anyone see this-- wow.

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  • thesightless
    Someone will marry me. Hell Yeah!
    • Jun 2004
    • 13567

    anyone see this-- wow.

    Three ultra-endurance athletes have just done something most would consider insane: They ran the equivalent of two marathons a day for 111 days to become the first modern runners to cross the Sahara Desert's grueling 4,000 miles.


    im a runner, 3-4 days a week, but holy shit. this is human triumph at its best, fuck lance, this shit is nuts. what a greuling ordeal, i couldnt imagine. how many times did they look at thier ipod and say "i need more music, i keep hearing the same shit."

    IN THE WESTERN DESERT, Egypt -- Three ultra-endurance athletes have just done something most would consider insane: They ran the equivalent of two marathons a day for 111 days to become the first modern runners to cross the Sahara Desert's grueling 4,000 miles.

    "This has been a life-changing event." -- American runner Charlie Engle


    "This is 100 percent, without a doubt the hardest thing any of us have done," said American runner Charlie Engle, 44, while eating tuna and plain pasta during a lunch break about 112 miles northwest of Cairo on Saturday, day 108.
    Engle, 38-year-old Ray Zahab of Canada and Kevin Lin, 30, of Taiwan, finished their ultra-marathon Tuesday afternoon at the mouth of the Suez Canal in Egypt after running through the night.
    In less than four months, they have run across the world's largest desert, through six countries -- Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya and finally Egypt.
    A film crew followed them, chronicling the desert journey for actor Matt Damon's production company, LivePlanet. Damon plans to narrate the "Running the Sahara" documentary.
    The trek is one of extremes. The relentless sun can push temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, but at night it sometimes dips below freezing. Strong winds can abruptly send sand swooping in every direction, making it difficult to see and breathe.
    Running through turbulent conditions is nothing new for these athletes who have traveled the world competing in adventure races. But they say nothing has tested their physical and mental limitations like the Sahara.


    AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
    American Charlie Engle (right) and Canadian Ray Zahab did the unthinkable and crossed the Sahara Desert in 111 days.



    Throughout the run, the runners have been stricken with tendinitis, severe diarrhea, cramping and knee injuries all while running through the intense heat and wind -- often without a paved road in sight.
    "This has been a life-changing event," Engle said.
    The runners say they undertook the challenge to see if they could accomplish something that many have called impossible. They use GPS devices to track their route and teamed up with local experts and a host of sports professionals who also followed them, along with the documentary crew, in four-wheel drive vehicles.
    Typically, the three began each day with a 4 a.m. wake-up call. About an hour later, they started running. Around noon, they took a lunch break at a makeshift camp, devouring pasta, tuna and vegetables. A short nap on thin mattresses in a yellow-domed tent usually followed before they headed out on the second leg of their day's run.
    Finally, around 9:30 p.m., they called it quits each day, returning to camp for a protein and carbohydrate-packed dinner before passing out for the night.
    Despite the preparation and drive to finish, the runners said they often questioned -- mostly to themselves -- what they were doing. Zahab described stopping one recent day for a bathroom break only to discover the wind was blowing so harshly that he couldn't keep the sand out of his clothes. "And I thought to myself, 'What the hell am I doing?"' he said.
    But Zahab kept going, as did the other two, never skipping a day. Most days the three ran a total of 44 to 50 miles -- sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less.
    They were interviewed by The Associated Press on Saturday -- day 108 -- on the side of a road about 112 miles from Cairo in Egypt's harsh Western Desert, part of the greater Sahara.
    At several points in their trek, the athletes stopped near sparsely populated wells to talk with villagers and nomads about the difficulties they face finding water. That marked another goal of the run -- raising awareness for the clean water nonprofit group H2O Africa.
    "We have seen firsthand the need for clean water, which we take for granted in North America. It's such a foundation for any community," Zahab said during day 108's lunch break. The three plan to fund-raise for the group after they return home and finish recuperating.
    "It started off as a huge motivator, especially as we passed through countries where the water wasn't clean," Engle said.
    But as the trio's bodies became more depleted, the focus was "the day-to-day battle to stay alive and keep moving," he said
    your life is an occasion, rise to it.

    Join My Chant. new mix. april 09. dirty fuck house.
    download that. deep shit listed there

    my dick is its own superhero.
  • MJ
    Here since 2002
    • Jun 2004
    • 6560

    #2
    Re: anyone see this-- wow.

    I think the guy that filmed them deserves more credit than they do, carrying a camera on his shoulder for the whole journey, now thats amazing.
    mjwebhosting you know it makes sense



    Silentium est aureum

    Comment

    • day_for_night
      Are you Kidding me??
      • Jun 2004
      • 4127

      #3
      Re: anyone see this-- wow.

      definitely want to see that documentary. thats just insane. i'm a distance runner, too, and running one marathon seems crazy enough to me...

      Comment

      • Lorn
        Looking for a title!
        • Sep 2004
        • 5826

        #4
        Re: anyone see this-- wow.

        Must have been hot.

        Comment

        • day_for_night
          Are you Kidding me??
          • Jun 2004
          • 4127

          #5
          Re: anyone see this-- wow.

          Originally posted by Lorn
          Must have been hot.
          i think the sky was blue, as well...

          Comment

          • djprieto
            Getting Somewhere
            • Aug 2004
            • 222

            #6
            Re: anyone see this-- wow.

            i heard about the iron man competition, but these guys just took pushing yourself to the limit to a whole different level.
            Infinity is just a state of mind..

            Comment

            • KinKyJ
              Platinum Poser
              • Jun 2004
              • 13438

              #7
              Re: anyone see this-- wow.

              Shit. I ran a marathon 2 yrs ago and it nearly killed me. Respect!

              Comment

              • DancingQueen
                AVB FanClub | President
                • Oct 2005
                • 4061

                #8
                Re: anyone see this-- wow.

                Wow, that's crazy!
                sigpic
                RIP Steve "Jibs" James - Your footprint is forever on my soul and in my heart xoxo
                RIP Jeff Shewchuk aka DJ Jeff Taylor (day_for_night) - You will live on in my heart forever xoxo

                Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.

                Comment

                • thesightless
                  Someone will marry me. Hell Yeah!
                  • Jun 2004
                  • 13567

                  #9
                  Re: anyone see this-- wow.

                  seriously, i do two triathalons each summer and run all the time, but this shit is insane. the distance, plus the long term dehydration and exhaustion... i couldnt imagine. i usually throw up once or twice in each triathalon, i dont even wanna think about desert heat at 100 sucking the moisture out of you.
                  your life is an occasion, rise to it.

                  Join My Chant. new mix. april 09. dirty fuck house.
                  download that. deep shit listed there

                  my dick is its own superhero.

                  Comment

                  • day_for_night
                    Are you Kidding me??
                    • Jun 2004
                    • 4127

                    #10
                    Re: anyone see this-- wow.

                    think about how many calories a day they must have burned running back to back marathons. they coulda ate 5 jars of peanut butter and lost weight!

                    Comment

                    • KinKyJ
                      Platinum Poser
                      • Jun 2004
                      • 13438

                      #11
                      Re: anyone see this-- wow.

                      Originally posted by thesightless
                      i usually throw up once or twice in each triathalon
                      pussy

                      Comment

                      • Lorn
                        Looking for a title!
                        • Sep 2004
                        • 5826

                        #12
                        Re: anyone see this-- wow.

                        ^ I thought you almost died?

                        Comment

                        • KinKyJ
                          Platinum Poser
                          • Jun 2004
                          • 13438

                          #13
                          Re: anyone see this-- wow.

                          ^^^ Not doing a triathlon, that was in the last 10km of the marathon.

                          Comment

                          • Lorn
                            Looking for a title!
                            • Sep 2004
                            • 5826

                            #14
                            Re: anyone see this-- wow.

                            Ah. Gotcha.

                            Comment

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