Oz Pearlman, a world-renowned entertainer and mentalist, broke a record for the most miles run around New York City’s Central Park.
In total, Pearlman ran 116 miles in a fundraiser to benefit Save The Children, a 501(c)(3) organization delivering essential humanitarian aid to children caught in the middle of a natural disaster or armed conflict. The money raised at the event on April 11, 2022 — more than $110,000 — is going towards the children of Ukraine.
Benzinga interviewed Pearlman about his motivations and what this monumental achievement means.
Benzinga: How does an individual prepare for a 100-mile run?
Oz Pearlman: The training for a 100-mile or further run is run, run, and run.
I’ve been doing 100-plus-mile weeks for the last couple of months which, generally, if I can, means running four or five days a week at a minimum. Six days is usually the max.
It’s about getting those longer miles and getting to the point where you can see how your body takes it when you start pushing the limits. Generally, when I run 20 miles, I don’t really get tired or sore at all.
If you go further than that, that’s where I start to get the feeling of what it will be like to run 100 or more miles because it’s hard to anticipate the level of suffering and things that can start to go wrong at that point.
You don’t want to run much more than maybe 50 miles because your body has to recover from it and so you’re kind of getting diminished returns by doing too long of training runs.
Is the added pressure from all the eyeballs something you fear will get in the way of your accomplishment of this goal?
I think the pressure is a good thing. I don’t think if I had put up a normal GoFundMe it would have gotten nearly this much support.
And, giving up is just not an option.
Who is your role model?
There are a lot of people I’m super impressed by and that definitely inspire me.
There’s a guy who I’m friends with named David Goggins. He’s a former Navy Seal that’s done a bunch of athletic races, supported tons of charities, and just got a drive and tenacity of never giving up.
There’s Dean Karnazes who is an original ultramarathon runner who wrote the book "Ultra Marathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner" which inspired me to into this.
And Tony Robbins.
Within the actual running world, I’ve followed a lot of ultra runners. Just seeing what people can achieve when they put their mind to it I’ve always been very impressed by, and it just gets me fired up to try it as well.
You left Wall Street, took a chance on yourself, and built an incredible brand. What’s your legacy? What’s the image or lesson you want followers to come away with?
I left my job on Wall Street and I don’t know if I knew that I’d be building a legacy or brand.
It was kind of a calculated risk; you can’t really jump in the pool just dipping your toe in.
That’s when I decided I’m going to try and be a professional entertainer and mentalist.
I think the things I want people to remember me for are creating compelling, unique performances that were very original. I try to constantly create new innovative ideas and execute them.
In terms of legacy, the most important role I play by far is as a parent and husband. We have three kids and I want them to turn out to be good people.
What is the best way for people to support?
Donate to the GoFundMe. Every penny donated goes to helping kids that are being affected by the war in Ukraine. Every penny is tax-deductible.
