An Australian ultra-marathon athlete who holds records for the fastest run around his own country and across its vast desert center yesterday launched a bid to run non-stop from the North to the South pole.
Pat Farmer, once dubbed Australia’s “Forrest Gump,” aims to raise US$100 million for Red Cross water and sanitation programs during his 21,000-km journey through 14 countries in the Americas.
“I believe I’m born with a gift,” Farmer, 48, told AFP.
“My gift is to be able to run long distances faster and perhaps further than any other person on Earth, so I figure I’d be a fool if I had this gift and didn’t use it.”
Though the trip has been some 10 years in the making, Farmer said it was a recent trip to southeast Asia that inspired him to dedicate it to the Red Cross.
“I saw children covered with needlestick injuries in a dump trying to break syringes down to sell the metal inside for bottles of water,” he said.
“It was a heartbreaking turning point for me.”
His 11-month voyage will take him from freezing tundra through the tropics, and Farmer expects to go through more than 40 pairs of shoes and 300 pairs of socks.
“This is by far the greatest challenge of my life,” he said, adding that he had been training “like a man possessed.”
“To be quite honest with you I don’t know if I can run from the North pole to the South pole,” said Farmer, who also served for a decade as an Australian government MP.
“But I do know that I can run for 80km, or 85km or 90km or 100km a day and I do know that I can get up the next morning and do the same thing the next day.
“I will take it one day at a time and I will achieve this enormous goal.”
Farmer’s run starts at the North pole in March and will continue through Canada, the US, Mexico and 10 South American countries before he arrives in Argentina to be airlifted to the final South Pole leg.(afp)
澳洲一位超級馬拉松選手，保有在自己國內廣大的沙漠跑得最快的頭銜，昨日對自己下新戰帖，將挑戰從北極跑到南極的壯舉。
派特•法爾莫曾被喻為「澳洲阿甘」。他的目標是透過這一趟兩萬一千公里，穿越美洲十四個國家的旅程，替紅十字會的水與環境衛生計畫募集一億美元。
四十八歲的法爾莫跟法新社說，「我相信我有個與生據來的天賦。」
「我的天賦就是能夠鍥而不捨，比世界上任何人能更快地跑很長的距離。所以我如果擁有這項天賦而不用的話，那我就是個笨蛋。」
雖然這項壯舉籌畫已有十年，法爾莫表示讓他下決定把它獻給紅十字會的，是最近的一趟東南亞之旅。
他說，「我看到孩童在垃圾堆裡，為了得到購買幾瓶水的錢，從注射器取下金屬針頭而將身體多處扎傷。」
「對我而言，這是個錐心之痛的轉折點。」
這長達十一個月的旅程，他將從寒冷的北極凍原，穿過南北迴歸線。而法爾莫預計將耗損四十多雙鞋，以及三百雙左右的襪子。
他說，「這無疑地是我畢生最大的挑戰，」又說他為了達成目標「著了魔似的」訓練。
曾經擔任澳洲政府國會議員長達十年的法爾莫表示，「老實跟你說，我不知道是否能從北極跑到南極。」
「但我知道我能一天跑個八十公里，或八十五公里，或者一百公里，而且也知道隔天早上起得來，並且能夠繼續做同樣的事情。」
「我會一天一天完成該做的事情，並且會達成這個巨大的目標。」
法爾莫三月將從北極出發，並且會走過加拿大、美國、墨西哥，以及十個南美洲國家，最後到達阿根廷，並搭飛機完成南極的最後一個行程。（法新社�翻譯：吳岱璟）
A: Hard rock band Guns N’ Roses and pop diva Lady Gaga are finally touring Asia again. B: Are they also coming to Taiwan? A: The band will stage a show at the Taoyuan Sunlight Arena on Saturday. B: Wow, so this will be the band’s third visit. I really love its 1992 power ballad “November Rain.” The nine-minute hit was the Billboard chart’s longest song at one point. A: Let’s go celebrate the 40th anniversary of its release. A: 硬式搖滾天團槍與玫瑰、女神卡卡終於再度展開亞洲巡演了。 B: 他們也會來台巡演嗎？ A: 槍與玫瑰本週六即將在桃園陽光劇場開唱唷。 B: 哇這將是該團第三次來台演出，我超愛他們1992年強力情歌《November Rain》，全長近9分鐘還曾是告示牌排行榜最長神曲。 A: 那我們一起去慶祝該團出道40週年吧！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
A: Hard rock band Guns N’ Roses is touring Taiwan tomorrow. What about pop diva Lady Gaga? B: Unfortunately, Singapore has once again exclusively secured Gaga’s concerts in Asia, just like Taylor Swift’s exclusive Asian shows last year. A: The Singaporean government reportedly paid up to US$2.2 million to secure Swift’s shows. B: And the shows did boost its economy and tourism. A: But I’m angry about this approach, so I’m not going to Gaga’s shows this time. A: 硬式搖滾天團槍與玫瑰明天即將來台，流行天后女神卡卡呢？ B: 真可惜，新加坡再度取得卡卡亞洲巡演的獨家主辦權，就像去年泰勒絲的亞洲獨家演出一樣。 A: 據報導新加坡政府付出高達220萬美元，取得泰勒絲的亞洲獨家主辦權。 B: 而她的秀也的確提振了該國的經濟和旅遊業。 A: 但我對此還是很不爽，所以不去新加坡看卡卡了！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
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