Spring Break
Q&A with Charlie Engle
Running man takes on America
Courtney Roberts
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: ARTS & LIFE
Extreme athlete, long-distance runner, elite adventurer and Renaissance man are just some of the titles that describe Charlie Engle. For a man who has become one of the first three people in history to run 4500 miles across the entirety of the Sahara Desert, he's earned them.
In February 2007, Engle and his two teammates averaged more than 42 miles per day for 111 consecutive days with the main objective of raising awareness and promoting clean water initiatives across west Africa. The expedition was filmed, co-produced by celebrity Matt Damon and Live Planet and will be released as a feature length documentary, titled "Running the Sahara," in August 2008.
Engle sat down with the ITALICDaily to talk about running in the Sahara Desert and his upcoming attempt to break the record for running across the United States.
Q Why did you want to run the Sahara race?
A Running the Sahara came about because of a number of things like personal relationships with other running friends of mine, but also a great desire to do something that has never been done before. As an athlete, there are many things that have not been accomplished, and running all the way across the Sahara is one of those.
As a secondary reason, I was able to help cofound a charity, H2O Africa, for the purpose of bringing clean water to Africa because water is probably the number one problem in Africa right now. So, in that respect, it was a personal goal.
Q How did you get so involved with running?
A I started running about 30 years ago, really when I was just a kid of 13 years old. After college, I had a tough stretch where I didn't really manage my life really well, and when I was 30, I started to run again. I ran 40 marathons in about three years and started to run Ironman Triathlons.
The next illogical step was running the Sahara. To do a race that was of my own creation, I tried to bring attention to a problem that was a real issue for me.
In February 2007, Engle and his two teammates averaged more than 42 miles per day for 111 consecutive days with the main objective of raising awareness and promoting clean water initiatives across west Africa. The expedition was filmed, co-produced by celebrity Matt Damon and Live Planet and will be released as a feature length documentary, titled "Running the Sahara," in August 2008.
Engle sat down with the ITALICDaily to talk about running in the Sahara Desert and his upcoming attempt to break the record for running across the United States.
Q Why did you want to run the Sahara race?
A Running the Sahara came about because of a number of things like personal relationships with other running friends of mine, but also a great desire to do something that has never been done before. As an athlete, there are many things that have not been accomplished, and running all the way across the Sahara is one of those.
As a secondary reason, I was able to help cofound a charity, H2O Africa, for the purpose of bringing clean water to Africa because water is probably the number one problem in Africa right now. So, in that respect, it was a personal goal.
Q How did you get so involved with running?
A I started running about 30 years ago, really when I was just a kid of 13 years old. After college, I had a tough stretch where I didn't really manage my life really well, and when I was 30, I started to run again. I ran 40 marathons in about three years and started to run Ironman Triathlons.
The next illogical step was running the Sahara. To do a race that was of my own creation, I tried to bring attention to a problem that was a real issue for me.
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JORDAN
posted 6/26/08 @ 8:04 AM CST
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