7-7-7
Who can run seven marathons in seven days on seven continents?
Yasmine El-Rashidi meets the man who did
One marathon is hard enough. When you aim for seven, it doesn't get easier. Two weeks ago, however, British explorer Ranulph Fiennes set out to do just that. The goal was to complete seven marathons in seven days on seven continents -- a gruelling challenge but all for a worthy cause: in support of the British Heart Foundation.
With the seven countries strategically chosen as areas of natural, historic or cultural beauty, Egypt, of course, was on the list. The tour started from King George Island at the north end of the Antarctic Peninsula, followed by and in rapid succession, marathons in Santiago representing South America, Sydney representing Australia, Singapore representing Asia, Cairo representing Africa, London representing Europe and New York representing North America. Each country saw Fiennes cover the 42.17 kilometres (26 miles) which make up a marathon.
The Guinness Book of Records challenge came just four months after Sir Ranulph, 59, suffered a near-fatal heart attack, leaving him unconscious for four days and nights and classified as clinically dead. His heart was restarted 12 times with defibrillators, followed by emergency double bypass surgery.
After a physically tormenting six days during which Fiennes and his private doctor, Mike Stroud, who also doubles as his travel companion, were reported to have suffered bleeding and extreme physiological discomfort from so much running, the duo arrived at Cairo International Airport and were promptly driven to the Pyramids.
Following a brief meeting with Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass and a press conference at the foot of the Sphinx at the Sound & Light Theatre, the duo set off. Cheered on by a big turnout, the team took off uphill towards Cheops Pyramid, downhill past the Mena House Hotel and straight onto the Pyramids road, down the Giza tunnel and across the River Nile from Abbas bridge onto the Citadel road, Salah Salem road going East towards Cairo International Airport.
Four-and-a-half hours later, at the foot of Cairo Airport's obelisk, the sixth leg of the marathon was complete.
"Everything went off without any problems," organiser Walid Ibrahim said. "He was in good health and ran the distance in less time than expected."
The explorer's run from the Pyramids started at one in the morning. He arrived at Cairo Airport at 5.30am where he immediately took a plane for London, and from there to New York.
The New York finale was said to be grand, with people streaming to the streets to watch the final run. But along the way, Fiennes told the press that he was "pretty stupid" to take up such a dare so soon after undergoing a double bypass, and he admitted that at various points he expected not to get through.
In addition to the running mileage, Fiennes clocked around 45,000 miles (72,000 kilometres) in air travel. Monetary figures raised have not been disclosed, but all proceeds will go towards research on heart disease -- of which he is a sufferer.
The adventure is just one of Fiennes's numerous prolific feats. He was named by the Guinness Book of Records as "the world's greatest living explorer" after he became one of the first men to reach both Poles on foot on his trans-globe expedition in 1982. This first polar circumnavigation of the earth was a 52,000-mile expedition and took three years to accomplish. In 1992, Fiennes, along with a large team of experts, found the legendary Lost City of Ubar in the Rub Al-Khali desert of Oman near Ash Shisr (this ancient city disappeared around 300 AD).
Also in 1993, Fiennes and Stroud made the first unsupported walk across the Antarctica, each man dragging a 500-pound sledge. This 97-day trip was the longest polar journey in history.
In Egypt, Fiennes ran in support of the international organisation Women for Peace, chaired by Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, as a further endorsement to the cause of peace and the goodwill of all living beings on the planet. He also supported the People to People initiative, which helps build peace through understanding between nations and individuals from all around the world, and Egypt's 2010 World Cup bid. Donations and support in Egypt were provided from British Gas Egypt. The official international sponsors are British Airways and Land Rover.
For both professional athletes and couch potatoes alike, Fiennes, who has collected over 4.3 million sterling in support of charities through his adventures, is more than a mere inspiration.
