Extreme running in Edinburgh

As a follow up to the blog last week on Parkour and Free Running I have found this excellent video from scotskid of two lads running through the streets of Edinburgh at pace and jumping, leaping, twisting, turning and wall climbing – so demonstrating how Parkour/Free Running should be practiced. Well done lads – very impressive.  You are certainly going to have to be very fit if want to do this extreme sport to any degree of proficiency – but perhaps it is more of an art than a sport.

Land of extremes – the world’s tallest and smallest men

Yesterday we talked about the world’s tallest building, the Burj Tower in Dubai, not yet completed but already standing at over 650 metres, 2,132 feet and believed to be over 800 metres, 2,624 feet, when completed in 2011. Today we bring you the world’s tallest man, Xi Shun stands at 2.361 metres, or 7 feet 8.95 inches, in height.

At the age of 16 he was a regular bloke but then started to grow and grow and grow. He played basket ball when he was younger and jokes that his team always won – can’t say that I’m so surprised. Watch the video below from GuinessWorldRecords.

At the other extreme there is the world’s smallest man – one He Pingping who stands 0.74 metres, or 2 feet 5 inches, in height and weighs just 21 pounds. He runs a restaurant and smokes 30 cigarettes a day. Check out Pingping’s video from LineStarProductions.

It is bizarre to note that both the world’s tallest and the world’s smallest men come from Mongolia – a land of extremes.

Has the stain of racism been washed away?

We are not very political in this blog but the fact that there was a presidential election in the world’s most powerful country, for the world’s most powerful job and that it was a black man that won that election, has not passed us by entirely. And so it is that we find ourselves asking the question: has, with the election of Barrack Obama to be the 44th President of the USA, the stain of racism been washed away?

It seems to us that the American people, faced with an economic climate that is unprecedented in recent history have called out for change. You have to go back in time to the early 1930s to find an equivalent economic environment and this was when Franklin Roosevelt was elected President and told the Americans they had ‘nothing to fear but fear itself’.

In Obama’s acceptance speech (see below with thanks to BarrackObamadotcom) made in Chicago on the night of November 4th the President elect said ‘the strength of our nation comes from the enduring power of our ideals…….democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope’; and he talks of the 106 year old Anne Nixon Cooper who is both a woman and black, and how much change she has seen in her lifetime – the vote for women and for blacks to mention but two examples.

He rallies the crowd saying this is proof of how America has changed and he challenges any non believer in change with the cry of ‘Yes we can’. All good stuff although he does not spell out how America will change – fighting two wars, $2 trillion wiped off the face of equities, $4 trillion wiped off the value of American homes.

It is without doubt a tough time to take office, we wish him well and we sincerely hope that there will be change. But the cynic (member of Greek sect of philosophers affecting contempt for luxury and sophistication and practicing extreme bluntness of speech; OED) in us suggests that although the goal posts will be moved and on the surface there will be change if, in four or eight years, you examine how life has changed for your average ‘plumber’, you will not find much change.

And as for our opening question – has the stain of racism been washed away……..very sadly and very bluntly we suggest another way of asking this question would be – have Americans gone colour blind? 

Parkour and Free Running

Last night I watched for the umpteenth time Casino Royale – yes I’m a fan of Bond and have to admit that I think Eva Green who plays Vesper Lynd is absolutely gorgeous (don’t worry Eva I’m the Jones half of Lola Jones – which is Welsh for a bloke!).

Anyway you will remember the action scene at the beginning of the movie when Bond pursues the international bombmaker Mollaka, played by Sebastien Foucan, across a city in Madagascar (actually filmed in the Bahamas) in which there are some spectacular parkour manouvres.

So what exactly is parkour – it is often mis-categorized as an extreme sport; there are no rules or team work – formal hierarchy and competitiveness are not admonished. It was founded by David Belle in France and focuses on practicing efficient movements to develop one’s body and mind to be able to overcome obstacles in an emergency.

Parkour (sometimes abbreviated to PK) or l’art du déplacement (the art of movement) is an activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body. It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment—from branches and rocks to rails and concrete walls—and can be practiced in both rural and urban areas. Parkour practitioners are referred to as traceurs, or traceuses for females.

Free running, although similar to parkour, is a separate and distinct art — a distinction which is often missed due to the aesthetic similarities. It was founded by Sebastien Foucan who defines free running as a discipline to self development, following your own way.

Parkour as a discipline comprises efficiency, whilst free running embodies complete freedom of movement — and includes many acrobatic manoeuvres. Although often the two are physically similar, the mindsets of each are vastly different.

Free running embraces elements of trickery and street stunts, which are considered by the parkour community to be inefficient and not parkour. Initially, the term free running was used interchangeably with parkour. However, as free runners became interested in aesthetics as well as useful movement, the two became different disciplines.

Foucan summarizes the goals of free running as using the environment to develop yourself and to always keep moving and not go backwards.

Below is Parkour demonstrated in Newcastle amongst other places – thanks stick1000

And to avoid confusion below is Free Running – thanks Captain Rabb

Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009 Update

Another extreme event is in the happening right now. Who of you out there are keeping an eye on the Volvo Ocean Race – the 37,000-mile race? Well, there’s been some explosive action, but more on that in a moment – the current position of the fleet of 8 is:

Leg One Day 12: 1300 GMT Positions

1 Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) DTF 3612
2 PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) 30
3 Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) 33
4 Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) 64
5 Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) 138
6 Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) 183
7 Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) 205
8 Delta Lloyd IRL (Ger O’Rourke/IRL) 223

So back to the ‘explosive action’… this was before the 37,000-mile race had even begun!

A collision in the second warm-up race in Alicante saw Team Russia and Delta Lloyd both holed close to the waterline. Meanwhile, Ericsson 4 helmsman, Tony Mutter, was evacuated by helicopter for treatment to a knee infection – and is now sitting in Cape Town waiting for the race to catch up with him so he can rejoin it again!

In the subsequent races, Telefonica Blue had been doing brilliantly until, just before the main race, they had an enforced rudder repair stop.

With the rest of the VOR fleet now Atlantic Ocean bound on the first 6,000-mile leg to Cape Town, Telefonica Blue set off in hot pursuit. 10 days into the first leg, Blue had  caught up to fifth, with Green Dragon narrowly leading the fleet, but when they hit the notorious doldrums all 8 boats were struggling…

They have now finally cleared the painful drifting in the Doldrums, and are gathering speed in the south-easterly trade winds with Green Dragon still in the lead.

She is now sailing fast and straight for the islands, reaping the rewards of the westerly position the team opted for four days ago. Bouwe Bekking from the Netherlands, in charge of Telefónica Blue, observed: “We all know by now that the west paid off hugely, but probably the best route has been by Telefónica Black. They will make some good gains on the leaders in the next 36 hours.” Telefónica Black is now only 64 nautical miles from Green Dragon whilst Blue is disappointed about their own position. “Of course we are not happy. We would have liked to be more west, but missed the boat, literally, when we parked up,” Bekking said.

From onboard seventh-placed Team Russia, (Andreas Hanakamp/Austria), Telefónica Blue’s situation looks rather enviable. “During the Doldrums we lost an awful amount of miles to our opponents. The worst example is Telefónica Blue who was 140 miles behind us and now is ahead. That should not be possible. Even Green Dragon was very far behind and now they are in the lead,” grumbled Gustav Morin.

At 13:00 GMT yesterday, the average boat speed was up to around 12 knots with Telefónica Blue and Ericsson 3 both averaging 12.8 knots. The position of the fleet has remained stable for 24 hours, and Green Dragon has clocked the highest 24-hour run of 254 nm. The team has 253 nm to run until she reaches Fernando de Noronha, which will take them about 24 hours if they maintain the current speeds.

Another extreme racing event for us to keep our eye on over the next few months…

William and Harry enjoying a tough new challenge

William and Harry are taking part in a charity motorcycle marathon across South Africa. A 1,500km, 8-day ride through a thousand miles of hazardous mountain terrain, crossing game reserves and tribal areas.  A Clarence House spokesman said yesterday: ‘The princes are looking forward to taking part in this arduous motorcycle ride.’

It was Harry who came up with the idea for the ride to raise money for charities including Sentebale, which he set up in their mother’s memory, and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.

Enduro Africa supports UNICEF’s campaign Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS. Its key aim is to ensure that pregnant women who are HIV-positive receive the right medicine and are to prevent them passing the virus on to their babies. The expedition has been arranged by adventure specialists Global Enduro.

The adventure is being organised by Enduro Africa, which provides participants with Honda CRF 230s – light 200cc trail bikes that are easy to manoeuvre. The princes will each be part of a small group of riders during the day but meet up with the other 80 or so participants each night.

Each rider on the trip – including the princes – has donated a minimum of £1,500 to take part in the event. The group is set to raise more than £300,000 for charity.

Organiser Simon Smith said yesterday: ‘at night they are going to struggle to get off their bikes as the pain will be so bad. It is a very dangerous route and they will undoubtedly collect a fair few bumps and bruises along the way.’

Sadly for them police protection officers will have to accompany them at all times. People complain about ‘taxpayers money’ – but perhaps, since they give every moment of their lives to the public, and not only those moments when they are ‘on duty’, but their most private moments too – to the taxpayer – perhaps they are entitled to some attempts at freedom and fun, aren’t they? We all expect it as our right – why shouldn’t they hope for a moment here and there? and why shouldn’t we allow it? And why we have to grouse about it every time they do do something that borders on ‘fun’ (even if it is , as in this case, for a good cause) I have yet to understand. God forbid they have any fun… is that what the taxpayer really thinks?

Well, that’s my grouse for the day – but I wouldn’t swap my life with those two young men for anything … for a start I haven’t the patience!

The World’s Best Cataract Diver – Di Huanran

On 21st September, 2008,  Di Huanran made this record breaking dive over Diaoshuiloua Waterfall in northeast China’s Jingpo (or Jingbo) Lake. He was awarded the Guinness World Record certificate for the highest cataract dive after this dramatic leap. To China he is their ‘best cliff diver’.

As a matter of interest, in September 2006, Jingpo Lake was evaluated by UNESCO and became a world geopark. Diaoshuilou Waterfall, which resembles the Niagara Waterfall in America, is located at the northern end of Jingpo Lake. This splendid fall, twenty-five meters high and forty-three meters wide, thunders down a precipice to a deep pool below. In the rainy season the width extends to more than 200m.

Slacklining at Stanage

If you’re really into an adrenaline challenge and find rock climbing not extreme enough you can always take time out when arriving at the top of Stanage Gap to do a bit of slacklining. Extreme sport indeed. Remember I did an article on Dean Potter doing just this but across the Grand Canyon with no protective back-up apart from a small parachute if things went wrong! Thanks to northtrials for this video of slacklining (some call it baselining) at Stanage Gap in the Peak District.

Have you heard of New Zealand’s latest adrenaline thrill?

WINDMILL SPINNING….

Ever heard of that? Quite possibly not. It’s New Zealand’s latest extreme sport… adrenaline kick…whatever you’d like to call it.

Do you know what it entails?  Well, it’s fairly self-explanatory – windmill spinning. What else could that mean but to have yourself strapped to a windmill sail and spun around 360* (degrees)… as Dave Pilgrim, of the Foxton Windmill Trust from North Island says, “A lot of people come to New Zealand to do things like bungee jumping. It has become a thrill-adventure destination. This will provide the country with a new extreme sports attraction,”

“We do not want someone flying off. It has to be safe, fun and SCARY enough for people to want to have a go,” he adds.

Engineers, at this moment, are working out how fast the sails should rotate and ensuring the design adheres to all health and safety regulations.

When strapped to the windmill sails, riders will enjoy views over the Manwatu Plains, coastal scenery and mountain ranges. Riders will have the option of being strapped on upside down… for the added thrill of being able to get a right-way-up-view from the top of the windmill!

Will this catch on?

Foxton Windmill, New Zealand.

A Paraglider Helps Teach an American Eagle to Fly

So it’s not all fun and games… sometimes you can use your favourite pastime to help someone or something else, as Jacques Olivier Travers and his paraglider friend have done.

Sherkane is a 14-year-old, 4 kg American eagle born and entirely raised in captivity.He has never had the opportunity to fly.

Travers, a falconer, undertook the task of teaching  Sherkane how to fly as an eagle should.

After an intensive year-and-a-half, Travers and a paraglider inspector friend, were ready to take the eagle for its first real maiden flight – from the top of Mont Blanc in France.

Falconer, paraglider and eagle launched themselves from the 4,800m high peak and soared effortlessly above the magnificent scenery and Sherkane discovered the freedom of the skies and movement for the first time, although, like a toddler, he never strayed more than 100m from his comfort zone  – Travers, and alighted on his arm 40 minutes into the flight.

Experts hope this successful event raises the possibility that more birds of prey will be able to be re-introduced to the wild. We hope so to…