The Loneliness of the Long Haul
| posted by Heath RowIn August, Christine Canabou investigated how a hard-charging learned to shift gears while training for a bicycle race. Track coach John Smith trains the world's fastest runners how to run even faster. And today in London, Sir Ranulph Fiennes completed the London marathon, his fifth marathon in as many days.
Wait. Five marathons in five days? You read right. And if all goes well, Fiennes will complete two more before the weekend is through -- one in Cairo and one in New York City. That will make seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. And he ran the London leg in four hours and 41 minutes, so it's not like he's slacking.
Fiennes' amazing goal makes me think of dedication, discipline, and focus -- laudable traits in any setting. When running seven marathons -- when running just one marathon -- every step counts. Every breath matters. Sometimes being a long-distance runner can be lonely. But are you in this for the long haul? Or are you built to flip?
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November 1, 2003 at 5:11pm
Curt RosengrenWith the long-term endurance, sporting intro to this post, I couldn't resist adding a note about Erden Eruc, who is working on a round-the-world, human powered, self propelled journey, attempting to summit the highest mountain on each of six continents in the process.
He is doing it in six stages. The first stage, a 2700 mile winter bike ride from Seattle to Mount McKinley, a successful summit attempt, and a ride back, is complete now.
For the next year he will focus on fund-raising (most immediately to be able to buy the ocean rowing boat he will need for his next leg down to South America's Aconcagua), talking to school groups, etc., and putting together the curriculum for Around-n-Over, a non-profit Erden created to use the journey to both teach and inspire schoolkids.
The concept is still in development, but the basic idea is to offer teachers an online way to supplement their existing curriculum, open kids' eyes to the world, and inspire them to achieve.
Beyond his immediate round-the-world goals, Erden wants to create a long-term program with Around-n-Over that can keep inspiring kids long after his journey is done.
Definitely not built to flip.
[Full disclosure - Erden's a friend of mine, and I'm on the board of Around-n-Over. I'm also in complete awe of what he's doing.]
Curt Rosengren
Passion Catalst (sm)
blog.occupationaladventure.com