MIRAMAR BEACH — Courtney Davwalter crossed the finish line Sunday afternoon in front of a sparkling blue and green Gulf of Mexico and hunched over in the white sand to catch her breath.
She had been running for more than eight hours, crossing 50 miles of beach from Miramar to Seagrove to the Destin Pass and back again. The 28-year-old from Denver was the fifth person to finish the third annual Destin Beach Ultra.
"It was a good day. There was no wind, the sun was shining," she said. "I can't complain."
And she did not, even as she pulled off her shoes, peeled off her socks and hobbled off on sore feet. Her friend who ran a 50K on the beach earlier wrapped his arms around her, and the two compared blisters before heading off for a celebratory beer and the hot tub at Tops'l Beach Resort.
Click here to see a slideshow from the race.
Meanwhile, two runners had smashed the world record for the longest run in the sand in 24 hours, and another two were set to break it. At the end of Davwalter’s run, they still had five hours to go on the 2-mile loop they had been jogging since 7 p.m. Saturday.
The 24-hour run was a new addition to the Destin Beach Ultra event, which raises money for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. The group provides scholarships for children of special ops servicemen and women who are killed in the line of duty.
Zane Holscher, the race director and a special operations airman, said they had raised $40,000 this year, and he hopes to be able to donate another $5,000 more.
Holscher and his brother convinced their friend Dustin Krajewski, 33, to attempt the 24-hour run this year. As he rounded one of the checkpoints Sunday afternoon, he shouted, jokingly, that they both were officially off his Christmas gift list next year.
He sipped some water and headed back out.
By 7 p.m., Krajewski, who lives in Colorado, and three other racers had broken the previous world record of 83.04 miles.
Krajewski ran 100 miles in 24 hours.
Joe Fejes, 47 from Georgia, took the title with 134 miles. Connie Gardner, 49 from Ohio, took the women's title with 116 miles.
Kelley Wells, 39 from South Carolina, also finished with 84 miles.
Two of the runners had to drop out because of injury.
A dedicated team of volunteers manned a tent on each side of the 2-mile loop all night and day to document the runners in hopes that their accomplishment will be certified as official by the Guinness Book of World Records.
Holscher said he couldn't have been happier with the results.
"I think we had an amazing team of runners here and an amazing team of volunteers and great conditions," he said.
FIND OUT MORE: To donate or to learn about the Special Operations Warrior Foundation visit their website.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Lauren Sage Reinlie at 850-315-4443 or lreinlie@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @LaurenRnwfdn.