Each day during the 111 day run across the Sahara in 2006/2007, I learned and gained an appreciation for the things that I sometimes took for granted - such as readily available and accessible clean drinking water. When I returned home, I made the decision that I wanted to do something that would connect people - especially youth - to not only social/environmental issues that I was learning about, but also the things I learned about myself in Running The Sahara.
Below is an ongoing list of expeditions since Running The Sahara. Please visit impossible2Possible.com for information about the Experiential Learning programs associated with each expedition.
Siberian Express for Water - March 2010
What:
i2P Founder Ray Zahab and i2P Ambassador Kevin Vallely teamed up for another epic impossible2Possible expedition. The two adventurers travelled to the far reaches of frozen Siberia and the remote shores of Lake Baikal, the oldest, deepest lake in the world, to run some 650km unsupported down the length of its frozen surface. The team averaged approximately 50km per day on this grueling expedition, while hauling all of their food and supplies.
Why:
The 2010 i2P Siberian Express For Water team is ventured out in an effort to inspire and educate young people while at the same time pushing the boundaries of endurance. Throughout the expedition, the team interacted and shared the adventure daily with thousands of students from across North America in a hope to challenge them and their schools to raise awareness and funding for water projects in Africa. Where better to stage such an effort than atop the frozen surface of Lake Baikal, the world's most volumous fresh-water lake?
The 2010 i2P Siberian Express For Water website will go live in early January 2010 and demonstrated once again why the i2P Experiential Learning program has been touted by Apple Distinguished educators as “21st Century learning”, and “truly ground breaking”. The i2P web-team introduced a streaming video component to the expedition - expanding the boundries of interactivity - allowing students to communicate directly with the adventurers as they traversed the frozen barrens of Siberia. i2P's Educational Director, Dr. Ewan Affleck, again teamed up with educators, scientists, and advisors to create the captivating i2P Education Resource modules which proved extremely successful for teachers and students alike. The i2P Educational Resource Program gave students the experiential learning much desired by modern educators, truly bringing the classroom to the outside world as it unfolded before them.
Visit: SiberianX.com
South Pole Quest Expedition - Dec 2008 - Jan 2009
What:
A self-supported, 1,100km speed trek from Hercules Inlet, Antarctica, to the Geographic South Pole in a record time of: 33 days, 23 hours and 55 minutes.
Why:
To inspire the adventurer in everyone by attempting a self-supported speed trek in which three world-class adventurers pulled sleds weighing close to 200 pounds from Hercules Inlet to the Geographic South Pole, setting a speed record for this traditional expedition route. The trek covered 1,100km mostly uphill distance, taking the adventurers from sea level to approxiately 10,000 feet in temperatures of less than -40 degrees Celcius. The team achieved a new world record.
During the expedition, i2P Adventurers blogged daily, and answered questions from students on the South Pole Quest website. Thousands of students had a two way street of communication with the South Pole Quest team and were active team members during this expedition. The South Pole, viewed by scientists as a key part of the earth's thermostatic regulation system, is undergoing changes that threaten to destroy the earth's fragile balance, impacting human communities around the globe. i2P's South Pole Quest raised awareness, support research, and educated youth with daily free downloadable modules, and challenged them to achieve their own Extraordinary Acts.
Visit: SouthPoleQuest.com
The Canada ONEXONE Expedition - May 2008
What:
An Ultra-Marathon in all thirteen Canadian Provinces and Territories in thirteen Days.
Why:
To introduce the newly formed Impossible2Possible while raising awareness and support for the Canada-based humanitarian organization ONEXONE and their efforts to help children in need both at home and worldwide.
How:
Starting May 11th, 2008, Ray Zahab and a team of runners set off to run an average of 80 kilometres a day for 13 days straight – through 13 provinces and territories - in an effort to inspire youth and raise awareness for the ONEXONE foundation!
From participating with 10,000 students in Saskatoon to meeting with Assembly of First Nations Chief Phil Fontaine, the journey was both inspirational and effective in elevating awareness for ONEXONE.
Visit: CanadaONEXONE.com
Canada Challenge - Aug 2007
My goal was to run 3 very extreme coastal trails in Canada- one right after the other. All in an effort to raise awareness for initiatives - specifucally SpreadTheNet.org. Check the "awareness" section of my website. The trails were 1000's of kms apart, and were super tough running combined with insane logisitics. I started in Canada's North on Baffin Island (Akshayuk Pass), then Newfoundland (East Coast Trail) and finally British Columbia (West Coast Trail).
The most exciting part of this expedition was the number of bed nets that were purchased during this exciting run by so many amazing people.
Check out the Canada Challenge tracker for more info!
Running The Sahara - Feb 2007
On November 1, 2006 Ray and two other runners set out on an epic expedition to cross the Sahara Desert by foot. One hundred and eleven days after leaving the coast of Senegal they made history by dipping their toes into the Red Sea and raising the bar of all that we consider possible. The epic expedition had the trio running an average of 70km’s a day, without a single day of rest. The documentary film about the expedition, Running The Sahara, will be released in effort to raise awareness of the water crisis in Africa.
Check out www.runningthesahara.com for more info!
