I’m a pretty athletic person, but I’m not the least bit inclined to ever run a marathon. Maybe a half. Maybe. Still, I’m too fascinated by these very extreme athletic challenges. Check out these champs , running from Senegal to Egypt (about 4,000 miles) in order to increase outrage about the lack of clean water across sub-Saharan Africa. They ran the equivalent of two marathons a day for 100 days. Wow.
Same concept (women and men against nature; impossible feats) in a different context: the Iditarod starts next week. But as I learned yesterday, the Iditarod is for show-offs and egos. Real mushers do the Yukon Quest.
Of course these marathoners, utramarathoners, long-distance mushers and their dogs are very impressive, and my purpose is not to detract from their greatness, but in all seriousness I ask: who are these people? They clearly don’t have little kids. They must not have day jobs. I’m guessing they’re financially independent. Probably partnered and – at that – have very partners who are supportive to the point of functioning like assistants, taking care of all the details of life that seem to take up such a huge proportion of my own day-to-day life for them. Maybe I’m just trying to make myself feel better for only sometimes making it to the gym twice a week, but there’s just no way.
