Going The Distance

The average American male has a lifespan of some 27,375 days.  Of those thousands of days, there are but a handful which will stand out as truly memorable.

Bill Webb, a longtime Vienna resident who just celebrated his 18,250th day, and 50th birthday, just had one of those days.

In honor of his birthday, Webb planned to golf 50 holes, bike 50 kilometers, and swim 50 laps, all while raising money for the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department. 

Somewhere along the W & OD bike path on Thursday, Webb had a birthday epiphany: It was too easy.

“I’m feeling pretty good right now and it’s a beautiful day, so I said 'Why not, let’s go for 50 miles rather than 50 kilometers,'” he said, in a telephone interview from his bike, as he pedaled hard to stay on schedule .  “I might pay the price once I get to the pool, but we’ll find out.”

Webb was up and out the door at 4.30 a.m., and hitting the links at a par-3 course by 5.30 a.m., taking a little more than five hours to play 50 holes of near scratch golf, walking and carrying his own clubs. After a short lunch break -- all he ate the entire day was a bowl of cereal, a chicken sandwich, a power bar and some bananas -- he took about four hours to bike 50 miles, and perhaps another hour to swim the 50 laps at the Lakevale Community Pool in Vienna.

But why would anyone want to celebrate their birthday with such a flurry of strenuous activities?

“Well, my dad once played 72 holes of golf, so I played 73 holes, at age 13, and then, when I turned 40, I wanted to play 100 holes, but I settled for 86, because my shoulder got too sore,” Webb said. “So this time, I wanted to do something more meaningful, so I had this idea to do this and raise money for the Vienna Fire Department.”

Webb, who was born in Oregon, and moved to Vienna some 24 years ago, is an honorary member of the VVFD and the Executive Director of the Congressional Fire Service Institute, a non-profit dedicated to educating members of congress on the needs of fire departments around the country.

He's raised $3,300 for the VVFD so far.

Growing up, he suffered from asthma, and the trauma of not being able to swim and run as well as he wanted to helped instill an acute desire to enhance his endurance. These days, the asthma is long gone, and Webb is in great health. But 50 holes of golf, 50 miles of biking and 50 laps, in one day?

“I was O.K. with it from the start, but my mom was like ‘Why would he do such a crazy thing?’” said his wife, Katie, who biked with him and was poolside, along with their three children, cheering him as he battled through leg cramps to get his 50 laps in. “I think he wants to make sure he’s still fit at 50.”

John Morrison, Vienna’s 31-year-old Fire Chief, joined Webb for a few laps, and then expressed the hope that others in Vienna might decide to undertake similarly insane challenges to benefit the fire department.

“We’d love to have more people doing stuff like this,” he said, laughing. “The more community involvement the better.”

With just a few laps left in his swim, Webb’s legs began to cramp, so he stopped kicking, but he didn’t stop swimming.

“I didn’t want to have to tell all the people who supported me that I came up a few laps short,” Webb said after completing the grueling ordeal.

How did he feel?

“Once I got in the pool, my legs started tightening up and I knew I had some problems, but I feel pretty good,” he said, noting that he planned to return to work the following day.

His wife was thinking about getting him a professional massage as a present.

“And there won’t be any yard work for him this weekend,” she added. “I’m going to let him take it easy.”

So what will Webb to celebrate his 60th birthday?

“I think I’ll just hang out at the Vienna Inn and relax,” he said.

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