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Since I made this website live and told my friends and family about what am doing I have been getting a lot of various responses. The most common is why.
Why am I doing this?
I am doing this because I have been inspired to do this. For the last few years I have been researching and reading different people’s stories about their adventures and lives to the point where I realised that life is simply a choice. The people I am about to list are the ones that have inspired me the most by choosing not to quit and to reach their goals.
Described by the Daily Mail as a “hero of our times” Chris Moon’s life has been a roller coaster of challenges.
Working as a volunteer in Cambodia to clear mines left from the Vietnam war Chris and his team got captured by the Khmer Rouge who are famous for the saying “To keep you is no benefit; to destroy you is no loss” By controlling his mind and keeping calm Chris managed to negotiate his and his team away free.
Again clearing mines this time in Mozambique Chris was blown up losing his lower right leg and his right arm in 1995. His fitness and determination saved his life.
Less than one year after this life changing accident, Chris ran the London marathon, not letting this change the way he lived his life Chris ran dozens of marathons after that and in 1997 he became the first leg amputee to complete the “hardest footrace on earth” the marathon des sables a 250km race through the Sahara desert.
Chris has done plenty more since then, always raising money and pushing the limits. For more info please visit his website or read his book.
I first came across John on TED. I have to admit, he blew my mind! I found him probably the most interesting and inspiring man that I have ever came across. After seeing a oil spill in San Francisco it completely changed his life. He helped cleaned the oil spill up and saw the damage that it had caused. This made him make the commitment to stop using motorized vehicles and to walk where ever he went to project the message of responsibility to our planet. People did not understand this however and always challenged John about his choice which would see him argue his case.
John decided to stop speaking as a gift to his community, to not argue for one day and instead listen to what others had to say. He found this so valuable that he continued to be silent the next day. This lasted 17 years!
During this 17 years he completed a undergraduate degree and masters and eventually a PHD.
17 years of science and 22 years of walking John now has a book.
You can see him in action, as you will agree a very interesting man.
After hearing about a friend who cycled to Prague, it hit me why don’t I do something like that? After some research on the internet I came across Alastair Humphreys. Alastair spent over 4 years cycling around the world in what legendary Sir Ranulph Fiennes described as “The first great adventure of the 21st Century” This saw Alastair cycle through 60 countries, 5 continents and a distance of 46,000 miles! He wrote 3 books on his adventure and has since completed more adventures such as walking across India and the marathon des sables. His books gave me the balls to go for it.
Warren has always had a taste for the outdoors, his decision to go to Hinchinbrook Island is one that changed his life forever. After trying to summit to the of the islands highest mountain with Geert van Keulen, a stranger he met just one day before Warren became trapped under neath a one ton boulder! The boulder landed on his legs crushing them. Geert van Keulen was his only help, he raced down the mountain to get help. Warren had to hang on for two days before a rescue team found him. The boulder cost Warren both his legs which where amputated at mid thigh.
This didn’t stop Warren from enjoying his life. Under a year after the accident he was climbing mountains again and in 2003 became the first above the knee amputee to climb Mt Kilimanjaro. Not stopping there he climbed America’s tallest cliff face El Captain.
“If you can change the way you see the world, you can literally, change the world; beginning with your own”
Warren also has a book about his experiences.
Ray is living proof that we can achieve anything we like. In a short amount of time Ray went from a late 30s pack a day smoker living a party lifestyle to compete and win some of the most extreme races on the planet.
These races include world’s toughest foot race – the Marathon des Sables where he has competed twice.
The Trans 333, a 333 kilometre, non-stop foot-race in desert conditions.
Jungle marathons, Badwater Ultra, the list goes on..
Perhaps Ray is most famous for his Sahara expedition in which he raced across the entire Sahara desert 4300 miles non stop. He averaged 2 marathons a DAY every day for 111 days in extreme desert conditions through six countries. Not even a day off! He and his team made history by becoming the first people to do this. In doing so they became aware of the water situation that the African people face every day. To highlight this Ray and his team teamed up with actor Matt Damon who produced the documentary film about running across the Sahara. They also set up a charity for helping people have clean water, they raise there money from film sales so please order your copy from this website.
Ray isn’t just a runner though, quite from it. In 2008 Ray set up impossible2Possible (i2P) an organization that aims to inspire and educate youth through adventure learning, and inclusion and participation in expeditions.
In January 2009 Ray and two other Canadians broke the world speed record from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole. Ray went that extra bit further and became the first person to reach the 1130km trek to the South Pole on foot! Ray and his team were motivated by children back home who used Ray’s website to communicate with them while on expedition. This allowed a two way system of Ray and his team being motivated by messages of support and they themselves having the ability to inspire the people following there progress.
These are some of the main people that I have come across that have inspired me to test my own limits and live my dreams but perhaps this is the biggest motivation for me doing something like this.
In a world where we can get shoes with lights in them, spray in a can cheese, padded toilet paper with added Aloe vera that this sort of thing is still happening!! Excuse my french but it’s fucking disgusting!!
Fuck poverty!
Tags: Adventure, Cycling, expeditions, film making, running, stories
Some really great stories there, thanks Lee. Look forward to seeing your bio on a list like that.