Blind Man's Tough
Don’t tell Erik Weihenmayer he can’t or shouldn’t try something. It’s just another reason he should. The 34-year-old outdoor athlete known primarily for his rock climbing and mountaineering pursuits will compete with Team No Boundaries in the Arctic Team Challenge adventure race in Greenland this summer and possibly the Subaru Primal Quest or the next Eco-Challenge. It might not seem newsworthy, except that Weihenmayer is blind.
No stranger to adventure, Weihenmayer has also tried his hand at skydiving, skiing, long-distance cycling, marathon running and scuba diving. He said he always been intrigued by adventure racing but only really considered it when he was contacted by Team No Boundaries captain Rob Harsh late last summer.
“I like the idea of doing an adventure that works with a team,” says Weihenmayer, who reached the summit of Mount Everest two years ago. “I’m not that fast. I have a better chance of doing well if it’s a longer race where it becomes more of a survival kind of thing than just how fast you can go. If it’s a seven- or eight- or nine-day event, people know they have to pace themselves. And when things slow down, I start to excel.”
The 32-year-old Harsh, an environmental engineer from Chicago, says it’s not a publicity stunt, although he admits the team could gain enormous exposure because of Weihenmayer. He says he’s tired of the “reality TV attention” associated with the sport and the middle of the pack getting ignored.
“I think people are tired of seeing the same teams at the front winning every race, and they’re tired of watching the Sarah Boardmans of the world,” Harsh says. “I’d like to have a story out there that is about real people, real inspiration. I want to inspire people. If someone like Erik can finish Eco-Challenge, imagine what someone without a disability can do.”
The team will also include experienced adventure racer Cammy Ronchetto, 41, of Columbia, Missouri, and Denver’s Gavin Atwood, 42, a world-class mountaineer, Ironman triathlon finisher and frequent training partner of Weihenmayer. Harsh has competed in 15 adventure races since 1999, including a 15th-place showing at last year’s Primal Quest and a DNF at last year’s Eco-Challenge.
“If Eco is the same difficulty as Fiji, I think it’s going to be 50-50 whether or not we can finish the race,” he says. “We’ll have the experience, we’ll have the fitness. It’s just a matter of getting out there and putting all that into action.”Adds Weihenmayer: “To be honest, I’m not woried about the race aspect. I’m really just looking forward to experiencing Greenland and the adventure of it all.” — Brian Metzler
