Every time I’m nursing a sore muscle, feeling a tad blue or simply having a tough time motivating myself to exercise, I stumble across an article, news segment or viral video that blows my mind and sends me scurrying out the first door to log some mileage. The most recent one popped up in the September issue of Runner’s World.

In a section entitled, ‘HumanRace,’ the publication featured three athletes who could run rings around me (or anyone else I know, for that matter).

The first was 60-year-old Sister Mary Elizabeth Lloyd, who wanted to raise awareness for AIDS orphans. What did she do? Sr. Mary ran 100 miles in her habit! In the process, she raised $250,000 for the charity and was named a United Nation’s Servant of Peace. Talk about a religious experience. Holy cow!

Number two was Plymouth Meeting, Pa., kindergarten teacher Michelle Moyer, who organized a group of fellow teachers to run a half-marathon. Their goal was to raise money for one of Michelle’s students who had brain cancer. How did they do?  Not bad considering most had never run before. Not only did the teachers complete the 13.1 mile course, they ended up raising $10,000 for Nick. Nice.

The third and final case study featured John O’Connor, a 37-year-old engineer from Bradford, Massachusetts. Seeking to raise awareness of, and money for, the Wounded Warrior Project, O’Connor ran the Boston Marathon course four times non-stop in a staggering 24 hours and 50 minutes. In all, this Energizer Bunny of engineering covered 104.8 miles and raised $5,000.

Headache? What headache. I’ve got to go for a run.