With a warm smile, Emily Erickson will invite you to go surfing with her. And you will nervously ask: Uh, where?

Erickson鈥檚 introduction to surfing began at Sunset Beach on Oahu鈥檚 North Shore, which some would argue is like starting your climbing career on Mount Everest.鈥淏ecause my dad surfed there, I never thought it was impossible,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here were no limits.鈥�

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As a child in Hawaii, Erickson watched her father, Roger, a big-wave legend and former North Shore lifeguard, ride giant swells while she played in the sand. At 17, she began learning about the ocean and its moods on a boogie board. A year later, her father gave her his 10'6″ big-wave gun. Erickson was hooked. 鈥淣othing hit me as hard as surfing did,鈥� she says.

Erickson soon began traveling to surf spots around the world. In 2014, when she was surfing at Maverick鈥檚 in Northern California with more than 50 guys in the water, big-wave pioneer Jeff Clark saw her catch one of the break鈥檚 heavy waves. 鈥淪he definitely made a statement when she was out there,鈥滳lark says. 鈥淏ig-wave riding is in her genes.鈥�

Erickson never expected to grace the cover of or get nominated for . Still, finding sponsors is a struggle many female big-wave athletes face. Among other projects, Erickson waits tables at a sushi restaurant to make ends meet. But she has found a different kind of richness in the sport. 鈥淥n big waves especially, I have this hyperaware, instinctual experience that makes me incredibly high and so happy,鈥� she says.

At last year鈥檚 first WSL women鈥檚 big-wave competition at Jaws, on Maui鈥檚 north shore, Erickson saw a wave she thought could be a winner. As she rocketed down the nearly 40-foot face, the wind flipped her board sideways and spun her upside down. She tore her ACL, MCL, quad, and calf muscle.

The last few months, she鈥檚 been rehabbing from surgery.鈥淚 am not sweating being out this winter,鈥� she says. 鈥淩iding big waves is where I am supposed to be.鈥�

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Devyn Bisson is a filmmaker who spent most of her life dreaming of becoming a lifeguard. The native of Huntington Beach, California, participated in the program from the age of 8 and became an official city lifeguard by 18. Then, a year later, Bisson found herself in Orange, California, at Chapman University鈥檚 film school.

鈥淟ike lifeguarding, I knew that ,鈥� says Bisson. 鈥淚 just wasn鈥檛 sure how.鈥� In film school, she quickly learned she had a knack for finding great stories that she could execute on a shoestring budget. Bisson made her first film, , as a sophomore after winning a grant from the , which took her, a friend, and translators to Italy to create a short about the Sikh鈥檚 involvement in saving the ancient craft of making Parmesan cheese. 鈥淢y professors couldn鈥檛 believe we pulled it off,鈥� says Bisson. It won best documentary at festivals like and the听. 鈥淚 realized I loved doing the stories no one wanted to do, and that if you pick those underdog stories, you get crazy access to the characters in them,鈥� she says.

That鈥檚 how Bisson knew, at 21, that she wanted her next film to be about from Maui and one of the few women who surf the legendary Jaws break. She had read a story in a surf magazine about a group of men who rode big waves and wanted to know about the women who are out there. Bisson spent the next two years following Alms to make . It premiered in 2015 at the before making the rounds at other festivals around the world. Red Bull TV purchased the film to air this summer. Apparently, Bisson鈥檚 storytelling effected some change: last year, women鈥檚 big-wave surfing became an official event, and Alms became the first women鈥檚 big-wave world champ. 鈥淲e鈥檇 met with the several times while making the movie to show the interest in having a big-wave event for women,鈥� says Bisson.

Bisson, now 24, says she waits for stories to 鈥渃all鈥� to her rather than seek them out. After The Wave I Ride was sold to Red Bull TV, she went back to lifeguarding, mentoring young girls in writing poetry, and making art.

Bisson heard about it from lifeguard friends at the , which provides training to people in developing countries. They were headed to the Aegean Sea in late 2015 to help Greek lifeguards rescue Syrian refugees who ran into trouble at sea while crossing from Turkey to Greece by boat. The heavily circulated image of the three-year-old Syrian boy found drowned on a beach in Turkey only a few months prior was fresh on Bisson鈥檚 mind. Within two weeks and with zero budget, she took a small film crew to the island of Lesvos in Greece, in the middle of winter. Bisson will premiere this summer at the Lido Theater in Newport Beach, California.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=6WWx2PhiPZA

According to a report from the , in 2016, . Many reports say death rates have increased since authorities have threatened to deport those who cross the Aegean to the Greek Islands. Refugees are now attempting even more dangerous routes across the central Mediterranean. Bisson learned that Syrian refugees on the Turkish side paid smugglers $1,000 to $5,000 for a seat on a makeshift boat鈥攐ften duct-taped together鈥攖o cross about nine to 20 miles. The trip, which should normally take two hours, often took ten, with some boats sinking before arrival. Refugees were also forced to buy fake life jackets, often stuffed with packing material, that, when tested, made people sink faster.

When her crew arrived, Bisson had no idea if any boats would come ashore during their stay, but it took only six hours for one to arrive. At , she saw about 200 people crammed onboard, including pregnant women and children, most on the verge of hypothermia after being in a waterlogged vessel for nine hours.

鈥淚t was really hard to watch,鈥� says Bisson. 鈥淚鈥檝e never seen something that made me so emotional while filming.鈥� After getting them to shore, she says, one of the first things the lifeguards did was grab the fake life jackets and cut them in half. 鈥淚t was so crazy that these people were risking everything for a chance for freedom and might be killed by these fake jackets,鈥� says Bisson. An aerial view of more than 800,000 destroyed life jackets in Molyvos Valley became a key shot in the film.

As a lifeguard, Bisson says, it was often hard to be behind the camera. A few times, she shifted roles.

One night, while Bisson鈥檚 crew and the lifeguards sat around a bonfire on the beach, they saw what looked like a herd of animals running up a steep cliff. Apparently, Turkish smugglers had offered lower fares to those who dared to make the crossing at night. Without knowing how to drive a boat and guided only by the Molyvos lighthouse, refugees often missed the beach or crashed into the rocks. That鈥檚 what Bisson was seeing.

Whenever a boat arrived during the day, the lifeguards were there to help the refugees get from the water to shore. United Nations officials or others usually took over on land, getting people into dry clothes. But this night, the U.N. volunteers and officials had gone home.

Quickly realizing that the passengers were mostly women and kids, and that she was one of only two female lifeguards who the women might feel comfortable changing around, Bisson ditched her camera. 鈥淚t was dark, freezing, there were so many people in shock, and it was hard to fit 200 people of all sizes with dry clothes,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut my lifeguard instincts kicked in.鈥�

Bisson said she originally didn鈥檛 want the film to be political. 鈥淚t was coming from the point of view of lifeguards who are there to save lives no matter what anyone鈥檚 culture or situation,鈥� she says. A year later, with the film now about to premiere in select theaters this June in partnership with ISLA, Bisson changed her mind.

鈥淲hen I pull the trigger to make a film, I jump on a journey I have zero control over. Not the timeline, not what the film is going to stand for, not the bold things it鈥檚 going to say. Lighthouse Molyvos was no exception,鈥� says Bisson. 鈥淚 make films because I want people to look deeper. I know that when we do, we usually find ourselves, our collective story. 鈥攁lone, cold, risking everything for a chance at what you have.鈥�

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Professional surfer Koa Smith is gearing up for the Volcom Pipe Pro surf competition on the North Shore of Oahu. The beach is packed with fans, and the waves are thunderous. Smith is lying on his back on the floor of a house abutting the sand and breathing very deliberately, trying to keep it together. 鈥淚鈥檝e always had a hard time with nerves before contests,鈥� Smith says. 鈥淚鈥檇 forget how to surf. But now I breathe and it scrapes away all the bullshit.鈥�

Smith is one of a growing number of athletes鈥攆rom and his wife, , to CrossFit coach Brian Mackenzie and biohacker Tim Ferris鈥攚ho have begun using the breathing exercises of adventurer Wim Hof as a way to achieve peak physical performance.

The 57-year-old Dutchman is an unlikely fitness guru. Hof has spent decades pursuing obscure feats, nearly all of which are designed to demonstrate his singular ability to withstand extreme cold: climbing to 20,000 feet on Mount Everest while wearing only shorts and shoes; running a marathon barefoot above the Arctic Circle; staying submerged in an ice bath for nearly two hours. Dutch TV has dubbed him the Iceman.

Hof credits much of his success to his breathing exercises, a practice he began five years ago. And he says his technique鈥攚hich involves a series of deep, rhythmic inhales and exhales, followed by breath holding鈥攃an strengthen the body, improve the immune system and circulation, prevent disease, and help with focus, confidence, and mindfulness. Surprisingly, research backs up many of those brash assertions.

In 2014, showed that people could learn to control their immune response and autonomous nervous system after just ten days of Hof鈥檚 breathing exercises, meditation, and repeated exposure to cold. In the study, 24 participants鈥攈alf of them trained by Hof鈥攚ere injected with the endotoxin E. coli. Those Hof trained had a different inflammatory, immune, and hormone response, allowing them to fight it off significantly better than the other group.

“If Wim told me that in person, I would have said, 鈥楾his is hippie yoga shit,鈥欌�夆�� says Andy Galpin, a researcher at the Center for Sport Performance at California State University at Fullerton. 鈥淏ut PNAS is a highly regarded journal.鈥� Galpin met Hof last year and tried the technique himself. 鈥淢y whole body immediately felt warm,鈥� Galpin says. 鈥淲hat I think is happening is that you鈥檙e increasing oxygen saturation in the muscles and making the body more adaptable to absorb oxygen and perform more effectively.鈥�

Hof prescribes a cold shower, an ice bath, or some other form of cold submersion immediately following his breathing regimen鈥攁 peculiar dictate also supported by research. 鈥淐ryotherapy increases the hormone norepinephrine,鈥� says biologist Rhonda Patrick. 鈥淭hat ramps up fat metabolism and produces heat as a by-product.鈥� The cold also reduces inflammation and eases chronic pain.

In the past few years, Hof has begun spreading his gospel. , you can sign up for a free tutorial or download his free app to be introduced to the method. If you want further instruction, sign up on the website for ten weeks of video tutorials for $200 or purchase his e-book, Becoming the Iceman, for $15. And while there are hundreds of glowing testimonials online, most researchers say that more studies are needed. 鈥淧arts of the reaction patterns in the body are understandable,鈥� says Pierre Capel, an immunologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. 鈥淏ut the knowledge about Hof鈥檚 methods is not complete.鈥�

Galpin is undeterred. 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to say it鈥檚 a miracle and that after 30 breaths all your problems will go away,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut I definitely think it鈥檚 worth trying.鈥�

For his part, Mackenzie has teamed up with Hamilton to teach surfers, MMA fighters, CrossFitters, and regular athletes how to use Hof鈥檚 method. (Hof is an adviser, and Mackenzie and Hamilton still recommend that clients take his video courses.) 鈥淭he breathing helps with my recovery,鈥� says Mackenzie, 鈥渂ut I also feel better, sleep better, and am overall just happier since trying it.

If You Want to Get a Taste of听the Method

Follow these eight steps听each morning before food,听coffee, or training. To err on the side of caution, do听them with a friend nearby.

1. Lie on the ground or sit with your back straight.

2. Inhale deeply, pulling in as much air as you can using your diaphragm.

3. Exhale fully but not forcefully; simply let the breath go.

4. Repeat inhales and exhales for 30 to 40 rounds with your own rhythm.

5. On the last round, exhale and then hold your breath until your body feels the need to breathe.

6. Inhale deeply, then hold your breath for ten seconds.

7. Repeat steps 3鈥�6 for three or four rounds.

8. After your final round, hop in a cold shower. On your first try, stay under the water for 30 seconds, then gradually increase until听you reach three听to five minutes.

The post Change Your Breath, Change Your Life: The Daily Routine Athletes Love appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

IT STARTED WITH a sinus infection. Whenever surfers Jared Criscuolo and Kristian Gustavson went out after a big storm in San Diego, they鈥檇 get sick from the influx of polluted runoff. 鈥淲e realized we could either keep complaining about not being able to surf after it rains or we could do something about it,鈥� says Criscuolo.

So in 2008 the pair, who met while volunteering for the , founded , a nonprofit that aims to educate people about water issues. Gustavson, 27, had just completed a pollution study on the Mississippi and was preparing for a 700-mile canoe trip down the river. Criscuolo, 30, was working in finance and began speaking to every congressman, business leader, and city water manager who鈥檇 listen. The only problem: it was a tough sell. 鈥淲ater politics is generally uninspiring,鈥� says Criscuolo.

The two quickly decided they needed a more radical approach. Their first expedition, in 2009, was a ramshackle affair. After borrowing a 17-foot aluminum canoe from a guy they met on Craigslist, Criscuolo and Gustavson drove a biodiesel-fueled 1989 Ford F250 from San Diego to Mount Shasta, in Northern California. From there they paddled 300 miles down the Sacramento River.

鈥淭he idea was that you wouldn鈥檛 buy wine without knowing its source, so we wanted to educate Californians about where their drinking water came from,鈥� says Gustavson, an Illinois native who just finished a master鈥檚 program in marine biodiversity and conservation at the University of California at San Diego鈥檚 Scripps Institution of Oceanography. While the trip was moderately successful鈥攖hey took photos and video and stopped off at the state capital to talk with legislators鈥攖heir biggest triumph was fortuitous: at one point during the journey, they convinced producers for a local CBS affiliate to air their cause on the news. 鈥淪howing people video of sewage spilling into rivers started a conversation that helped validate what we were doing,鈥� says Criscuolo, who grew up in Connecticut and was a financial adviser at UBS before starting .

Now, two years and six expeditions later, including epics down the Tijuana and Atchafalaya rivers, Criscuolo and Gustavson are taking Below the Surface onto the national stage with the Riverview Project. Partnering with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Immersive Media, a Dallas-based interactive-video firm, the duo will chart America鈥檚 most imperiled rivers employing the same technology used to create Google鈥檚 . Beginning in spring 2012, they鈥檒l start with the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Colorado rivers. (The plan is to hit 27 rivers over the course of five years.) After capturing the necessary footage, they鈥檒l post 360-degree panoramic views of each river, from source to sea, online.

鈥淲e hope to help people visualize America鈥檚 rivers in their entirety and to show firsthand the importance of protecting them,鈥� says Gustavson. The USGS has offered access to boats, personnel, and all the data they鈥檒l need to create a robust digital profile of the rivers, which will include updates on water conditions and ways for individuals to improve river-water quality where they live. With Immersive Media鈥檚 help, they鈥檒l also make maps, design virtual expeditions, and develop guides to fishing and paddling spots, in addition to ongoing work with agencies, policy makers, and other groups to encourage water recycling and the purification of waste-water streams. It鈥檚 an ambitious undertaking, for sure鈥攄ocumenting the Colorado alone will take five weeks鈥攂ut the overarching goal is simple. 鈥淲e want to help people build relationships with rivers,鈥� says Criscuolo.

How We Picked Them

Criscuolo鈥檚 and Gustavsons鈥檚 r茅sum茅s rose to the top of an impressive stack of nominations 颅submitted by readers. We chose the two surfers because they embody the perfect combination of passion, adventure, and altruism. For 2012, they鈥檒l be listed on our masthead as 国产吃瓜黑料鈥檚 chief inspiration officers, and they鈥檒l be blogging about their Riverview Project as the year progresses. 颅

The Riverview Project: By the Numbers

• 1,300: Miles of river and coastline Criscuolo and Gustavson paddled leading up to the Riverview Project, including 700 miles of the Mississippi.
• 25: Thousands of miles they intend to cover in the next five years, including one-third of the Colorado River.
• 60,000: Miles they've driven in their biodiesel Ford F250.
• 27: Number of rivers they plan to document.

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Ryan Levinson knew something was going wrong with his body. In 1990, he was 18 and a promising cyclist鈥攃ompeting on an elite development squad with the likes of George Hincapie and Jonas Carney. But his performances began falling off, and one of his calf muscles seemed to be shriveling. “I thought it was an imbalance in my training,” he says.

Ryan Levinson

Ryan Levinson

It took six years of doctors' appointments and tests before Levinson was diagnosed with an incurable and progressive form of muscular dystrophy called FSHD (facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy). The most prevalent type of muscular dystrophy, FSHD slowly weakens and destroys muscle cells and tissue. Doctors told Levinson to stop strenuous exercise, believing the physical effort would speed the deterioration. Levinson chose to prove them wrong. He postponed working toward his degree in outdoor recreation at San Diego State University and continued a binge of sports and adventures鈥攊ncluding surfing, kiteboarding, diving, kayaking, and sailing鈥攖hat has now lasted 15 years.

“You can't choose what happens to you, but you can choose how you respond to it,” says the San Diego鈥揵ased 38-year-old. “I thought, if I'm going to lose these muscles, and all I risk is losing them faster, then I'm not going to quit doing what I love.”

In 2006, Levinson, an Emergency Medical Technician with San Diego Medical Services, completed the grueling off-road triathlon course at the Xterra World Championship in Hawaii, which entailed a one-mile open-water swim, a trail ride up and down 10,023-foot Haleakala, and a seven-mile trail run. This year alone, he won the stand-up paddleboard division for challenged athletes in the Hanohano-Huki Ocean Challenge in San Diego; took third place in the challenged-athlete division of the Long Beach to Catalina and Back personal-watercraft race; made the semifinals in his age group in the World Bodysurfing Championships; and was a first-place finisher in the highly competitive challenged-athlete surf contest at Duke's OceanFest at Waikiki Beach. “People think 'challenged' means slow guys who get a hug afterward,” Levinson says. “These are guys who broke their neck at Pipeline or got their arm bitten off by a tiger shark. They rip.”

His accomplishments are all the more impressive when you consider that his biceps are as thin as his forearms. (His shoulder muscles have grown larger to compensate.) He has almost no muscle in his chest, and his belly bulges out because there is little remaining of his abs. His legs are thinning, and his pelvis jostles around after he runs a quarter-mile, lacking the muscles to stabilize it. He can't lift his right arm over his shoulder, do a push-up, sit-up, or pull-up, and it hurts to hold the phone to his ear.

But that hasn't stopped him. Despite failing several times to qualify for the San Diego Lifeguard Academy鈥攈is swim times on flatwater couldn't meet academy standards鈥擫evinson performed the grueling physical challenges and completed the 39th academy last spring, after being voted Most Inspirational Recruit. He's been on the prestigious water-safety patrol for California's Mavericks Surf contest and Mexico's Todos Santos Big Wave Event.

Along the way, he's opened doors to tri颅athlons and other races for physically challenged athletes. “When I was diagnosed, I looked around the Internet for resources for people like me, and all I saw was atrophy and sorrow. So I decided I would be that guy.” Here's more, in his own words:

“DOCTORS TOLD ME I would accelerate my muscle loss by being active, but it turns out being active didn't increase muscle loss any more than if I just sat around. That was pivotal, because that changed how a lot of doctors tell people with FSHD how to live their lives. It's a good feeling, knowing my efforts give people hope.

PEOPLE GET STUCK thinking there's only one way to do something, but it's incredible what can be accomplished simply by modifying equipment or technique, whether or not you have a disability. When I'm operating a rescue watercraft for an event, or I'm on the ambulance at work, the people I help don't know I have FSHD; they're just glad someone is there.

ANYONE WHO OVERTRAINS, under-rests, eats poorly, or overstresses will physically break down. With me it's just hyperexaggerated. I train hard, but I train smart. I do yogalike stretches for an hour every morning to help mitigate pain that muscle imbalances put on my joints and connective tissue, and I continuously have to adapt to ongoing muscle loss. Certain movements can cause intense pain no matter what I do. Staying active and loose helps a lot, as does meditation.

A COMBINATION OF THINGS drive me: a sense of duty, love for my wife, being able to help other people, the fact that even pain is an experience in itself.

My FSHD ISN'T something I need to outrun. It's a part of me, and I own it. Yeah, I'd be stoked if there were a cure, but that hasn't happened yet, so I live every day with a deep passion that comes from loving what I do and knowing that it will be increasingly challenging to do it. When you think about it, that's true for everyone. This is not a dress rehearsal. This is life.

Mike Coots

AGE: 31
HOMETOWN: KILAUEA, KAUAI, HAWAII
MISSION: SAVE THE SHARKS

THE SHARK CAME UP vertically and latched on to both my legs. I instinctively stuck my right hand into its mouth to try and get my legs out. With my other hand I punched it in its head and it let go. I looked at the finger I had stuck in its mouth and it was peeled open like a potato. I looked at the guy next to me and his eyes were out of his head like silver dollars. He was like, ‘Shark! Go in!’ And I was like, ‘I know!’

FOR MOST FOLKS, having a leg bitten off by a tiger shark would be a debilitating setback. Photographer Coots is not most folks. On October 28, 1997, when Coots’s right leg was bitten off below the knee while he was bodyboarding at Waiokapua Bay, Kauai, it jump-started his life. The bite caused a nearly perfect amputation, and a quick tourniquet applied by a friend slowed the bleeding enough for Coots to make it to the hospital. Five weeks later, as soon as his staples and stitches were out, Coots went bodyboarding鈥攁t the same beach where he’d been attacked. “The waves were really good that day,” he says. It took about a year before he was comfortable on his prosthetic leg. In the meantime, he developed a passion for photography and, in 2002, enrolled in the Santa Barbara, California鈥揵ased Brooks Institute, graduating four years later. His clients now include American Express, Surfer magazine, and Quiksilver. In early 2009, the public-policy group Pew persuaded Coots to use his story to bring attention to the need for greater protection for sharks. He was shocked to learn that in 2000 roughly 73 million sharks had been killed for use in shark-fin soup, so he signed up to be a spokesman for Pew. “Shark fishermen are doing this killing and finning for something that’s not a staple,” Coots says. “It’s a delicacy for restaurants in China for the really rich. Maybe losing my leg will help save a species that’s been surviving for millions of years in our oceans.” His work has since helped create the law to stop shark-finning in Hawaii. Then there’s his surfing habit: Coots took up the sport after the attack, while at school in Santa Barbara, where the waves were too slow for bodyboarding. He now surfs daily and tows in whenever the winter swell is big enough. Did we mention that he rips?

Chris Rutgers

Chris Rutgers

Chris Rutgers

AGE: 36
HOMETOWN: SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
MISSION: TRANSFORM THE LIVES OF AT-RISK KIDS THROUGH ADVENTURE

IN NOVEMBER 1992, at age 18, Rutgers left behind an abusive childhood in California and moved to Alta, Utah. He became a dishwasher and later started freeskiing competitively, an experience that changed his life. After seven years, Rutgers left the mountains for San Diego, to start a nonprofit called Outdoor Outreach. His goal? To transform the lives of at-risk kids by introducing them to positive experiences in the outdoors. Now 11 years old, the program, which works with underprivileged youth from inner-city schools, teen homeless shelters, foster-care facilities, and drug-rehabilitation programs, has taken more than 5,000 kids on 1,500 trips throughout California鈥攁ll for free. One of the organization’s biggest achievements is its 国产吃瓜黑料 Clubs, set up at inner-city San Diego high schools, where graduation rates and performance scores are well below the national average. Students meet weekly to plan outdoor trips, and all of last year’s participants graduated and went on to college (except one student, who joined the military). “I was the original case study for my organization,”鈥坰ays Rutgers. “In the end, skiing saved my life”

Erika Vohman

Erika Vohman

Erika Vohman

AGE: 45
HOMETOWN: CRESTED BUTTE, COLORADO
MISSION: EMPOWER WOMEN TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT

VOHMAN SKIS 80 days a year, has kayaked the Grand Canyon six times, slings from a catalog of hundreds of dirty jokes, and is a five-time winner of the costume contest at Crested Butte’s Al Johnson telemark race (thanks to variations on her flesh-colored “naked suit” leotard.) Classic ski-bum stuff, but underestimate her at your peril. The agronomist’s Maya Nut Institute combats hunger and tropical deforestation by teaching women in places like Mexico, Honduras, and Haiti to cook the Maya nut, a forgotten traditional food source littering the forest floor in the New World tropics. “The Maya nut is an important food source for wildlife,” Vohman says, “but people living near these forests have never heard of it, despite sometimes being able to afford only one meal a day.” Since 2001, Vohman’s workshops, led by local staff, have taught more than 14,500 women in 800 rural communities to turn the protein-rich nut into pancakes, soups, and drinks. Some 3,000 graduates now use their skills with micro-enterprises, and more than a million Maya nut trees have been planted as a result of her efforts.

Charlie Wittmack

Charlie Wittmack

Charlie Wittmack

AGE: 33
HOMETOWN: DES MOINES, IOWA
MISSION: THE WORLD TRIATHLON

THIS YEAR, Wittmack ditched his job as a trial lawyer and sold his home and two cars to attempt to become the first person to swim, bike, run, and climb the roughly 10,000 miles between England and the top of Mount Everest. We admire his commitment. “I’ve been obsessed with this idea for 20 years. It’s a perfect line, a perfect expedition,” says Wittmack, who swam 230 miles down the River Thames before crossing the 21-mile English Channel on August 8. Three days later, he forced his waterlogged feet into bike shoes and began the 8,544-mile ride between France and India. As of press time, Wittmack had pedaled 4,500 miles and was in the midst of crossing southern Kazakhstan with an armed escort. If all goes as planned, he’ll complete the ride in Calcutta on December 1 and begin the 1,086-mile run from Calcutta to Everest Base Camp, summiting sometime before June 1. Inspired by a Nepalese midwife’s stories about the lack of care for Nepalese women, Wittmack is using his triathlon’s novelty to partner with the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood and Des Moines University to create a $500,000 maternal-health program to teach Nepalese midwives and doctors up-to-date obstetric practices. “There’s too much riding on this,” he says. “I have to continue on.”

Loyal Mehnert

AGE: 33
HOMETOWN: MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN
MISSION: TRAVELANTHROPY

IN 2007, MEHNERT was working as a media spokesman for Habitat for Humanity, but he wanted to move from advocacy to action. So he conceived of Travelanthropy. “You hear about people running marathons for charity; I wanted to go bigger,” Mehnert says. The following year, he reinvented himself as an adventuring fundraiser for Habitat and began securing per-mile pledges for endurance endeavors. Since then, he’s driven a road rally from London to Banjul, Gambia; hiked the southern half of the Appalachian Trail; and traversed 500 miles of the Pyrenees. The next big thing on his list? Driving the entire Pan-American Highway in 2011, by the end of which he hopes to have raised $100,000. Here’s more, by the numbers.

$13,000
MONEY RAISED SO FAR FOR GAMBIAN PROJECTS AND HABITAT FOR HUMANITY’S MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST PROJECT

6,000+
CHARITY MILES MEHNERT TRAVERSED TO RAISE IT

one
MARRIAGE PROPOSALS HE’S DELIVERED WHILE TRAVELING (SHE SAID YES)

16,000
MILES MEHNERT PLANS TO DRIVE FROM ARGENTINA TO ALASKA NEXT YEAR

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Alan Horton

Alan Horton

听

Work, kids, 99-cent value meals we know how the fitness excuses can pile up. That's why we've assembled our second annual class of 国产吃瓜黑料's Fittest (Real) Athletes: five wickedly overscheduled Americans who haven't let hectic careers or a lack of sponsorship keep them off the podium. And their secrets are simpler than you think.

Alan Horton

Most top runners are sponsored or have flexible schedules students, waiters, coaches that can be tailored to running. Not Horton. He's a 40-to-50-hour-a-week accountant for a trucking company. A former mid-pack collegiate runner, he got serious about marathon training in 2006 by studying other runners and cramming 100 miles per week into his limited free time. (He was also putting in 15 hours a week after work as a tuition adviser at a nonprofit.) In the 2006 Chicago Marathon, Horton's first, he ran a 2:21:58 fast enough to qualify for the Olympic Trials. In April 2008, he ran Boston in 2:25:14, finishing eighth among all Americans and 25th overall.

“Running has to be everything and nothing at the same time. You've got to have balance. You can't just wake up, stretch, run, take a nap, and run again. You've got to go to work and do your regular routine, and running is at the back of your mind. But it's there. Once you've satisfied your duties, the day is yours. You need to be a stickler for planning, having a calendar, setting small goals. I'd plan my season in Excel, and if I had a conflict I'd know in advance. I'm not talented, but I work hard. I had some potential in college, but I never reached it. It left me hungry. It's about turning something that looks like failure into something that motivates you.” KEY TIP: “Stubbornness is not a bad thing. Sometimes you have to miss that social event or activity. But that's why there's downtime. Make the most of it.”

Pennsylvania Kid T-shirt ($50) from Glad Rags by Give and Take; Mini Stripe Buttonfront Shirt ($145) from Converse by John Varvatos; 501 Original Jeans ($60) by Levi's; Chuck Taylor All-Star Slip ($95) by Converse

Fittest Real Athletes 鈥� David Goggins

David Goggins

David Goggins

After fellow commandos were killed in action in Afghanistan in 2005, Goggins聴a Navy SEAL temporarily working a desk job聴decided to pay tribute by setting the hardest goal he could think of: running the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon. Though a novice runner, Goggins signed up to raise money for the Warrior Foundation聴which pays the school costs of fallen soldiers' children聴dropped 50 pounds, and completed the race in 2006, finishing fifth. He returned the next year to place third, beating Dean Karnazes's best time by more than an hour. Goggins has now notched 28 ultramarathons, including a two-day, 203-mile run in 2007. Next fall, before he's redeployed into combat zones, he plans to climb Everest.

“A lot of people choose to have balance, but my time is coming to an end. I have another year before I'm deployed again. I believe that when you're dead, your spirit lives on to think about all the things you didn't accomplish in your life. So I'm trying to accomplish everything. I was 270 pounds, and I said I wanted to run Badwater, so I did. I'd run 10 or 15 miles in the morning, then ride my bike 20 or 30 miles on the way to work. At lunch, I'd run, then I'd ride home after work. I'd do my six-, seven-, eight-hour runs on the weekends. It taught me that you don't have to enjoy things to do them. But what better place to find out what you're made of than when you're 24 hours into a 48-hour race?” KEY TIP: “Stop making excuses. If you want to make something happen, just make it happen.”

Polo Shirt ($152) by Trovata; Core Freedom 5 Pocket Pant ($55) by Tommy Hilfiger; Striper Laceless CVO shoes ($60) by Sperry Top-Sider

Fittest Real Athletes 鈥� Kathleen Calkins

Kathleen Calkins

Kathleen Calkins

Calkins is the kind of amateur who can make pros seem oversponsored. At this past October's Ironman World Championship, she won her 30聳34-year-old age group聴the most competitive amateur category聴in 9:55, beating 27 international pros in the process. She schedules her training around a full-time job as a pharmaceutical rep and the demands of juggling life with her husband and three-year-old son.

“I get up early and get at least one workout at 4:30 A.M., before my son is up. When I can, I try to squeeze in swim workouts on my lunch hours or ride my trainer when he's napping. But the biggest thing is that I take my son with me on my runs in a BOB stroller. He loves it, and it motivates me to keep going. Being able to multitask is huge. I don't dilly-dally around. I've heard a lot of excuses, but there are so many options for people to get out and do things, even when you have little kids. If you're willing, there are definitely ways to make it work.” KEY TIP: “Commit to an event, whether it's a 5K or a marathon. It doesn't have to be extreme. It's all about having fun, and feeling good about yourself. But you need a plan or it's not going to happen.”

Paisley Tunic ($70) by Tommy Hilfiger; Shorts ($132) by Joe's Jeans; Haiku Sandals ($100) by OluKai; bracelets, her own

Fittest Real Athletes 鈥� Kyle Daniels

Kyle Daniels

Kyle Daniels

When he's not logging 40 hours a week as an L.A. County lifeguard and another 20 as a real-estate agent, Daniels is winning some of the most respect颅ed races in paddleboarding. He claimed last year's U.S. Paddleboard Championships and is the six-time winner of the Catalina Classic paddleboard mara颅thon聴a 32-mile crossing of the choppy strait between Santa Catalina Island and the California coast. Winning just once is one of the highest accomplishments that can be achieved in the sport. This August, Daniels is eyeing number seven.

“When I'm in the thick of training, I like to start every day with a workout. I get up with the sun and paddle up to two hours or park my car at one end of the beach and ride, run, or paddle to work. I squeeze in another workout during my break, and then I'll bike or run back home or to my car after work. Everything is “How can I turn my day into a workout?” I make my real-estate calls in the evenings and relax with my wife. I could not do it without her support. Family comes first. There are a lot of good athletes; the difference is those who are willing to give up other things. I average six hours of sleep a night. When the alarm wakes you up at 5 A.M., you've got to decide: Do you love it? There are days when I forget to eat or don't eat dinner until 10 P.M., but I have yet to have a bad day in the ocean.” KEY TIP: “Make your car your base camp. I keep a paddleboard, running shoes, and something to swim in inside my car at all times. That way I never have an excuse to miss a workout.”

Strike Everywhere Eco-Friendly Woven Shirt ($50) by Quiksilver; Commando Shorts ($45) by Hurley; 'Ohana Leather Sandals ($85) by OluKai

Fittest Real Athletes 鈥� Kimo Seymour

Kimo Seymour

Kimo Seymour

You could say the field at the Leadville Trail 100 mountain-bike race is pretty strong. Last year, Lance Armstrong finished second. Kimo Seymour finished tenth. That's not bad for a married guy with two kids and a 40-hour-a-week job managing an investment pool and an event-promotion company. Seymour won the first two 24-hour mountain-bike races he entered聴the 2007 and 2008 editions of Tucson's 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo, the country's largest聴and has completed nine Ironmans, including five at Kona. He has no coach and no major sponsors, just a willingness to make the most of what little free time he's got.

“I try to keep the evenings sacred聴and all day Saturday. That's the time I like to be home with the kids or at soccer or baseball. But I do get out in the mornings for long rides or runs. I block out Thursday and Sunday mornings for myself. I'm going to miss the kids those mornings, and I'm not scheduling any meetings. There's always a focus on quality; I can't afford to have any junk rides. Whether it's recovery, high-intensity intervals, long power workouts聴I always have something in mind when I go out the door. Having a community is important. It's tough to go out there five or six days a week all by yourself. And you have to have a little spiritual balance. You have to give up some control. As hard as I might focus, push, and train to achieve a goal, whatever is going to happen is going to happen. I've managed to find that peace. It makes it all a little easier for me.” KEY TIP: “Make sure your goals are actually achievable. Don't set a goal so high you destroy your life to attain it. Set goals you can achieve with balance.”

Polo Shirt ($85) by Aether; Walker Plaid Cargo Short ($92) by Jeremiah; Bahama 2-Eye ($60) by Sperry Top-Sider

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