The explorers out there have been busy breaking records these past few weeks. Fabien Cousteau has beaten his grandfather, oceanographer Jacques Cousteau’s record for the amount of time someone has spent submerged under water. He has beaten this record by a single day. The team of three spent 31 consecutive days in the Aquarius undersea station. Mission 31’s aim was to explore marine life, collect data and promote conservation efforts, whilst also honouring the 50th anniversary of Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s legacy.
Acclaimed ultrarunner Kilian Jornet ticks off yet another box on his incredible bucket list. This time he has smashed the Hardrock 100 record. For six years the record, set in the San Juan Mountain Range, stood strong at Kyle Skaggs 23:23. But last Saturday Jornet’s stopwatch read an incredible 22 hours, 41 minutes, 35 seconds.
Congratulations are also in order to athlete Fiona Oakes who is now officially recognised as the fastest woman ever to run a marathon on all 7 continents. Next up on her agenda, she will run a seven day trail race on Mount Everest on the 9th November. Then she will attempt the 777 challenge in February, an attempt to run 7 Marathons, in 7 days on 7 different Continents. Topping it off with the ever punishing Marathon des Sables in April.
In upcoming expeditions, Zac and Josh Lyon have launched the 4 Caps Expedition, a plan to ski four major ice caps in three years. The New Zealand twins will embark on the first leg of the challenge on August 24, skiing across Greenland, east to west. From there, they hope to ski to the North and South Pole, and cross an ice cap in Patagonia. Finally, nineteen year old Alex Staniforth is preparing to return to Everest in 2015. The Cheshire youth is determined to try again after his 2014 expedition was cancelled. Staniforth has launched a project called EPIC7, which will see him partake in 7 ultra endurance challenges over a period of 9 months, peaking in April/May 2015 when he will take on Everest.
In other news, on July 16th the Royal Geographical Society will be hosting an evening with Sir Ranulph Fiennes. The legendary explorer will be interviewed by polar explorer Jim McNeill. The event is open to the public and there will be a Q&A session for the audience to partake in. The event will serve as a launch point for McNeill’s next adventure, a journey to the North Pole of Inaccessibility in the Arctic Ocean. Buy your tickets here.
Written by Orla O’Muiri | Image © Kilian Jornet