12-year-old Carmel runner attempts to break a world record

CARMEL — A Carmel boy has his feet on the ground and his eyes on the prize.

He’s preparing to break the Guinness World Record for the youngest person to complete a 100-mile trail race.

Race day is next month.

Stephanie Abbott

100 miles in under 30 hours before he turns 13.

That’s what it’s going to take for Gabriel Abbott to break the record.

“I set a goal and I want to do it," Abbott, a Clay Middle School eighth grader said.

“We got to researching it. Has anybody this young ever done it? And we found the youngest person we could find was this couple of kids who did it at age 13," his dad said.

After school and cross country, Abbott trains for the big race — about 13 miles under his feet a day.

Stephanie Abbott

“His biggest strength is that he genuinely buys into the idea that you achieve anything if you put in the work," dad said.

Abbott started with running a 10K and 5K back to back, then a half marathon, and then 42 miles in 12 hours consecutively.

Stephanie Abbott

He says it’s more than the miles. Most of it is clearing the mental hurdles.

“It tells your brain ‘hey I can do this. Let’s see if I can do more,’” Abbott said.

His biggest inspiration is his father, who started running ultras just a few years ago.

“I learned that people run 100-milers and I was like there’s no way you can run that far. You’ll time travel. That’s like Back to the Future distance,” dad said.

And now his son is attempting the feat.

“He’s strong. He’s tough. He’s ready.”

Stephanie Abbott

The race is called Run Woodstock.

It begins Sept. 6 in Gregory, Michigan.

WRTV asked if he’s planning a big trip to Disney World to celebrate his victory if he breaks the record.

He said he’ll probably just sleep — for a very long time.