To the edge and back - Editorial - extreme sports - Brief Article

American Fitness, July-August, 2002 by Meg Jordan

Scan the history of hardy adventurers, like Ernest Shackleton, and you'll find countless examples of the human spirit soaring against impossible odds. Now pair that irrepressible zeal for adventure with a couple generations of avid exercisers, charged with muscles aching to be challenged, and you have an unprecedented entry into something I call "expedition exercise."

Never have so many individuals been involved in showcasing their physical prowess through grueling expedition races. Some of the world's toughest expedition races, Survivor, Combat Missions and Eco-Challenge: New Zealand, are produced by Mark Burnett. These races go beyond physical invigoration--competitors must reach into the far recesses of their emotional, intellectual and spiritual strength to endure the challenges.

Competitors learn the landscape is as harsh as it is beautiful. To finish the race, they must travel the vertical equivalent of two Mount Everests'; descend 3,000-ft rocky slopes that could avalanche at any misstep; ford waist-deep rivers so cold, should they lose their footing and be swept away, they could die within minutes; mountain bike along some of the world's toughest terrain and navigate across Alpine mountain ranges at night.

Eco-Challenge competitors face this challenge with sleep deprivation, malnourishment and physical exhaustion. The pressure is not just physical, but awesome. Should one team member succumb to the extreme demands of the race and give up, the entire team gets disqualified. The producers are hoping the race provides compelling drama in real time and viewers will watch with increasing popularity.

A different type of expedition, the Bancroft-Arnesen Expedition, focuses on collaboration versus competition. Two women, in their mid-40s, traveled 1,717 miles of frozen, mountainous, treacherous terrain on skis and parasails. After raising $1.5 million to cover their expenses, they completed their dream of crossing Antarctica on foot, pulling 250-1b sleds, surviving frostbite, exhaustion, numerous injuries and emaciating weight loss. This expedition has now been parlayed into an inspiration--marketing motivational lecture business for these two women.

It's interesting to note how these average exercisers managed to sufficiently train to handle such physical challenges--they ran up hills with rocks in their backpacks and dragged tires down gravel roads. I think the real training starts with inspiration. Interestingly enough, both women, although raised thousands of miles apart and never knowing each other, were inspired as 12 year-olds reading the tales of Antarctica explorer Shackleton in Endurance, by Alfred Lansing. Their journey ended in Shackleton's hut, still standing 86 years later, surrounded by the belongings of their legendary inspiration.

Not all extreme adventures have such happy endings, just ask paramedic rescuers who pull people off mountain cliffs and fish them out of 40-foot sea swells. For most of us, the thought of the physical hardship is enough to stop us in our tracks. However, if you have a deep stirring to follow your ambition to the extreme physical frontiers, make sure you have the time to train, willingness to learn from your mistakes and humility to know it's your vulnerability, more than anything, that you bring to the edge and back.

Love,