee/read.php?28,14717040,14729858,page=4#msg-14729858
https://paste.drhack.net/?8a6eea280f3bfa4f#EQS1nwuAu3tCMFTXzrmZ2iSbUXBXeLV143eXLHPRgxcW
https://codepen.io/migztce/pen/jOeNgdX
https://www.npmjs.com/package/real-madrid-vs-barcelona-en-vivo-y-en-directoo
https://www.npmjs.com/package/real-madrid-vs-barcelona-en-vivo-y-en-directo-a
https://www.npmjs.com/package/real-madrid-vs-barcelona-en-vivo-y-en-directo-f
https://www.npmjs.com/package/real-madrid-vs-barcelona-en-vivo-ey-en-directo
https://www.npmjs.com/package/real-madrid-vs-barcelona-en-vivo-y-en-directo-hd
https://www.npmjs.com/package/real-madrid-vs-barcelona-en-vivo-y-en-directo-4k
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/5ef9fcf4113c3fa6dfffcb747efe18ddfd3fb585ec143ca4056a74198b45f877
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/b7f74e0c37a4e8ff0c0ff61011af94ce3c5e271aa9c369320175c23fb1bf6433
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/e48d20b56458e39a9fd26d25fa7fb491f99893e7ab9f1f6e31008d423b494c0f
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/0aec1e98eb687074f675e62a637faef70bc9ff2c2f6df6fd7322e14f0cdc9b2e
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/de87c3d301283ad011754c9d2307a516f059dfa7acd3409a49b43d8e933d809d
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/10fed12cdf2e989847fdadf87304abd796797e0f216c638fc17a1fd02eda91de
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/79c9081ac19e961ff78b4a2346ac3c696fcf69937b5563ec7e0e0360350036ae
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/2e4f9362b4a7637bdd695250fcca05422d6e53dc055bcef0b7bf9464aeb9ecbe
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/e620137842d68f9cc1235bc37cd0ab6d952c87fd874487b8e93cddc2d84ef12c
https://www.vingle.net/posts/5631671
https://telegra.ph/asdfnb-adsbv-basdfb-04-05
https://events.ydr.com/event/d911bff3ff724ae0b34ffc68bf9a1984
https://www.deviantart.com/topmovienow/journal/gn-dasdb-asfdv-adsd-956750422
https://pastelink.net/kumkurtj
https://paiza.io/projects/QlCAhiVKeQUIpfR_I0wPVA?language=php
https://pasteio.com/x1rMfRKsVWmd
https://controlc.com/c2e88bdf
https://paste.ofcode.org/i4vfNGf7USj8cg46wr3w7T
https://textbin.net/vdqmebyzop
https://pastebin.com/uX2yGUV0
https://glot.io/snippets/gjrigu2rb8
https://paste.drhack.net/?146d258fd23d1d01#7XhnMnN5CpynSCgFQ75GE35Y9yDvn1HLqWujbhC8kG5v
https://www.toptal.com/developers/hastebin
https://textbin.net/x7ewdkzeqq
https://sway.office.com/GS8R1NO7J7xTAIN4
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/5ef9fcf4113c3fa6dfffcb747efe18ddfd3fb585ec143ca4056a74198b45f877
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/b7f74e0c37a4e8ff0c0ff61011af94ce3c5e271aa9c369320175c23fb1bf6433
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/e48d20b56458e39a9fd26d25fa7fb491f99893e7ab9f1f6e31008d423b494c0f
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/0aec1e98eb687074f675e62a637faef70bc9ff2c2f6df6fd7322e14f0cdc9b2e
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/de87c3d301283ad011754c9d2307a516f059dfa7acd3409a49b43d8e933d809d
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/10fed12cdf2e989847fdadf87304abd796797e0f216c638fc17a1fd02eda91de
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/79c9081ac19e961ff78b4a2346ac3c696fcf69937b5563ec7e0e0360350036ae
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/2e4f9362b4a7637bdd695250fcca05422d6e53dc055bcef0b7bf9464aeb9ecbe
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/e620137842d68f9cc1235bc37cd0ab6d952c87fd874487b8e93cddc2d84ef12c
https://forum.techtudo.globo.com/perguntas/841734/www2enpmjs2ecompackagejohn-wick-4-2023-yts-torrent-down-loads-yify-magnet-down-movies1234ssm
https://forum.techtudo.globo.com/perguntas/841738/www2enpmjs2ecompackagejohn-wick-4-2023-yts-torrent-down-loads-yify-magnet-down-movies1234sst
https://forum.techtudo.globo.com/perguntas/841742/www2enpmjs2ecompackagejohn-wick-4-2023-yts-torrent-down-loads-yify-magnet-down-movies096
https://forum.techtudo.globo.com/perguntas/841746/www2enpmjs2ecompackagejohn-wick-4-2023-yts-torrent-down-loads-yify-magnet-down-movies1234ssnow
https://forum.techtudo.globo.com/perguntas/841750/www2enpmjs2ecompackagejohn-wick-4-2023-yts-torrent-down-loads-yify-magnet-down-movies1234sshd
https://forum.techtudo.globo.com/perguntas/841759/www2enpmjs2ecompackagejohn-wick-4-2023-yts-torrent-down-loads-yify-magnet-down-movies1234ssk
https://forum.techtudo.globo.com/perguntas/841761/www2enpmjs2ecompackagewatch-john-wick-chapter-4-full-movies-at-in-home-stremings_free_4hqds
https://forum.techtudo.globo.com/perguntas/841763/www2enpmjs2ecompackagejohn-wick-4-2023-yts-torrent-down-loads-yify-magnet-down-moviesssdt
https://forum.techtudo.globo.com/perguntas/841781/www2enpmjs2ecompackagewatch-john-wick-chapter-4-full-movies-at-in-home-stremings_free_4hqq
https://forum.techtudo.globo.com/perguntas/841784/www2enpmjs2ecompackagewatch-john-wick-chapter-4-full-movies-at-in-home-stremings_free_4hq4k
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/4455c26decfb0cbcbfe2c0e884d2308c535fe83e41b14ee6496f18cb36b48e68
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/fd8a1b24f825f6d6d903d28291113e161ee8005ab2b7c9892a6c9b4823cad98b
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/352205e1c12ac31d6e7a3ee259e31a30e8f313c4e8bbc0ebbc66c9f27a3b5ba7
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/2930e8aa7d4d56ab3105145e83d65217f3c75409d91eccac44fb08b113e2a1e2
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/7cfc85d4351193d4c217f33ce929b4139232245ded87eb75d0413580fb858671
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/1ea193925ff336dbf80bc94f9cd4dc7c8a95cdbd416917bc5f60ca795f6f684b
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/cfe8cf460306d726a3e81259c38b228e6a4b092bc123e7fa8836150a2b15c079
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/d479f532f0f3f3054f55f7d9a76cc2d1f68224c1265f34ddecd01325a0866023
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/e76fcc6eb6bd5157fc103574d806cf3eadec0f82dcb4fe9e963ba52582a73fd9
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/6f3ea727332f542c02e71acdbb5f8bc7edd8193eb7acb0a58d811bdbf3a6f081
https://www.vingle.net/posts/5631479
https://telegra.ph/asfdfgnbn-adsdfnbn-asdb-04-05
https://events.ydr.com/event/b9538fd7faca7e2dcfe0e195780bac1c
https://www.deviantart.com/topmovienow/journal/dfgn-asdb-nasdfgn-wertyj-956744122
https://pastelink.net/q0zcaey0
https://paiza.io/projects/vFWjcA5KnfMvugjmK3hvwg?language=php
https://pasteio.com/x3NNU7FfyE6a
https://controlc.com/74d3dfbc
https://paste.ofcode.org/RYJFdgV8mMjVRaMFF6bBiW
https://pastebin.com/5VJFyVVZ
https://glot.io/snippets/gjrgzscui3
https://paste.drhack.net/?b2ca43a226e3f526#8VESazmyhE3bdivNMP65u5up78LjHhCvQVwLrrfoNR8a
https://www.toptal.com/developers/hastebin
https://sway.office.com/mAdwQjTun1wuknPF
https://pasteio.com/xzfWYjYGqXN1
https://paste2.org/E1H99yfN
https://ide.geeksforgeeks.org/online-php-compiler/82c9108a-5d0a-42c6-ae65-53a05a3c138a
https://paiza.io/projects/3usn4p-Zy2EpZN-BSv_WMg?language=php
https://notes.io/q9kNS
https://pastelink.net/x0j3svmw
https://ideone.com/uuyxfV
https://bitbin.it/yJlhIfR3/
https://paste.rs/bv6
https://ide.geeksforgeeks.org/online-php-compiler/9212ae16-dff5-4f77-81f2-7ac2e3698f78
https://rextester.com/l/php_online_compiler
https://paiza.io/projects/ULjMfkZLH-5s7Nl68L3rcg?language=php
https://paste2.org/PIbtZzcY
https://ideone.com/uovShZ
https://ide.geeksforgeeks.org/online-php-compiler/b4f2e6c9-1176-414d-8e1f-4832754d54e9
https://paste.thezomg.com/165154/13569168/
https://paste.drhack.net/?5371a09e07c77297#EW7taYrzskBYBrHM6wz6N4PKanQxRqZtjJUqqCjrGoqA
https://www.toptal.com/developers/hastebin
https://paste.laravel.io/0d5c2c33-3ba8-46c2-ae2c-c7b1aa5fcfc0
https://textbin.net/vkksjyyksx
https://glot.io/snippets/gjrh5te5s0
http://pastebin.falz.net/2500586
https://rentry.co/ri5rp
https://justpaste.me/k6O8
https://telegra.ph/adsdfbn-addfb-nasd-04-05
https://wow.curseforge.com/paste/b6bbc1c8
https://etextpad.com/6jswm7ii2n
https://ctxt.io/2/AACQAXGGFg
https://jsitor.com/n8CBRVndTKNy
https://paste.toolforge.org/view/4deb2198
https://forum.techtudo.globo.com/perguntas/842425/www2enpmjs2ecompackagereal-madrid-vs-barcelona-en-vivo-y-en-directoo
https://forum.techtudo.globo.com/perguntas/842429/www2enpmjs2ecompackagereal-madrid-vs-barcelona-en-vivo-y-en-directo-a
https://forum.techtudo.globo.com/perguntas/842435/www2enpmjs2ecompackagereal-madrid-vs-barcelona-en-vivo-y-en-directo-f
https://forum.techtudo.globo.com/perguntas/842492/www2enpmjs2ecompackagereal-madrid-vs-barcelona-en-vivo-ey-en-directo
https://forum.techtudo.globo.com/perguntas/842495/www2enpmjs2ecompackagereal-madrid-vs-barcelona-en-vivo-y-en-directo-hd
https://forum.techtudo.globo.com/perguntas/842499/www2enpmjs2ecompackagereal-madrid-vs-barcelona-en-vivo-y-en-directo-4k
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/3b0eb079f9805c9ef18be0fd4b3c79f0be8685e7d5aad8409fc2b5dd682999c9
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/dee6ea9964440d508140b50e397d7cfbc2bd95a5b61f3924ecc320c0c957da1b
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/b602b13057e9b8eba16b8e2b27cc4b9ddec7553d3c927ccc8a96b2b04ad24df8
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/5caf7a8a8e699a10e361cbcaa33d8b9be3f010dbf5156f54aba79346d61c2cd3
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/96b1e01ca8b9b726582f7bd3d95c27b22f3e468a22a33a063b33bea9fa5fefb3
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/0ef569da6c3b130a3b7a304040d4532c52c48a63cf9656d2466f961b8bdedb68
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/b077f83de24670bed2078c7361460159f401164871a5f58f7ccb469d7af5280c
https://www.hybrid-analysis.com/sample/b3b843bdae56cc77d916cfc998c121f759a05a3be452518c6fa7717b79bd6666

The Grammy-nominated artist invited Blake to join him at the Mount Everest Base Camp in October to scale the mountain.

“I think I went 18,000 feet and some change. That was the highest I went,” he said. “And 16 people signed up for the expedition, and only 10 people made it up and made it back down. Six people were helicoptered out for personal reasons, medical reasons, evacuations. That was a pretty crazy experience to be a part of that.”

His reason for taking on all of these physical stunts is two-fold: to inspire others and to bring purpose to his life.

“Everybody asks me why and the why was that I just didn’t have a purpose of living. I wasn’t suicidal and wanted to die, I just wasn’t living,” Blake said.

He hopes when people follow him on social media or hear about his feats, they’ll think about their own purpose.

“I’ve been provoking people for the past year with the question of ‘Why are you living? What are you looking forward to? What do you live for?’ And I get, ‘Oh, I’m living for retirement. I’m living to watch my grandkids grow up,’” he said. “But nobody to this day really has given me an answer of why they’re living. People just wake up every day because you’re supposed to; you’re not supposed to wake up and just kill yourself. But why are you living — l-i-v-i-n-g? Why are you living on Earth? For what reason? What’s your purpose?”

As for what’s next for Blake? With his walk across Florida behind him, he’s already considering his next move.

“I have a few ideas, but they’re just so far ludicrous, like farfetched, that they’re just like off the rocker,” he said. “These things are already pretty wild that I’ve done, but my other ideas are really just taking it to the next level.”