There are two extreme marathons that happen annually in South Africa. One happened a few weeks ago on May 2. That was the Fifth Annual South AfricanAddo Elephant marathon. This consisted of various lengths of 25 mile, 50 mile, and a 100 mile runs through the Addo Elephant Reserve. The second will happen during October 2, 2009 through October 11, 2009. This is a test of survival as well as a marathon. Seven days spent running across the Kalahari Desert, 250 Kilometers. This marathon is limited to just one hundred participants, as they are followed by teams in order to ensure their safety and well being. These marathons bring participants from around the world, and bolster the community economy through hotel stays and car hire in South Africa. The team behind these marathons is Estienne Arndt, Nadia Arndt, and Simon Kelly.
Estienne Arndt was born in 1953, in the city of Durban, South Africa. He ran his first marathon in 1979. He has since then become actively involved in all aspects of Road Running, in event planning and fundraising, as well as the running itself. In 1988, he was in a motorbike accident and due to the injuries he sustained it was necessary for the doctors to amputate his right foot. It took him eight years of rehabilitation and training with a prosthesis to qualify for his next marathon. He was the first person to complete this and has since repeated that journey three times. Once that goal was achieved,Arndt began a new journey with a new set of goals.
He entered an extreme seven day marathon called the Marathon Des Sables. This is a trek similar to the one in South Africa, although it is set in Morocco’s Sahara Desert. He was joined by two companions, and six hundred other runners. The two are a married couple, friend of his, Geoff and Carol Hilton-Barber. Geoff is a solo boats-man, and is also blind. The three completed this grueling event and throughout the race,Arndt began to organize and event similar in his own country, and thus the extreme marathon of South Africa was born out of the Sahara Desert. His wife Nadia is the coordinator of the race and Simon Kelly is in charge of the media surrounding the event. For all runners this would be the extreme test of agility and stamina. And an incredible accomplishment in crossing the finish line.
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