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Interactive Route Plan For The Global Triathlon

On the 8th of May 2011, Dan will embark on his biggest journey to date, as he attempts a Global Triathlon – swimming, cycling and running around the world. This will include a grueling 5700km swim, as Dan attempts to become the first man in history to swim the Atlantic.

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Hello I'm Dan Martin. I'm an Extreme Athlete. This is my world, live:

Training Tuesday: Why? (Part II)

September 7, 2010

Last week we talked about there being no reason why and the fact that the challenge is there is enough of a motivation. This week we’re going back down to basics. Why are we setting off once more into the breach? Why are we heading out into the abyss? Bravado. It’s to impress girls. It’s always to impress girls.

Andrew Irvine famously said that whilst Mallory was climbing Everest because it was there he was doing it:

“To impress girls at parties.”

I’ve slightly adapted this to be “To impress girls in bars.” I fear that lacking in wit, good looks and money that outlandish expeditions may be my only hope!

Why? (Part I)

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Follow Friday: Mark Kalch

September 3, 2010

This weeks Follow Friday is Mark Kalch. I met Mark this year at the Adventurists Film Festival and hit it off straight away. We agree on lots of things from Everest becoming a tourist trail to the way to do proper expeditions. Mark is a few steps ahead of me on the adventure scale having rafted from the source of the Amazon to the sea, rafted down the river Omo in Ethiopia and having walked across Iran.

We’re both on the same adventure blogging chain with Sarah Outen, Tim Moss, Dave Cornthwaite and James Bowthorpe-keep an eye out on their website for guest blogs!

Below is an intro to his amazing, if a bit mental Source to Sea: Expedition Amazonas

This is Mark’s flickr photo stream:

Mark’s now set himself the epic challenge of kayaking or rafting the longest rivers on each continent:

North America: Mississippi-Missouri (starting next year!)
South America: Amazon-DONE!
Africa: Nile
Asia: Yangtze
Europe: Volga
Australasia: Murray-Darling
Antarctica: Onyx (yeah, I know-who knew there was a river on Antarctica?)

You can follow him on twitter here and keep up to date on his website here.

(He’s also recently had a son and called him Modi after Thor’s son!)

Previous Follow Fridays:

Digital Explorer
Oli Broom
Borge Ousland
Chris Rhys Howarth
Tim Moss
Swim For Heroes
Rob Lilwall
Al Humphreys
Helen Lloyd
Lewis Pugh
Pete Gostelow
Mark Cooper
Sticky Parkour

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Thursday Thriller: B.A.S.E. Jumping

September 2, 2010

BASE jumping is an activity that employs an initially packed parachute to jump from fixed objects. “B.A.S.E.” is an acronym that stands for four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: Buildings, Antennae, Spans (bridge), and Earth (cliff).

Essentially it’s jumping off things quite close to the ground. It really facinates me and I’d love to do it just so I could do one specific jump off Mushroom Rock on the north face of the Eiger.

Below are three clips of people with too much time on their hands and general disregard for their welfare.

This is a compilation of phenomenal jumps:

This is what happens when Red Bull get involved:

This is what happens when National Geographic get their cameras out!

These days merely plummeting to the earth isn’t enough of a rush so proximity flying has become all the rage which is falling off things close to the ground and then flying really close to other things. Nuts.

This is Jeb Corliss flying through a ravine in Switzerland:

If you liked this then you’ll like these:

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Training Tuesday: Why?

August 31, 2010

Over the next three weeks I’m going to try and tackle the question I get asked the second highest amount of times (the first is about weight gain!) and that is why? Why are you doing this? Why bother? What’s the point?

There are generally three reasons why people do these kind of things:

Answer 1:

My favourite response to the question why came from French tight rope walker Philippe Petit. He’d just walked across illegally from one twin tower to the other in New York, been arrested and was getting questioned by some journalists-they asked him why and in a superbly French, laissez faire way he said:

“Why? There is no why.”

This echoes strongly with the much more British retort from George Leigh Mallory of:

“Because it’s there.”

Personally I’m doing this because I can. The challenge is there and I’m in a position to take it on. I think with all adventures and hazardous activities there’s always going to be a certain element of if you have ask the question then you’ll never fully understand the answer.

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Follow Friday: Digital Explorer

August 27, 2010

This weeks Follow Friday is Digital Explorer. Digital Explorer is a social enterprise that engages young people in global issues for a better future. Set up and run by Jamie Buchanan Dunlop, Digital Explorer allows teachers and schools real time access to expedition globally.

I’m highlighting Jamie this Friday as he’s been the driving force behind putting on a charity adventure night to help flood victims in Pakistan. The talk is being held at Google’s headquarters in London and features me along with some actually good speakers (Al Humphreys, Ben Saunders and Oliver Steeds-more to be confirmed). All the speakers will have 20slides that will automatically move on every 20seconds using a Google Earth fly through! It’s Â£20 a ticket and promises to be an amazing night of quick fire adventure stories and fundraising for the 17.2million people affected by Pakistans floods.