Listening to Ed Stafford

I got the last book!

Last night I went to Buxton Opera House to hear Ed Stafford tell of his walk along the entire length of the River Amazon. I remember seeing the press release last summer that announced him finishing the expedition. I remember reading it a couple of times to take in all the numbers...859 days, 4345 miles...I'd interviewed a few ultrarunners, in the weeks before seeing this press release, and was impressed with their feats of endurance. They certainly had proved their worth when it came to resisting pain and fatitgue as they had run immense distances on tarmaced roads or well trodden trails. This was different though. This was setting off on a journey and thinking it would take a year, (Ed told us that they divided the length of the river into 365 days and came up with 11 or 12 miles...that seems like a sensible number) and then getting into it and finding that some days he could only cover a few kilometres as he and Cho, his companion, had to machette their way through the jungle where it seemed no man had ever trod.

So when I went to listen to Ranulph Fiennes a couple of weeks ago and saw that Ed Stafford would be there on 20 June I had to get tickets and so it was that I went along with my mum, sister and her boyfriend to last night's show. I was entertained from start to finish as Ed described the journey that took him from one side of South America (Pacific) to the other (Atlantic) and all that happened in between. I'm not going to tell you much as you may well want to read his book, Walking the Amazon, and so I won't ruin it for you but let's just say that this journey was pretty dangerous. As well as the risk of injury and illness there was the threat of dangerous animals and people. The journey took him into areas where no stranger should tread but it was in these areas that he met some of the people who ultimately helped him to succeed. He experienced wins and losses all the way through. It was very interesting hearing him describe the time he thought he was losing his mind. At the end of the evening when he described and showed us a video of the scene of himself and Cho running into the Atlantic the hairs stood up on the back of my neck!

I bought the book during the interval and was lucky enough to get the last copy! They actually ran out in Buxton last night I also got him to sign it and pose for a photo with me! I started reading it this morning over breakfast and also did a bit of googling and guess what I found out...he's a bit of a runner too....at the end of last month he ran 103 miles in just over 26 hours! He's been putting in some training using the Pose technique and he and six others did the 'Rampant Run' from Leicestershire to Norfolk at the end of May.

At the end of the evening last night he told us that he is planning another expedition for the autumn. I wonder what it will be and whether he will have to endure more than he did in his walk along the Amazon. In the foreword of Walking the Amazon Ranulph Fiennes says the plan was mad and, because he survived, it was marvellous. He also says he is looking forward to hearing what Ed will attempt next: "You can be sure it will be as mad and, hopefully, equally marvellous." Maybe these words sum up his achievements more than 'a feat of endurance'.