Running The Silk Road Update: Under 1000km To Go

Last week I posted a story about a team of athletes who are running the length of the Silk Road in an effort to raise funds and awareness of the need for clean drinking water throughout Asia. The expedition began in Turkey back in April, and since that time, the runners have been heading east. Now, they have less than 1000km (621 miles) to go until they reach the finish line in the ancient city of Xi'an, China.

The run was organized by The Home Expedition, a non-profit organization that seeks to fund charitable projects through adventurous activities. The Silk Road run is their first expedition, but they have others planned for the future, including a cycling journey along the Trans-Siberian Highway and an adventure along the Amazon River.

Two of the runners on this journey, Kevin Lin and Bai Bin have run the entire distance so far. That includes more than 8000km (4971 miles) through Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and into China. They hope to wrap up the final leg of their journey by September 16th, their target date for arriving in Xi'an.

When I wrote about this expedition last week, I mentioned that updates on the website had been infrequent over the last few months, but it turns out the best place to follow along with the journey is on The Home Expedition Facebook page. There, I discovered that Kevin and Bai Bin are still knocking off about 70km (43.5 miles) per day as they continue to pursue their goal.

For those that don't know, the old Silk Road was a network of trade routes that connected China with Europe. It's origins can be traced back to 200 BC, although at that point it was mostly used throughout Asia. As time passed, and the road expanded, merchants from as far away as Italy used the road to trade goods, and it eventually became one of the most important trade routes ever. Marco Polo was said to have traveled the Silk Road in his dealings with China, and to this day, the road continues to inspire adventure.

I'll continue to keep an eye on the progress of Kevin, Bai, and the whole team. If all goes as scheduled, they should be finishing up in a just a few weeks. Big thanks to Andrew for sharing information and updates with me!

Running The Silk Road

While we're on the subject of amazing long distance runs today, reader Yihui from Singapore dropped me a note this morning to let me know about a fantastic expedition that I hadn't heard about before. It consists of a team of runners, led by Kevin Lin, who set out in April to run the length of the Silk Road. Now, four months later, they're closing in on the finish line at last.

The expedition got underway in Istanbul, Turkey back in the spring and the runners have been traveling east through Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and China ever since. The plan is to end in the ancient city of Xi'an on September 16th, although since there have been few updates to their online journal since June, it is difficult to know exactly how close they are to reaching that goal. They do continue to upload photos however, and their galleries indicate that they are in China and well on their way to the final destination.

The entire run was created and organized by The Home Expedition, an organization that looks to motivate and inspire more privileged groups of people to work together to create sustainable, long term alternatives for assisting under privileged people and regions. During this expedition, THE has been raising funds to assist other NGO's who are struggling with the problem of providing clean drinking water in the region that they have been running through. This is the THE's first expedition, but they have several others planned for the near future, during which they hope to continue to inspire others into action.

In order to cover the entire 10500+km (6524 mile) Silk Road in the time frame that they've outlined, the team has to average 70km (43 miles) per day for 150 days and under a variety of weather conditions. The entire expedition is being documented, so hopefully we'll get some great video from this adventure. I'd love to see some of the places they've visited along the way.

Hitting The Road With "A Sense Of Adventure"

Have you ever wanted to take an epic road trip that covered thousands of miles and offered you an opportunity to truly explore the region you were traveling through? That's exactly what Rupert Grey hopes to do in September, when he and his wife will set out to drive from Bangladesh back to their home in England. But Rupert doesn't just want to just go on a road trip, he wants to do it in style. Which is why he is making the journey in his classic 1936 Rolls Royce.

Independent film company Rover Films is hoping to make a documentary of the drive, following Rupert and his wife out of Bangladesh, into the Himalaya, and westward along the Arabian Sea, through Iran and Turkey, and beyond. You can check out the trailer for the film below, and if you feel inclined, donate to the cause for getting this movie made. Rover has set up a Kickstarter page to take donations to help fund the project, which looks like it should be a good one. I mean, where exactly do you find parts for a 1936 Rolls Royce while rolling through the Himalaya?

This looks like a fantastic travel experience, and as I've mentioned before, I'd love to do a long distance, overland road trip like this with friends. My road trip of choice would be Cairo to Cape Town, but his looks like a great route as well. I hope the gang over at Rover get the opportunity to make their film!



A Sense Of Adventure OFFICIAL TEASER from Rover Films on Vimeo.

Cycling Silk: Following in Marco Polo's Footsteps to Promote Conservation

Americans Kate Harris and Melissa Yule have just set off on an epic cycling adventure. The two young women are currently in Turkey where they put the final touches on their plans to ride their bikes the length of the ancient Silk Road last week, finally hitting the road on Friday. While that, in and of itself, is quite the adventurous pursuit, the ladies have bigger plans in mind as well, as they hope to use their ride to promote the importance of conservation in a series of Trans-Boundary Protection Areas (TBPA) along their route.

Kate and Melissa have have named their expedition Cycling Silk, and you can find plenty of info about their plans and their cause on their website. The duo expect that it will take them a full year to complete the 10,000 mile ride, and while they have mapped out an intended route, they say that the exact details are in flux, and will evolve while they ride, due to changing political climate in some countries. The ride is also a bit of a science project, as the girls hope to research the impact of TBPA's on the surrounding areas and get a grasp of what the locals think about the concept as well.

The term Trans-Boundary Protection Area refers to a region that straddles the border of two international borders and is managed cooperatively between the nations involved. These regions are sometimes called "peace parks" and generally present some unique challenges, but great opportunities for opening dialogs and relations between countries. An example of such a place is Big Bend National Park here in the U.S. with one side managed by the American government, and the other side of the border controlled by the Mexican government. That example is a work in progress, but attempts are being made to make it more of a reality.

On this ride, Kate and Melissa will pass through six TBPA's while also promoting the growing clean water crisis that is becoming an issue across the planet and the impact of global climate change on the environment. You can follow the progress of these two adventurous women on their Facebook page and through their Twitter feed.