Ranulph Fiennes

You have probably never heard of this man. He’s from England. According to the Guinness book of World Records he is the “world’s greatest living explorer.” He ran seven marathons on six continents in seven days. He is in his sixties! He was only five months removed from double bypass surgery when he completed the marathon challenge!

His occupation is “professional adventurer.” He has climbed Kilimanjaro and traversed the poles...his next adventure...Mt. Everest.

He met his future wife when they were 12 and 9 and married soon after he finished up serving in the army. She documented his adventures but has recently passed away. He writes books about each adventure and does the lecture circuit. Books and lectures make it possible for him to raise money for the next adventure and so on. By the way, he was almost James Bond and amputated his own fingers on one hand because of severe frostbite. What else can one say about the kind of life this man has led?

I saw and interview with him during HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. He is so remarkable, but to him, there is nothing unusual about what he is doing. Like the amputation...he thinks anyone would have done the same thing in his situation..and he's not pretentious about it at all. Where does someone like him come from? How does someone like this exist? I got such a positive jolt from watching his story and listening to his matter of fact attitude regarding his life.

What a great feeling to know that there is at least one person with the zest for life, the courage, the stamina, and the fortitude for such amazing adventures.