Extreme Athletes Run Length of Sahara

Runners Log Equivalent of Two Marathons A Day For Nearly 4 Months Across Desert

(AP)  A North Carolina man and two other 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.

"It will take time to sink in ... but this is an absolutely once in a life time thing. They say ignorance is bliss, and now that I know how hard this is, I would never consider crossing the Sahara on foot again," said Charlie Engle, 44, of Greensboro, N.C., hours after he and the others completed the run at Egypt's Red Sea.

Engle said he, Canadian Ray Zahab, 38, and Kevin Lin, 30, of Taiwan, ran the final stretch of their journey that took them through the Giza pyramids and Cairo to the mouth of Suez Canal on four hours of sleep. Once they hit the Red Sea, they put their hands in the water to signify crossing the finish line.

"We touched the water in Senegal at the beginning, and we touched the water in the Red Sea at the end. They were the bookends of our journey," Engle said on the telephone from a hotel room in Cairo.

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.

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.

[tuckerndfw]

"i think the comment below me is by a guy that doesn't like to think some people can do things better than he can."

Posted by gladetryst at 12:02 PM : Feb 22, 2007


I'm nearly 60 years old and if I allowed the fact that other people, LOTS of other people, can do things better than me, I would spend 24/7 doing nothing more than being bothered.

I was merely commenting that the headline implied they were running across a desert.

Either way, it is masochistic to run across the Sahara desert, regardless how it's done.

And, since I would never make the attempt (I've lived in Saudi Arabia and been to the edge of the Rub a khali, Empty Quarter), I don't care if others can do it or not. I wouldn't have bothered trying when I was 20, much less when I'm 60.

[meanmode]

Here are some pictures taken during their run. They are form Kevin Lin's web site. Take a look.

http://www.kevin-life.com/albumpics.php?id=746&type_id=23
http://www.kevin-life.com/albumpics.php?id=748&type_id=23
http://www.kevin-life.com/albumpics.php?id=739&type_id=23
http://www.kevin-life.com/albumpics.php?id=705&type_id=23

[rational_1]

Anybody could run 50 miles a day for 4000 miles on the road??

You kidding me? There are many people in this country who have trouble running 50 yards a day!

Apart from the heat and sometimes running on sand (bad enough) is the fact that their bodies had to hold out for 100+ days of this. I think a well trained person could pull off a few 50 mile days in a row, but I'm frankly amazed they did these guys did this for 110 days in a row with breaking down. Now THAT'S truly amazing.

[agnim]

Posted by feedback3 at 12:03 PM : Feb 22, 2007
You forgetting the HEAT! LOL

[feedback3-2009]

Yeah I really agree with tuckerndfw, anybody could run 50 miles a day for 4000 miles on the road, but if you had to do it on sand....

[gladetryst]

uh, whether they ran across sand or concrete. its still extremely hard, and extremely long. i think the comment below me is by a guy that doesn't like to think some people can do things better than he can.

[tuckerndfw]

They should be called "*** Athletes" rather than "Extreme Athletes."

Did they run across the desert, or run down roads that crossed the desert?

The headline implies they ran across the desert, which would have been very, very challenging.

I recall running across beach sand at Fort Ord, CA and fracturing both of my ankles in the process. But, I was probably carrying a lot more weight than these guys appear to be carrying.

If they are going to claim they ran across the desert, they should be in the sand, not on the highway.

Either way, they are still masochists.