Eyeworld

NOVEMBER 2019 | EYEWORLD | 63 O by Ellen Stodola EyeWorld Editorial Co-Director About the doctor John Odette, MD Austin Eye Austin, Texas Going into the event, Dr. Odette hoped and believed that he could hit the 29,029 vertical feet goal. Speaking after, he was thrilled to have accomplished the climbs in 33 hours—even with taking a much-needed rest break in the mid- dle of the event. "I was happy to just get through it," he said. "It was a real beat down on my body and my mind." Dr. Odette believes he was mostly prepared for the physical aspects of the event, though he did note that using hiking poles, which he doesn't normally use, meant that his triceps were very sore. He also noted that mental toll of the race, especially because he became ill in the middle, adding an extra layer of difficulty. "I just had to push through," he said. Reflecting back, Dr. Odette said he wished he had more time to acclimatize, as just breathing was a challenge. Each ascent was about 3 miles and 2,700 feet of elevation, he said, so it was basically like walking 3 miles straight uphill. Dr. Odette initially started out by hiking about 17 hours straight but then took a 5-hour break when he began to feel ill. "I knew as long as I could get up and get moving again, I had time to finish," he said. "It's somewhat of a race against the clock." When he did finish, it was about 3 hours before the 36-hour deadline. "It was truly amazing because there was such a broad diversity of people there," he said. The youngest person at the event was 16, he said, and the oldest was around 70. Dr. Odette added that he's open to doing a similar event in the future, if friends or family wanted to participate with him. "I would say that doing something like this is an incredible experience, and I think it's more about the peo- ple and how the experiences run with the peo- ple you're doing it with that can really change your life," he said. "Trying to push yourself to do something new every year is a really great thing." Dr. Odette after his first of 13 loops in his quest for 29,029 vertical feet. Dr. Odette marks his final loop of the race. Contact information Odette: jodette@austineye.com

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