Nashua ultra runner Justin Deflumeri runs down Main Street Sunday morning near the conclusion of his five day run down the state from Pittsburg. (Courtesy photo)

NASHUA – It was hot, muggy, yet Justin Deflumeri was getting goosebumps.

He was running down Main Street late Sunday morning, putting the finishing touches on a five-day, record-setting oddessey that saw him on foot go the approximate 200 miles from Pittsburg to Nashua. In doing so, Deflumeri, 36, set a record for a run all the way through the state, and raised support for the Heather Abbott Foundation for amputees.

“It was truly magical,” he said of the feeling. “I just envisioned it as the light at the end of the tunnel, but hometown man finally coming through. I had so many beeps and inspiration from residents from Merrimack and Nashua that it wa truly magical and what kept me going.”

Deflumeri’s journey took him 101 hours. He took a wrong turn, had to make a trip to urgent care, got sprayed every 15 seconds with a water gun due to extreme heat, etc.

But he made it.

“Having my daughter around my neck at the finish line was truly magical, and I was so happy she got to see the end result of everything,” Deflumeri said.

His troubles began on Day three (Friday) when he ran 47 miles. At mile 43 he made a ron turn and needed to backtrack to stay on course.

“I had to walk up the hill again that I just ran down at mile 43, after running 41 miles the first day and 45 the second,” he said. “And now it was extemely hot. Of course it was a heat wave when I decided to to this.”

The ultra runner and extreme sports junkie was doing an 840 pace and for a stretch his crew had to run behind him and spray him every 15 seconds for two miles.

“Think about that,” Deflumeri said.

Then when he got to the center of Tilton, “I actually had to go to urgent care because I was so dehydrated,” he said.

An IV, enough electrolytes and Deflumeri made it a 50-mile day.

Two others had made a similar run, but in eight days — and they would return to the area by car to sleep at home and then return the next day to where they left off. Deflumeri’s goal was to do it in five days for a record, stay completely on the road, and he said the response when he got close to home was incredible.

“Everyone was so sweet with screaming out the window good things,” he said.

And finally, a woman at Dunkin’ Donuts gave him some advice:

“She said ‘It’s OK to cry if you get emotional,'” he said.

So he did. Mission accomplished.