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)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
A: As well as Eid al-Fitr, Southeast Asia is celebrating the Water Festival this week. B: And this year, Thailand is expanding the celebration between April 12 and 16 for the event, officially known as the Songkran Festival, expecting to make 24.3 billion Thai baht in tourism revenue. A: Does Taiwan celebrate the Water Festival? B: Some local cities and counties do have similar activities. A: Let’s go experience the festival then. A: 除了「開齋節」外,東南亞「潑水節」本週也盛大登場! B: 泰國今年從4月12日到16日擴大「宋干節」連假,預估觀光收入可高達243億泰銖。 A: 台灣會慶祝「潑水節」嗎? B: 有些縣市會舉辦類似活動。 A: 那我們也去體驗一下吧。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)