Karate Man Hikes Barefoot Ultramarathon on Mt. Sanitas

[BOULDER, CO, October 25, 2025] – Boulder Karate owner Brad Randolph set out Saturday to ascend Mt. Sanitas repeatedly for twenty-four hours, barefoot. “I wanted to show my karate students that anything is possible with practice and perseverance,” said Randolph, 40.

Kicking off the adventure at 10:15am, Randolph brought student Ethan Springett, 12, on the trail, intending to bond with the aspiring martial artist. After the successful mentorship hike, Randolph turned up the heat and started up for the next lap.

“With over one hundred barefoot ascents of Mt. Sanitas under my belt, I couldn’t help but wonder if a barefoot marathon was possible. After all, my feet feel right at home being barefoot from teaching karate,” said Randolph.

Ethan’s uncle, Simon Springett, a black belt at Boulder Karate, joined in for Lap Three and Lap Four to support Randolph’s cause. With strong encouragement from Simon, Randolph then continued up and down the popular Boulder mountain for the remaining daylight, until the trail was completely vacant.

“The last fellow hiker I saw was at 7:30pm. At this point I knew the mental battle had begun.”

With the simple company of his headlamp, Randolph ascended and descended the route through the night, being extra careful not to bring an early end to the adventure through a careless mistake. “I set a barefoot personal record a couple weeks ago, but this was not a sprint. Maintaining my all-day pace with periodic stretching carried me to the goal.”

Sunday morning, Ethan’s father had caught wind that Randolph was still going strong, so he decided to bring his two boys and meet Randolph a hundred feet up from the finish line. “That brought the biggest smile to my face, having Ethan and his family there to help me finish strong!”

Concluding the ultramarathon at 9:41am Sunday, Randolph had completed twelve consecutive laps of the steep South Ridge of Mt. Sanitas for a total of 15,000’ elevation gain over 31 miles (50km). “I hope my karate students are inspired by this story, that they can overcome anything when they put their mind to it.”