Australian man travels to earth ends to raise money for wate
CANBERRA, June 23 (Xinhua) — Polar bears, guerrillas and ice crevasses will be some of the hazards to the Australian man, Pat Farmer, who is likely to face on the longest run on earth, from the South Pole to the North Pole, Australia\’s media reported on Wednesday.
The ultra-marathon runner and outgoing federal Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for the southwestern Sydney seat of Macarthur, was to attempt the absolutely ultimate marathon to raise 100 million U.S. dollars for water projects in the world\’s neediest regions.
During the 21,000-kilometer epic, which will take more than a year, Farmer expected to wear out more than 20 pairs of running shoes and go through more than 600 pairs of socks.
Starting in Antarctica in November and finishing in the North Pole in early 2012, he will average 30km a day on ice and 80km a day on normal terrain — the equivalent of almost two marathons a day.
Farmer will not have a single day off during the epic journey through 14 countries, including Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, the United States and Canada.
\”I will be the first person to ever run from the south pole to the north pole continuously,\” Farmer told Australian Associated Press on Wednesday.
\”I will be setting a record by doing it and then it will be there for other people to break at a later date.\”
Farmer will be assisted at the beginning of his journey by a specialist Antarctic guide but he will be pulling his own sled through winds of over 100 kilometers per hour, across deep snow crevasses and cracking ice.
He will be airlifted twice, once from the edge of Antarctica to Ushuala in Argentina, the southernmost point in South America, and then from the edge of Canada to the North Pole ice shelf.
The run will be broadcast live via the Internet.
\”If I see a polar bear, they will see it at the same time I do, \” Farmer said.
\”If I fall down a crevasse, they\’ll see that I\’ve fallen down a crevasse.\”
Farmer was inspired to raise awareness about water issues after traveling to countries such as Peru, Nepal, Egypt and Thailand with the International Red Cross.
\”I\’ve seen first hand what the real needs of poverty stricken people are and I keep coming back to the same thing — without water there is no life,\” he said.
Global data showed every 15 seconds a child dies from a disease caused by lack of access to safe drinking water or water for sanitation and hygiene.
\”You can do a certain amount here in parliament in terms of highlighting issues, but I\’m very much a hands-on person,\” Farmer said.
\”If I\’m prepared to hurt for a worthy cause, then surely other people are prepared to get by and support me with it.\”
By inspiring people to donate, Farmer hopes to raise more than 100 million U.S. dollars.
