Dave Lang has run just two marathons in his life. In January, he'll run seven … in seven days … on seven continents.
Working for an NFL team, there aren't many athletic feats an employee could attempt that would blow a player's mind. But Lang, the Ravens' senior director of digital strategy & innovation, will do just that by running the World Marathon Challenge.
Ravens defensive tackle Aeneas Peebles, who was working out at the Under Armour Performance Center this week, couldn't believe it.
"Oh my goodness. They work here!? Is it Superman?" Peebles said.
"That's crazy. If you ask somebody on the team to do that today, I don't think anybody could get it done. After he runs that, he is no longer just a digital media guy. He is a superhuman."
Only 292 people in the world have completed the World Marathon Challenge. Lang will be part of the 10th class of people crazy enough to try.
"When I first heard of somebody doing it, I questioned, is that even humanly possible?" Lang said on "The Lounge" podcast. "That sounds insane. No way. I kind of put it out of my mind."
But after hearing about other running feats, such as James Lawrence's 50 Ironmans in 50 days in 50 states, the World Marathon Challenge felt possible. Then again, Lawrence is the subject of a featured documentary titled with his nickname, "Iron Cowboy."
Lang has no nickname (yet). His running resume pales in comparison to others who will join his class. Lang didn't even consider himself a "runner" until recently.
"I can't even say that I love running. Running was something I did more just to stay in shape," Lang said. "I just feel like I'm an regular guy who likes doing hard things and challenging myself."
Lang will turn 43 years old before the race. He's a father of three. He says he's the worst athlete of his family.
His youngest brother was a minor league baseball player. His middle brother set the Guinness World Record for Fastest Marathon Dressed as Santa Claus and finished 70th overall at the 2010 New York City Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 32 minutes.
Lang completed the Baltimore Marathon, but that was back in 2012. He did the Marine Corps Marathon 50K in 2022. Last October, he ran the Baltimoron-a-Thon, in which participants complete a 5K and half marathon in the same morning, and finished fourth.
Other than that, Lang can be found pounding the pavement near his home in Eldersburg. Though he runs every day now, his routine was four to five days a week for a minimum of five miles. He ramps it up before races, but mostly, he's been focused on steadily preparing himself for the day when he would eventually run the World Marathon Challenge.
The event has been Lang's dream ever since he learned about it eight years ago. Over the past five years, it became more of a calling that he thinks about every single day. Lang won the first race of his life, the Brigance Brigade 5.7K, in May. The next day, he pulled the trigger and signed up for the World Marathon Challenge.
"I want to just show that ordinary people are capable of achieving extraordinary things," said Lang, who wants to specifically set that example for his three young daughters.
"My wife, Angie, knows that I'm wired a little bit differently. So, when I told her about it, she just kind of smirked at me. She knows that once I get an idea in my mind, no matter how crazy it is, if I commit myself to it, I'm going to do it."
Lang now trains every day. He has a world map taped to his treadmill, a constant reminder of what lies ahead. He has eight hours to complete each marathon on each continent – 168 hours total.
He wants to run each leg of the marathon in under five hours (maybe four, he says), but the main goal is to finish. Last year's winner, well-known American ultramarathoner Michael Wardian, ran the seven marathons with an average time of 3 hours, four minutes, and 56 seconds.
The itinerary starts with running on ice in Antarctica, then Africa (Cape Town), Australia (Perth), Asia (Dubai, UAE), Europe (Madrid, Spain), South America (Fortaleza, Brazil), and North America (Miami).
Lang will try to simulate the challenge by running 20+ miles the day the Ravens depart for their late-September game in Brazil, then another long run as soon as possible after the plane lands in Rio de Janeiro.
He expects the toughest part to be physical recovery. Lang has already enlisted help from the Ravens' training and nutrition specialists, but he doesn't sleep well on planes. There's also the misery of going from the sub-zero temperatures of Antarctica to the threat of heat exhaustion in Australia and Brazil. Overall, Lang isn't worried about not finishing.
"I feel like more than a physical challenge, this is also a mental challenge, and I like to think I'm a pretty mentally strong person," Lang said. "For the cause, I know that I'm going to be able to get through this."
Lang's "cause" is also part of his inspiration. Lang is running to raise money and awareness for one of the Ravens' organizational pillars, O.J. Brigance.
The former Ravens linebacker has battled Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, better known as ALS, since he was diagnosed on May 16, 2007, shortly before Lang was hired by the Ravens. For more than 19 years, Brigance has stiff-armed the debilitating disease, which recently re-entered the American consciousness after former Tennessee Titans star running back Chris Johnson revealed he was diagnosed with ALS in 2025 and Grey's Anatomy star Eric Dane died from the disease
The Brigance Brigade Foundation improves the quality of life for others living with ALS by providing access to caregiving services, equipment, and in-home accessibility. Lang has already raised enough money to cover the costs of the race. Now, everything is for the Brigance Brigade Foundation, with the goal of raising at least $100,000.
"Watching O.J. over the years, he's been such an inspiration – the living-breathing example of 'All Things Possible,'" Lang said. "What he goes through on a daily basis just to come to work here in this building, if he can just do that and get through his day, I feel like running seven marathons is easier than what he does."
When Lang told Brigance that he planned to run for the Brigance Brigade, Brigance's eyes lit up.
"He was not one of the people that said 'this is crazy' or 'can you do this?,'" Lang said. "He had full confidence and belief in me."
"He had that same mentality trying to get into the NFL. He wasn't drafted. He worked his way through CFL, wrote letters to teams, eventually made it, made the first tackle of Super Bowl XXXV. Both of us sitting in that room didn't know how I was going to do this, we just knew I was going to pull it off."
Fans looking to support Lang's mission can donate at 777forALS.com and follow his journey on Instagram and TikTok @davedreamsbig.
