Keipo Runner.: 111 days,7500km Sahara run completed today 21.2.07

From nationalgeographic map

Athletics: Taiwan, US, Canada runners complete Sahara trek

TAIPEI, Feb 21, 2007 (AFP) - A team of three ultra-marathon runners, including Kevin Lin from Taiwan, have completed a 7,500 kilometers (4,580 miles) trek across the Sahara desert in 111 days, reports said Wednesday.

Lin, as well as Charlie Engle of the United States and Ray Zahab of Canada, arrived at Suez Canal on Tuesday after departing from western Africa, the China Times and Liberty Times said.
The trio began their run from Senegal, and passed through Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya and ended in Egypt, the papers said.

Landmines, desert storms and political factors forced the trio to reschedule their route, previously set for around 6,500 kilometers, they said.

To meet their target of finishing in 111 days, the three slept for just five hours over the final five days while running 600 kilometers, the papers said.

"All I want to do right now is lie down and have a good sleep," Lin, one of Asia's best-known endurance athletes, was quoted as saying.

A documentary of the epic run has been made with Hollywood star Matt Damon narrating and Oscar-winner James Moll directing.

3 ultra-athletes endure sand, heat to run across Sahara Desert

By ANNA JOHNSON=
Associated Press Writer

IN THE WESTERN DESERT, Egypt (AP) _ In 111 days, three
ultra-endurance athletes _ an American, a Canadian and a Taiwanese _
did something most people could only describe as insane: Running the
equivalent of two marathons a day to become the first modern runners
to cross the Sahara Desert's grueling 4,000 miles (6,437
kilometers).

``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 American runner Charlie Engle, 44, 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, of Greensboro, North Carolina, said on the
telephone from a hotel room in Cairo.

In less than four months, they have run across the Sahara, the
world's largest desert, through six countries _ Senegal, Mauritania,
Mali, Niger, Libya and finally, Egypt.

A film crew also followed them, chronicling the desert journey
for a documentary from actor Matt Damon's production company,
LivePlanet. Damon plans to narrate the ``Running the Sahara'' film.

The trek is one of extremes. The relentless sun can push
temperatures to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) 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 before
finishing during day 108 of the run.

The runners say they undertook the challenge to see if they could
accomplish something that many have called impossible. They used 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, who is from Chelsea, a town outside of Ottawa, kept
going, as did the other two, never skipping a day. Most days the
three ran a total of 44 to 50 miles (70 to 80 kilometers) _
sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less.

They were interviewed by The Associated Press on Saturday _ their
day 108 _ on the side of a road about 180 kilometers (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.
Later, as the trio's bodies became more depleted, ``The
day-to-day battle to stay alive and keep moving'' became the focus,
he said.

Website:

www.nationalgeographic.com/runningthesahara

www.h2oafrica.org

www.charlieengle.com

www.rayzahab.com

www.kevin-life.com

中國時報 2007.02.21　
紀政讚林義傑非常不平凡
葉基/專訪

林義傑完成橫越撒哈拉世紀大挑戰壯舉，「飛躍的羚羊」紀政稱讚林義傑突破國人保守的民族性，發揮西方人冒險犯難的精神，「林義傑冒著生命的危險挑戰極限，他非常『不Chinese（不像傳統中國人）』，他非常不平凡。」

紀政說，她將會到機場迎接這位台灣英雄返台，紀政說：「林義傑的壯舉不僅被聯合國報導，也已拍成電影，鏡頭裡紀錄著林義傑拿出國旗，驕傲的告訴全世界，他來自台灣。」

「除了無形的祝福，政府要以何種有形的獎勵來肯定、鼓舞林義傑？同樣值得深思。」

紀政說，像林義傑堅持理想，多年來一路走來始終如一的馬拉松跑者在台灣越來越少。紀政記得，林義傑曾是台灣支持北京申奧活動的成員之一，2001年在中國的申奧活動，林義傑初次向她暢談挑戰極限的計劃。

之後林義傑如飛蛾撲火直奔目標，並浴火重生完成挑戰，紀政說：「從2001到2007年，林義傑如大海撈針的找出所有探險資訊，並完成了他參加過的挑戰極限活動。」

林義傑隨身攜帶國旗，挑戰極限的冒險精神，與早年揹著國旗跑遍世界，在國際田徑場上叱吒風雲的紀政一脈相傳，流著相同挑戰冒險的血液，紀政說：「我跟林義傑是很像，不過我的競賽沒有生命危險，林義傑的競賽未必能活著回來。」

如果時光倒回50年，63歲的紀政選擇做「飛躍的羚羊」，抑或「探索極地的花豹」？「我兩個都要，我比較貪心，我不排斥走向人群，但更熱愛擁抱自然。」紀政說。

紀政如此形容這種獨與天地往來的境界：「我少女時期曾在寫給乾媽的信裡，談到我所嚮往的樂土，在碧海藍天的孤島上，碎浪拍岸，海風吹拂椰子樹搖曳生姿，島上只有我一個人，如此我就滿足了。」

走在埃及的撒哈拉沙漠上，當金字塔尖正對星光閃耀的穹蒼裡最亮的一顆星，林義傑的耳際是否迴盪著當年「阿拉伯的勞倫斯」，答覆有關他為何如此熱愛這片殘酷無情沙漠的話語：「因為沙漠太美、太純淨。」心中有愛，荒漠之於林義傑，孤島之於紀政，也都是樂土。

中國時報 2007.02.21　
查理、雷伊實踐人生無限可能
曾文祺/埃及專訪

當所有激動的情緒稍稍平復後，查理笑著對記者說：「Sampras（記者的英文名字），你知道嗎，挑戰一開始，我很興奮的認為這個挑戰是絕對值得的，等到推進一半時，我狠狠咒罵自己為何找罪受，為何讓自己來到撒哈拉；而當現在一切都過去了，挑戰終於完成，我又回到最初相信是值得的心境。」挑戰成員之一的查理有感而發的對記者表示。

而另一個挑戰的成員雷伊，談到了這項挑戰時，豪氣在他口中不經意的流露：「我當初選擇接受這人類第一次的挑戰，目的是要追求不同的人生，因為冒險，就是你不知道下一步會是什麼，也不保證一定有結果，還好這一路辛苦走來，最後的結果證明，我走對了路。」

雷伊是個溫文的人，說起話來輕聲細語，但卻顯露出堅定的性格，而他在挑戰最後階段因為另一半凱西出現，一路上出現許多雷伊親吻凱西的肢體語言，也讓人感受到他的男兒柔情。

對於締造人類的第一次，查理巧妙的比喻：「這一百多天來，幾乎每天到了深夜，我就很厭倦睡覺，因為我擔心一覺醒來，又得穿上跑鞋上路，又是一個無止境的一天，還好，現在我終於不用再經歷這一幕幕的掙扎了。」

當記者問到他們是如何熬過連續一百餘日沒有一日停歇，完全超乎體能極限的身體痛楚？查理說：「我會去感受痛，去挑戰痛苦。」雷伊則說：「我有三個密招，聽腳步聲、忘記自己在哪裡、放空自己。」

林義傑、查理、雷伊緊緊相擁，他們得到了人類徒步橫越大撒哈拉沙漠的第一次，他們共同都認為：「我們不是在玩生命，我們是在尊重生命，提醒人們更珍惜生命，並且讓世人知道生命有無限的可能，只要務實的實踐。」

中國時報 2007.02.21　
心疼小傑媽媽就希望他平安
葉基/專訪

當林義傑的母親周美黎女士2002年第一次在馬來西亞（多年前已和林義傑的父親移居馬來西亞做生意）接到有人打電話告訴她，她的兒子去參加撒哈拉超級馬拉松比賽時，當時，她真的嚇傻了，腦袋中頓時出現好幾個疑問：我聽錯了嗎？去跑沙漠？這孩子瘋了嗎？

和一般人一樣，林義傑的父母也是從錯愕中，發現自己兒子的「瘋狂」行徑。即使到現在，林義傑已經參加過6場的世界超級馬拉松比賽，成為四大極地馬拉松總冠軍，但是面對這一次人類史上首次橫越整個撒哈拉沙漠的挑戰，林義傑的母親仍是回答：「如果你問我，願不願讓他去參加比賽，我還是要說：『不願意』，有哪一個母親會願意看自己的兒子去做這麼危險、這麼累的事啊。」

儘管身為母親捨不得讓兒子那麼苦，但是林媽媽也表示，義傑大得足以決定自己的人生，當他決定要去做的時候，已經不是父母願意或不願意可以改變的了，所以，她所能做的就是，求神明保佑兒子一路順利、平安回來。

過年前，林媽媽接到義傑在沙漠中利用中華電訊所贊助的衛星電話告訴她，可能沒辦法回來陪她過年了，林媽媽一再告訴義傑不要想太多，她一個人可以過得很好（她於去年返台調養身體，暫時一人居住在台北）。

她說：「我知道義傑放不下心，所以，說電話的時候，還是要盡量鼓勵他、安慰他、不要他想太多，可是掛上電話，我的眼淚就滴啊滴在自己的手上。其實，有沒有完成比賽我不是很在意，我只希望他的腳不要跑壞了。」

林義傑從小就展露出天生的運動細胞，但在幾十年前，普遍生活不易，很多人並不認為行行出狀元，因此，林義傑的父母不希望看起來明明就很聰明的孩子，卻非要去走一條辛苦的路。

偏偏林義傑對於自己的選擇相當執著，後來因為拗不過他，林義傑的父母也慢慢接受他的運動員志向，林媽媽表示，當時曾想過以後去當個穩定的體育老師，也算是不錯的職業。

只是，誰也沒想到林義傑靠著一雙飛毛腿，越跑越遠、越跑越快，從台灣就這麼跑向全世界。

林媽媽說，義傑的每一次比賽除了危險又辛苦之外，最困難的是，需要很龐大經費，所以，她真的非常感謝所有願意贊助林義傑的廠商包括中華電信、新東陽、永達保險以及曾經在義傑最需要的時候拉他一把的潘瑞根老師。

她說：「我們沒有能力來成就自己的孩子，可是，卻有人肯出錢出力來幫他，對這些人我真的心存感激。只是，我在台北這段時間，經常看他到了半夜一點才有時間靜下來唸書，一唸就到四點，睡沒幾個鐘頭，醒來又有很多事要忙，雖然我偶爾會勸他不要搞壞身體，可是，我也知道這些都是他的理想，身為父母就是這麼兩難，希望孩子理想實現，卻又捨不得他用這麼苦的方式在生活。」

現在，在台灣等待義傑歸來的林媽媽，早已找了中藥房抓了好幾帖溫補調養的藥方，並摸熟住家附近的傳統市場，了解哪一家雞肉品質最好，現在就等義傑回來，準備好好幫他調養身體，把他這三個月用光的體力一點一滴補回來。