Antarctica - Day #1

Sunday, February 20th

Coming to you live from Dulles Airport in Washington D.C. It's 5:10pm EST. The Daytona 500 is nearing a conclusion on the overhead screen, the airport traffic in Concourse C is slowly subsiding, and I'm settling in after eating a turkey sandwich and orange juice from Starbucks. Before I can cap the year, I have 1 final thing to do. Today I set off for a 16-day journey to my very final continent --- Antarctica.

Well, since my return from Europe, I've been in a transitional period. I had a great Christmas season with family and friends. Busy - alot of different things on the agenda: training runs, genealogy trips, doctor's office visits, card playing, snow shoveling, house organizing, eagle watching. It's amazing how active one can be even without a full time job. This has been a special time for me and I recognize the significance.

So - what am I going to be when I grow-up? Man, I can say this, the people who can definitely answer this question without hesitation are superheroes in my book. I truly envy those who have it all figured out. I've been drawing inspiration from everywhere. I guess the beauty of my situation --- it can always be changed. With all that being said, I've determined that I would like to move to Denver, Colorado upon my return. The job -- to be determined. But, a place is a start. I'm just about through with feeling like a big slacker. It's amazing to see the faces of people when you tell them you do not have a job. It doesn't draw much respect - that's for sure. I'm ready to change that.

Alright, I thought I needed to at least summarize things for the past 2 months. Now - on to more interesting things. Antarctica. Roughly 3 years ago, my buddies and I dreamed up the idea of doing a marathon on the continent of Antarctica. We sent in our initial deposit and largely put it on the backburner. After spending the past couple years on the waiting list - we finally made the cut for the 2011 trip. Antarctica -- we're REALLY going to Antarctica. That's crazy stuff.

It's such an unknown. How many people do you know that have been to Antarctica? That number has to be small. I've been asked so many questions the past 2 months. I know so little myself. It's funny. I could have a whole conversation with someone and after shaking hands to leave, they may say: "Good luck in Alaska!" I've been offered a Triple AAA booklet so I could find hotels and rental cars when I get there. People tell me to watch out for polar bears. (Polar bears are only in the northern hemisphere - Arctic). This is all good stuff. I know only the very basics - and that's because I've read a little on the subject. Why is Antarctica a continent and the Arctic is not? I just found that out last night. Antarctica is a large land mass sitting on a tectonic plate; whereas, the Arctic is only an icecap floating on the Arctic Ocean, with no land mass under it. Is it north or south of the US? South. I can't wait to get there and figure it out. I look forward to providing further information.


After spending nearly all my time in Missouri since Christmas, I drove out to Raleigh, NC last week to my buddy Greg's house. Greg, Liam, and my brother Kurt will be joining me on the trip. We did some last minute preparation and packing. At 11:30am today, Greg dropped me off at RDU airport for the first part of my journey. I flew from Raleigh to Washington D.C. - arriving at 4:30pm. I'll be departing for Buenos Aires, Argentina this evening at 10:10pm. Greg and Liam will fly together later tonight. They connect through Miami on the way to Buenos Aires. Kurt is flying from St. Louis, connecting through Atlanta, before arriving in Buenos Aires. If all goes well, tomorrow morning around 11am, we'll all meet up at the EZE airport in the capital city of Argentina.

I'm going to keep daily accounts of the journey. I'm just not sure if I will be able to post them right away. We will be spending 3 days in Buenos Aires before taking a plane to the southermost city in South America - Ushuaia. From there, we take a ship for 2-1/2 days across the Drake Passage to the continent of Antarctica. The marathon is scheduled for February 27th. We do some touring after completing the race for a few days and return to Buenos Aires on March 6th and then transfer back to the US.

What am I feeling right now. A little sick - I'm currently hoarse with a sore throat. Nervous - The Drake Passage is recognized as the most aggressive water route in the world and I've heard the words: "The Perfect Storm" to describe crossing it on a boat. Prepared - I've trained more stringently for this race than any other I've participated in since 2006.

I hope that "Preparation" wins out. Sometimes, all you can do is put yourself in the best position (taking medication for my throat and bringing patches for seasickness) and hope for the best. I look forward to writing from the 80 degree temps of Argentina tomorrow. Until then - keep the faith!