Sunday, November 13, 2011

Running the Sahara - My Review


Running the Sahara is a true story about three men who decide to run across the Sahara desert. Starting in Senegal and ending at the Red Sea. The three friends include one American, one Canadian and one Taiwanese runner. In the beginning the group was unsure about how long the run would actually take. On February 20, Charlie, Ray and Kevin touched the Red Sea, just a few hours before sunset. Their adventure had lasted 111 days and taken them through 6 countries: Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya, and Egypt. By the team's daily GPS record, they had traveled over 4,300 miles (6,920 kilometers). A-mazing! They fought through injury and extreme fatigue to reach their goal, which changed them forever. The film was Narrated and executively produced by Matt Damon. Their support crew and film crew in tow, these folks proved that with determination and drive anything is possible.

One very interesting part for me was when they tried to gain entrance into Libya, they had to have special permission not only to enter the country, but to travel freely throughout. Rather than reject their visa requests a Libyan man agreed to run with them through his country, and provided a security detail to follow the supply and support jeeps.

The film also offered great insight, as I was able to see first hand how important clean water is to the millions of people who live in Africa.

I highly recommend this film, it will make you feel like you are not doing enough with your life, nor taking enough risks. Get out of your comfort zone and do something amazing! 
Why you might ask? Well, more importantly, why not? 

A big thank you to my brother who recommended this film to me. Pass it on!

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