Taco Bell 50K (John Calabrese):

John shares his story signing up and participating in the Taco Bell 50K, an ultra crazy race designed by ultra runner Michael Wardian and his friend Phil Hargis. John, a volunteer runner, supporting Ainsley’s Angels shares his story.

Event: Taco Bell 50K - Washington DC - Saturday November 29, 2025 - https://tacobelldc50k.com/

Taco Bell 50K Race Report 

So here’s the thing: if you don’t participate in a new race that does something wild and different, you’ll forever wonder what could have happened if you were on that weird and strange journey. Life is way too short to pass on the things that are different.

When I first heard locals Phil Hargis and Mike Wardian were bringing the Taco Bell 50K to DC, I immediately signed up. I know DC is a wonderful place for all types of races — big events like Marine Corps Marathon to underground ones Virginia Happy Trails puts on. In my opinion, on the surface DC can be perceived as a bourgeois city where people want to avoid going because the traffic sucks, so why even go? But make no mistake: DC may act uptight and status-conscious, but the city is wild. I knew that having a Taco Bell 50K here would be fun as hell.

I used to party all over the city in my 20s. I’m a dad now and sober. I only take my daughter to the city for museums, dance, and shows — basically the arts — but even then I can see it: the city always yearns to be wild.

Katherine

I’ve pushed Katherine Montgomery in several races. At the Ainsley’s Angels Marine Corps dinner a combination of things happened. We were talking about the Taco Bell 50K and she told me she wanted to do it. Kim “Rooster” Rossiter then gave a speech about his daughter and how he had to work really hard training, handling logistics, and working with Marine Corps Marathon to be able to push his daughter in the race.

If you have ever heard Rooster speak before about his daughter, and if you know how I love doing adventures — especially ones that are unique and challenging — then you would know Katherine and I were basically already in for the Taco Bell 50K.

Phil Hargis

I did not know Phil before this race. I’m sure we have crossed paths in the running community before; it’s impossible not to, but I can’t recall ever communicating with him. When I contacted him about having Katherine and me run the race, I was kind of stunned. He was cool.

I’m used to having my guard up and being ready to duel, submit times, or become a salesperson to allow us to run. He didn’t do that and was totally cool. When Phil acted this way, I knew even further this was going to be a great vibe where everyone was included.

Recruitment

This scared me more than the run itself. Katherine and I had done Marine Corps Marathon, so I knew the distance of a 50K wouldn’t be a problem, but we needed support out there in case of emergency and help along the way. Also, the timing of this race — Thanksgiving weekend — is hard because people have family in town.

Another aspect is this race is right after some huge races in the area: JFK, MCM, and Richmond Marathon. It’s hard to get people to want to help with a duo team if they’re feeling hurt, and for anyone that contacted me or I reached out to, I did not push them. If they couldn’t do it, I did not get upset. I totally understand!

The group starts coming together

I put out a Facebook post and immediately Jessica Bloomingdale responded, and then Tracy McKune Sheppard. Jessica volunteered to be our support person, and soon after that another duo team emerged.

Enter Team Mikie

Mikie is an awesome guy. I did a big virtual challenge with him during COVID, and I had just helped push him in the Historic Half this year in Fredericksburg.

So Tracy was going to push Mikie and I was going to push Katherine, but we needed more runners. We needed two floater runners to tag in if needed and to help navigate or assist with any situation that required additional help.

Enter James Robinson and Ben Nalette

Pretty close to the race both these guys stepped in, and I was so relieved. James paced me on loop 2 of OSS/CIA earlier this year and I was a mess — I barely finished — but he got me to the end, and I knew he could be vital here. I’ve run races with Ben for years, and knowing he was there, I had a lot of confidence moving forward.

The team is set

Having our lineup solidified, we started planning logistics. This is where our all-star started to shine: Jessica Bloomingdale was able to pick up Mikie’s and Katherine’s chairs, she brought a table for us to dine on, and she and Mikie made stuff for the stops.

10:40 p.m. the night before Taco Bell 50K

I panicked. I went into the group chat and, for reasons unknown, was worried we needed Taco Bell in the van with us at all times. I went to the local Taco Bell in the middle of the night and bought $40 worth of Taco Bell. Maybe I had pre-race jitters, and you know what? For as lucky as we were with this all coming together… fine. I’ll take it!

Overslept

I woke up at 4:45 a.m. because Ben sent a group chat message saying he was on the way.

Panic

I threw on my clothes, grabbed my sack of Taco Bell, and jumped in the car heading toward the Cantina. I was sending messages to coordinate on the way, to make sure someone would pick up Katherine at the Metro and to get set up.

Arrival

Luckily Ben works right by the start, so the majority of us parked there. It was real cold out. I dressed warm enough but was worried about my hands. I had two sets of gloves, but the handles on the chair get cold and can freeze you.

The Cantina — Start/Stop 1: 417 King St, Alexandria, VA 22314

We got the chairs set up and posted up in front of the Taco Bell. It was a crazy scene — people were everywhere, so many jokes, it was surreal. It happened so fast too: I was talking to a Washington Post reporter, people with funny costumes, we took a bunch of pictures, and everyone was so cool with Katherine and Mikie.

Mike Wardian took a picture with us, and then we realized something: Where are we going to put Katherine’s power chair?

John’s bad driving

Luckily I was a caregiver for years and knew how to drive it, so we drove it back to Ben’s office. It would be safe there and we could easily get Katherine back on it afterward while warming up and making sure she was organized and ready to go home after the race.

It’s crazy we didn’t plan that, but when you do something like this you have to know you will leave something out and have to figure it out on the fly. The thing that always saves you is the group, and having a tight crew gives you confidence that you can solve the things you forget to plan for.

Ready, set, eat!!

This definitely was a first for me. It was more like an eating contest start than a race. So this next part is gross, and use this as a lesson for next year. Repeat after me:

Do not eat a cold Crunchwrap Supreme. Ever.

This was one of the ones I got from last night. I have no idea why I thought I could eat cold Taco Bell, but I did. I pummeled one and almost threw up. And we’re off!!

Growing up, I always wanted to be in The Washington Post for something — well, it came true, but I definitely look like I just hammered a Crunchwrap Supreme!

We had the Alexandria PD help us with street crossings and they were super cool.

Mike Wardian

Mike passed by us, but along the way we talked about pounding a Crunchwrap and how I might die. He was super cool. I feel like he really took the time to engage every single runner out there and wanted people to feel a part of the race (more on this later).

I want to say 3 or so miles in, we got our first taste of having to stay on the directions and slightly missed our turn into an apartment complex. Oh, this would not be the last! We went through the apartments and before we knew it, we were at our second stop.

Stop 2: 231 S Van Dorn St, Alexandria, VA 22304

(5.1 miles from previous, 5.1 miles total)

Our stomachs were still reeling. It felt like the scene in the movie Aliens after the first attack when the aliens pummeled the Marines. We ate our food, took some pics, and headed out!

This next stretch was a long one. We had to go through a lot of residential neighborhoods, and being totally honest, I feel like this was the hardest part. A few miles in we also had to deviate from the map slightly because there were stairs and it was too risky to try to carry the chairs up. We backtracked and found an alternate route.

A few group members also had to use a bathroom, so we tried to stop at a Popeyes. It was closed, so we then went to Subway. We got warm there, people used the restroom, James got an energy drink, and I took a sip. It was delicious — I don’t normally drink that stuff, but damn was it good.

We were running off and on in the beginning with Samantha. She wasn’t initially part of Team Katherine and Mikie, but we reunited with her here and ran together.

I remember there being some cool sculptures in the neighborhoods leading to the next Taco Bell — similar to the glass forest people made in that DC neighborhood. As much as I didn’t like this initial stretch, the ending was nice.

Stop 3: 4923 Lee Hwy, Arlington, VA 22207

(7.6 miles from previous, 12.7 miles total)

This was one of my favorite stops — not because of the long gap, but because I wanted to eat! I had a Burrito Supreme, cinnamon twists, and a Baja Blast Mountain Dew. It was delicious; I don’t care what you think of me.

We took lots of pics and joked around. Someone had a Goonies flag and I waved it around. We may have stayed here clowning around the longest of all stops. I was just happy to be done with that last stretch!

Riding high on Taco Bell!

We were fired up leaving, and this stretch is in the running for the most fun. There was a lot of downhill, we all started running faster, and we knew it wasn’t far to the next stop, so we were playing with house money here!

Goof Troop

We got straight-up silly here. I don’t even know where to start. Toshi (Deadpool) was hanging with Mikie and we took a bunch of pics — he was so cool. Then we ate a massive amount of Taco Bell. I had a Doritos Locos Taco, cinnamon bites, and a Baja Blast. Then Ben ate a cold Gordita Supreme from like 8 hours ago — maybe longer — covered in sweat from his pack, and he almost died. We were laughing so hard. I blame the Baja Blast; I don’t normally drink that stuff, but the more I had each stop, the funnier things got.

We definitely stayed here awhile but forced ourselves to leave and rolled onStop 4: 2039 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201

(2.8 miles from previous, 15.5 miles total)

It got cold again here, mainly because we were going through the city with shadows, wind, bridges, etc. We took pics when we saw the “Entering DC” signs.

When we came over, there were so many people out and it was cool — some people talked to us, laughed at our jokes. It definitely was a cool experience pushing through the city; people liked seeing us and gave us love.

Samantha pretty much became a full member of our group here. She was helping us navigate and definitely was a great addition.

Stop 5: 3100 14th St NW Ste 103, Washington, DC 20010

(4.4 miles from previous, 19.9 miles total)

We got silly as hell here — laying on grates eating Taco Bell, lots of people passing by saying we were crazy. It was awesome. This is also where our song bubbled up and came alive: “It’s Raining Tacos.”

This was our jam. We played it on our phones, we sang it, Jessica would start blasting it in her van so when we saw her it was a welcomed sound. This is my official Taco Bell 50K song and I do not care what you think about me.

Stop 6: 1412 U St NW, Washington, DC 20009

(0.9 miles from previous, 20.8 miles total)

Maybe it was the Baja Blast, but this might have been my favorite stop. It was like a weird little spot in a populated area. It felt more like a bar than a Taco Bell. Keep in mind it looked like Halloween in there with us in costumes, but it reminded me of when I used to party in the city. It was funny.

Stop 7: 808 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20001

(1.6 miles from previous, 22.4 miles total)

This one was packed, and I almost had a potty accident. There were codes for the bathroom and I got super over-the-top dramatic with an employee, but she was laughing. I was like, “I need the code!” She came over and put it in and I said, “You just saved my life, lady.”

When coming out of the bathroom, there was a poor guy on the ground and when he saw me come out he was like, “Wait, please don’t close that door!” I almost did but somehow stopped it in time.

I think at this point people had massive stomach issues, and this was the place. I’m sorry, Stop 7 — the bathroom there is probably dead. Cleaning and maintenance are going to be costly, and I take partial responsibility. We all do.

I also noticed they served beer at this one. People were definitely drinking it. Wild scene.

It was all too good… but trouble was ahead.

Stop 8: 50 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002

(1.1 miles from previous, 23.5 miles total)

I did not like this stop. I couldn’t get Katherine down the elevator. I may have been able to force something, but I had the team go down to the Taco Bell and we waited on the upper level. This scene felt like when Rocky got fired from all those jobs and hit his low point.

I take responsibility: things got miscommunicated and we got separated. Luckily, we all ate our Taco Bell and left Union Station together, but it triggered me and I held onto the residual stress for a bit.

Technically that was our last stop other than the finish. We were pretty good on time, but we went too far to time out here. Too much Taco Bell was consumed. Ben’s stomach put its life on the line to get us here.

We didn’t say much for a while, and as the sun began to set it looked like we were going to finish around 10 hours. I felt relieved, so I chilled out. Ben was having major issues at this point. We started playing “It’s Raining Tacos,” and we began to rally.

Darkness falls

We only had a few miles left, but it was pitch black. We all ran together but lost Ben. At one point, I started pushing Mikie and James pushed Katherine, just to switch it up and give everyone a break.

This, to me, was the longest stretch, but as we got closer to the Taco Bell, I got happier and happier. Then finally — we made it!

Still gotta eat!

We had to eat our last meal and then submit our wrappers for verification. As we went through the process, Samantha and Ben ran in. We all did it and got our special Taco Bell 50K Christmas ornament, which I hold in regard with 100-mile buckles.

We celebrated, but had work to do to fully finish.

Also, special shout-out to Mike Wardian — he took all the finisher pics and put them on social media. Super cool thing to do so we could look through and connect with friends who were with us in the trenches out there.

Race ain’t over at the finish!

We pushed Katherine to Ben’s office to get her power chair. Once we got Katherine on her chair, James and Jessica took apart the racing chairs, and I walked Katherine to the Metro. Ben waited for me there to give me a ride back to his car.

Ben was a champ, but fell victim to the Taco Bell after it was all over. His heart was pure, his legs were solid, but his stomach had nothing left. He violently vomited everywhere as I looked on.

The end

That’s the way I’ll end this tale. Even if I did the Taco Bell 50K alone, I’d consider it the best race I’ve ever done — definitely the most memorable — but I didn’t. I ran it with the most amazing people, and both Katherine and Mikie got an ultra. Jessica had our back, and we worked as a team.

Honestly, I may not come down from this high. Hopefully I’ll find motivation to do other races. I could quit running right now and probably be happy. But you know what? I’m not — because there will be another Taco Bell 50K and I gotta be ready.

Team Mikie and Team Katherine, I love y’all so much and I’m so proud of you. Again, sorry I was a dick at Union Station. I’ll remember Union Station on and off the race and learn from it. 

The best way I can describe this race is a fever dream. Even as it was happening I questioned reality. It was awesome and I don’t know how to come down from it but luckily I have a 100 miler with Ben next but I know we’ll be talking about this experience the entire time. This was an amazing escape from reality. 

Finish/Stop 9: 417 King St, Alexandria, VA 22314

(8.9 miles from previous, 32.4 miles total)

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