Arlington man runs the Beltway -- all 89 miles of it

WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - Saturday was the hottest day of the year so far, but that didn't stop an Arlington man from running around the entire Beltway.

Professional runner Michael Wardian, 45, had the goal of running around the Capital Beltway for 20 years.

He finally accomplished it this weekend. With the help of some friends he mapped out the more than 89-mile course of trails and neighborhoods to run through.

He started his journey at 1:30 in the morning and ran for almost 18 hours straight.

Most of it in intense heat.

"Being stuck in 495 traffic ... you're thinking 'I can run faster than this,'" Wardian said. "I was like 'someday I want to run this' and 20 years later I made it happen with the help of my friends."

"It was a really cool thing and one of those things on your bucket list and you're like, 'I want to do this but it's never a good time,'" he added. "Obviously yesterday was so hot; it wasn't a great time. But my schedule is so busy racing and family commitments and a job and everything that it just fit."

"So we just did it when we had the time."

Wardian has run hundreds of races around the country, including running the entire length of the W&OD Trail.