Newspaper Sports Column

Paul Kasay, The Odyssey
Clarke Central HS (Athens, Ga.)

Never Running Out        

The African sun beats down in high pitched intensity onto the barren ground. The air is sweltering, the sky is empty, and weaving in-between the cacti are three men. They run with a purpose and at their journey’s end four months later, they will have traveled across the entire Sahara Desert on their feet, running the equivalent of two marathons a day, for a continuous 111 day, effectively shattering a world record.

That isn’t endurance. That isn’t even courage. That is crazy.

Nonetheless, Charlie Engle (USA), Ray Zahab (Canada) and Kevin Lin (Taiwan) have set a record that doesn’t just test the boundaries of the human mind and body, they have accomplished a feat that kills people if they don’t do it right.

As someone, “Who won the Super Bowl?” and most will be able to tell you: The Indianapolis Colts. Even if you don’t know what the Super Bowl is, you have probably figured this out by now. But ask someone who won the World Highland Games, the Badwater Ultramarathon, or the World Championship of Lacrosse and you’ll probably just get some blank stares. For shame!

That means people are missing out on amazing athletic accomplishments. But it also means that they have never seen a 50 ft. tree thrown 20 ft. by a burly Scot, never witnessed a man finish “the toughest footrace on earth,” (an understated title for an event where runners race 135 miles nonstop through Death Valley in July), never gazed upon a modern Indian battle and seen a flying tackle with a war stick. And never heard of three guys’ record-breaking run through the world’s largest desert, and heck, those guys even had Matt Damon on their side.

The men ran to raise awareness for drastic water shortages the continent of Africa is experiencing. Damon, an American actor, agreed to sponsor the men and film a documentary on their exploits. The movie will appropriately be called “Running in the Sahara.” However, even with a public face, the story isn’t being told except in a few avid running blogs and the back pages of ESPN.com.

Still don’t care?

Engle, Zahab, and Lin ran 4,000 miles. Yes, that’s right, no typo there, three zeros. Imagine running from the East Coast to the West Coast and back again. The trio ran in over 110 degree weather, logging over 50 miles a day. They ran through six countries, touching the Atlantic Ocean at the beginning of the journey and the Red Sea at its end.

And while you would expect them to be dying, literally expiring, they took the time to achieve a loftier goal than running – bringing attention to desolate and isolated villages where men and women have to travel hundreds of miles to bring back fresh water, leaving their children to care for all their worldly possessions.

These men have fortitude that is hard to imagine. They’re not just putting one foot in front of the other, but doing so with purpose. They allow their talent to do the talking for people that don’t have that kind of voice.

These are the athletes we should be hearing about. Less, “I’m going to Disney World.” More, “I’m going to Africa.”