Expreso de los Andes 2012: Website Officially Launched!
The i2P Expreso de los Andes website has now been officially launched!
i2P Expreso de los Andes Expedition will feature a 3-tier challenge with a purpose of educating, inspiring and empowering administrators, teachers and students to take on a Health & Physical Activity Challenge. Ray Zahab and Kevin Vallely will attempt to run approx 1,700km across the South American continent from Concon, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina....and the Atlantic Ocean. Joining them in the final non-stop stretch will be two i2P Youth Ambassadors from previous Youth Expeditions! Simultaneously, school Principal George Singfield will commit to and be training for upcoming challenges of his own - the Ottawa Half Marathon and a 50km trail running event in fall 2012! 'Principal George' has already enthused and inspired many teachers to follow in his footsteps and prepare for challenges of their own...will you? Stay tuned as the next i2P Youth Expedition, taking place in Africa this fall 2012, will be announced at the end of the Expreso de los Andes Expedition!
For the latest Expreso de los Andes Expedition updates via social media follow us on Twitter @Goi2P and Facebook!
2011 i2P Expedition India: Expedition Completed!
i2P Youth Ambassadors Emma Cook-Clarke, Jessica Kenny, Harshveer Singh Saluja, and Patrick Doughty travelled to India and embarked on their epic expedition across the Thar Desert, running 270km in 7 days, connecting with classrooms around the globe and learning about a captivating curriculum on World Health!
Starting August 26th, 2011, Ray joined friend Will Laughlin to run the length of Death Valley- from north park boundary to south park boundary. The distance was close to 250km, and the duo relied on water re-supply every 10-25km during the entirely off-road run.
Ray tested gear, new technologies and foods he will use in upcoming expeditions- most importantly for a January attempt to run 2,000km across Saudi Arabia (back-up plan Kalahari). During the run, the duo carried emergency supplies, food and fluid required for each 10-25km section. Running packs were heavy with 7-8 liters of fluid required for each leg.
In May 2011 impossible2Possible visited the mountain nation of Bolivia, to run across the world's largest salt flats and celebrate the International Year of Chemistry. Five Youth Ambassadors were selected to join Ray Zahab, and fellow i2P adventurers in a running expedition across the salt flats. Youth Ambassadors ran 201 km, and communicated live with students all over the world. Dr. George Agnes and Dr. Greg Wells conducted live experiments that rounded out i2P's finest Experiential Learning Program to date! Want to see more? bolivia2011.com
Adventures in Death Valley
This August I will be joining my friend Will Laughlin in Death Valley for an interesting training run. In preperation for my upcoming January 2012 proposed 2000km run across Saudi Arabia, I will join Will as we attempt to run 300km off-road across Death Valley. More info soon!
Atacama Extreme Expedition Completed!
On February 12th 2011, I completed the Atacama Extreme Expedition! The expedition began near the Peruvian border, north of Arica, and ended in the Province of Copiapo approximately 1,200km later. The expedition took a total of 20 days to complete and I ran an average of 60km per day while carrying camping supplies and relied on minimal daily water/food re-supplies. During the expedition, I communicated via videoconferencing to students everywhere!
This expedition followed the Amazon Youth Expedition which took place in October 2010. The topic of biodiversity was once again visited and the contrast of the Atacama Desert to the Amazon Jungle was highlighted. Daily video journals touched on topics such as history, industry, life and desert environment.
Atacama Extreme kicks off 2011 with two Youth based expeditions to follow. Students and schools don't delay registering for Expedition Bolivia! See impossible2Possible.com for instructions.
The third stage of the i2P World Expedition Series was modeled on the same platform as the highly celebrated 2009 Baffin Island and 2010 Tunisia Youth Expeditions, with all three in dramatically contrasting locales � the Arctic, the Sahara Desert, and now the Amazon Jungle! In October 2010, four i2P Youth Ambassadors joined Ray Zahab, along with fellow i2P ambassadors and adventurers, in an incredible journey through the Tapajos National Forest. Youth ambassadors trekked for 8 days - and nearly 150km � through incredibly dense jungle, swamps and oppressive humidity in a quest to study and learn about the culture and biodiversity of the region. They shared their experience with thousands of students around the globe.
Following in the footsteps of successful expeditions to Baffin Island and the Sahara Desert, four Youth Ambassadors will be joining me on an i2P expedition team as they trek through the Amazon Basin in October 2010. Using internet technology I, and the i2P team, will communicate live from the Amazon to participating students and teachers around the world. Complementing this live communication will be a rich i2P education resource complete with education modules, blogs, topical questions and class exercises. 2010 has been declared the International Year of Biodiversity. In order to highlight the year, i2P has designed an expedition to focus on Biodiversity and the importance of the many millions of distinct life forms found on Earth today.
The i2P Youth Ambassadors for the upcoming Amazon Expedition have been selected!
This second stage of the i2P World Expedition Series was on the same platform as the 2009 Baffin Island Youth Expedition, but in a dramatically contrasting locale - the northern Sahara Desert in Tunisia. On the heels of the Siberian Express for Water Expedition, in April 2010, four Youth Ambassadors were selected to join me, along with fellow i2P ambassadors and adventurers, in this homage to 'Running the Sahara'. Youth ambassadors ran for 7 days - and a total of 260+ kms - through searing heat, salt pans and sand dunes in a quest to cross a section of the Sahara, while pushing their own physical and mental limitations. Over 8,500 students followed their journey and participated in a live interactive website that was a two-way street of communication, and participated in fundraising efforts for 2 water projects in Africa.
I teamed up with i2P Ambassador Kevin Vallely for another epic impossible2Possible expedition. We travelled to the far reaches of frozen Siberia and the remote shores of Lake Baikal, the oldest, deepest lake in the world, to run some 650km unsupported down the length of its frozen surface. We averaged approximately 50km per day on this grueling expedition, while hauling all of our food and supplies. Over 8,500 students took part in both the Experiential Learning program and fundraising initiative for water projects in Africa.
