Running the Sahara

Lying on this couch, I awoke this morning and flipped on the TV. What I saw made me miss something that may shock a lot of you... running.

My injury didn't occur while running... it was caused due to a stupid lapse in judgement. I did this... not running.

A few months ago, I came across the story of three ultra runners who ran across the Sahara desert in Africa. It was documented by a film crew... and filmed in HD. Narrated by Executive Producer Matt Damon, their quest is to draw attention to the lack of water in Northern Africa.

It's a fascinating story. Here's a blip from their website:

On February 20, Charlie, Ray and Kevin touched the Red Sea, just a few hours before sunset. Their quest had lasted 111 days and taken them through 6 countries: Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya, and Egypt. By the team's daily GPS record, they had traveled over 4,300 miles (6,920 kilometers). They fought through injury and extreme fatigue to reach their goal, which changed them forever.

This movie is for all people, not just runners. If you are interested in perseverance, personal challenges, or just the amazing things a driven person can accomplish, I totally recommend this movie.

You can find it now on Showtime, but it's also available on Netflix if you want to drop it into your queue.

Watching them run this morning reminded me of one of the many things I truly miss right now. Running was a great outlet for me this year. Someday, maybe I'll have the opportunity to do it again.

But if not, at least I know I was a runner like these guys once in my life...