{"id":9988,"date":"2020-06-05T16:17:35","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T16:17:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/?p=9988"},"modified":"2020-06-09T14:48:03","modified_gmt":"2020-06-09T14:48:03","slug":"three-athletes-share-their-experience-being-isolated-from-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/spring-summer-2020\/three-athletes-share-their-experience-being-isolated-from-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Athletes Share Their Experience Being Isolated From the World"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Ryan and Ryno leave Kagbeni, Nepal in the distance and make their way to Thorong La Pass (5,416m) that forms part of the Annapurna Circuit. Photo: Dean Leslie \/ Red Bull Content Pool<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

An Ultrarunner went searching for adventure but found so much more. When running 1,406 kilometers across 24 days in The Himalayas, you have a lot of time in your own head. Ultrarunner Ryan Sandes went searching for adventure, but he found so much more.<\/h4>\n

By Ryan Sandes<\/p><\/p>\n

W<\/span> e all have this romantic idea of the Himalayas and visions of white, fluffy mountains. When you\u2019re flying in there and those mountains dwarf you, you get a different perspective \u2013 a sudden realization that this is the real deal.<\/p>\n

Back in 2018, my challenge was to run the Great Himalaya Trail with Ryno Griesel \u2013 all 1,504 kilometers of it, in record time.<\/p>\n

That is without question the wildest and craziest journey I\u2019ve ever done. The thought was it would be the ultimate adventure, but it was much wilder than I ever expected.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never done something this long before, running and keeping going for 24 consecutive days was really challenging. If you do a 100-kilometer run you can break it down into 10km sections. That was impossible in the Himalayas.<\/p>\n

Every day, we faced so many challenges I\u2019d never dreamt of facing, and that was the major thing. You couldn\u2019t focus on just a single day but had to look at challenges individually and celebrate the small victories: getting to a major village or eating a semi-decent meal.<\/p>\n

You focus on your little milestones. I know I was there with Ryno but you\u2019re inevitably in your own personal headspace quite a lot in something like that. I quite enjoy that and, by isolating yourself, you can actually create quite a performance bubble. Being isolated can sometimes give you that little bit of extra time to think things through in your own head.<\/p>\n

I learned a lot in that relative isolation of the Himalayas. You begin to appreciate the smaller things in life. There have been times when I\u2019ve won a race or have been on the podium but it felt like ticking a box. So, I realized it\u2019s important to cherish success and enjoy the journey along the way.<\/p>\n

Plus, I learned how important it is to be generous and kind, and look at every person individually. Ryno and I wouldn\u2019t have got through this project or survived without the generosity of the Himalayan people accepting us into their homes and helping us out. It taught me to give people a bit more time.<\/p>\n

Doing the trail with Ryno, it formed such a strong bond and the project was really tough. I don\u2019t know anyone more headstrong \u2013 he was never going to give up \u2013 but he had really bad frostbite and one or two injuries. He wasn\u2019t going to stop until he passed out!<\/p>\n

It took so much out of us. It took me so long to wrap my head around the project and recover afterward, more mentally than anything.<\/p>\n

But I came out the other side eventually. I remember just trying to make the best of the situation. You focus on different stuff and, sure, there are negatives but concentrate on the positives. Sometimes it\u2019s all that you have.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Carson Storch prepares to ride while filming North of Nightfall on Axel Heiberg Island, Canada. Photo: Blake Jorgenson\/Red Bull Content Pool\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Mountain biker explains how isolation brought the best out of him. The American mountain biker traveled to the Canadian High Arctic in 2017 for the movie North of Nightfall. He explains how that isolation brought the best out of him.<\/h4>\n

By Carson Storch<\/p><\/p>\n

A<\/span>xel Heiberg Island. It\u2019s an island in the Canadian High Arctic, and it\u2019s proper isolation there. There\u2019s been a research center since the 1950s. I believe it\u2019s manned by three scientists at a time.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s pretty much the only thing for hundreds of miles. The nearest town, if you can call it that, is 400 miles away. Those guys are doing some serious work measuring glaciers and the effect of global warming.<\/p>\n

In a way, I\u2019ve experienced that isolation by visiting those guys and seeing what they do when filming up there for North of Nightfall. We flew into their lab by helicopter from our base and nearly couldn\u2019t get out with a storm coming in.<\/p>\n

Four of us rode for the film. We were there for three-and-a-half weeks in total, and we were riding pretty scary lines, pushing ourselves but knowing there were big consequences of life and death if we got hurt.<\/p>\n

The fact we were about as far away from civilization as you can get while at Axel Heiberg, was a constant reminder to balance the desire to push myself. I had to because we were filming a movie, but when Cam Zink crashed and dislocated his shoulder in the prime of the filming, it was a harsh reminder that if anything worse happened while up there we were completely on our own.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re just so isolated from the world there. There were times the weather picked up and we were pretty much isolated to our tents for four or five days. It was that windy. So, I just read books I\u2019d brought with me and that was pretty much it.<\/p>\n

Being in the Arctic made me grateful for the opportunity to go to a place that only a handful of people have ever been to before, just from riding bikes.<\/p>\n

I was grateful to completely disconnect from everyday life and focus 100% on the task at hand. Which was dropping big lines and pushing myself. I learned a lot about my personal limits while we were up there. Everything we did was a challenge, even sleeping. It made me extra grateful for the opportunity to be somewhere no one has ever ridden bikes, and no one probably will again. I feel like I grew as a person, and it\u2019s a trip I will never forget about.<\/p>\n

But isolation also gives you time to ponder everything, your life and how much you miss your family and friends.<\/p>\n

You do learn from the experience.<\/p>\n

Take care,<\/p>\n

Carson<\/p>\n

\"\"

Santiago Lange in Lake Garda Italy.Photo.Daniele Molineris, Red Bull Content Pool<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Olympian Santiago Lange on what he\u2019s learned from isolation at sea.\u00a0How Argentine sailor keeps riding the waves both mentally and physically. The Argentinian sailor has spent the majority of his 58 years on this planet out on the water. Here\u2019s how he keeps triumphing mentally and physically.<\/h4>\n

By Santiago Lange<\/p><\/p>\n

I<\/span>m used to being alone, but isolation comes in different forms.<\/p>\n

I competed in the Volvo Ocean Race in 2001-02 and 2008-09. In this round-the-world sailing race, you\u2019re isolated in a sense that despite being on a boat with crew around you, you can go nearly 40 days in a row sleeping in a small bunk in the middle of the ocean with no option to leave.<\/p>\n

For some, it might be a struggle. For me, I feel free sailing on the seas. I love the feeling of being thousands of nautical miles away from land, I love that sensation. I love preparing for it but also the sense that you have no idea what will happen.<\/p>\n

In a boat, you don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen before it\u2019s all over. Nothing is written in stone. You don\u2019t know the challenges life will bring to you.<\/p>\n

You try to prepare, though. So wherever I am, I do a list every day of what I want to do tomorrow and I never finish that list \u2013 instead, it keeps growing more.<\/p>\n

But these moments of isolation out on the ocean are also like overcoming a challenge.<\/p>\n

When I had my cancer [he had 80% of one lung removed before Rio 2016, where he won gold], I saw it as another challenge. I learn through every challenge I face and realize it\u2019s part of you trying and having to change.<\/p>\n

Being isolated is also a chance for total introspection and I honestly enjoy that sense of being totally isolated, totally alone, whether that\u2019s being indoors or on a boat.<\/p>\n

And are we ever really alone? There\u2019s always plenty of communication as well. I used Zoom the other day with my brothers to have dinner which was a lot of. And wherever I am I try to speak to my sons every day, some friends too.<\/p>\n

But sometimes that communication can become too much and so I\u2019ll shut my phone down entirely to be even more isolated. It gives you a chance to do things you\u2019d never normally do.<\/p>\n

One of these things for me is reading books. Right now, I\u2019m reading Sir Alex Ferguson\u2019s book about leadership and that\u2019s allowing me to reflect even more. It\u2019s a lot about football of course but the guy clearly has a big brain and there\u2019s one chapter that\u2019s \u2018Hear a lot, read a lot, look a lot\u2019. And that\u2019s not just to look but to really observe. I feel I can use that a lot in my life after this.<\/p>\n

With the Olympics now postponed, that period of reflection and isolation is even greater. For now, I just have to be tranquil about it all.<\/p>\n

It took me a few days to process the news, but I have nothing to complain about. Something felt strange in my body on the first day so I cycled and rowed for four hours at home that day.<\/p>\n

Between now and Tokyo, there will be more time for isolation, be it training on a rowing machine or out riding my bike. It\u2019s very interesting what happens to you when you don\u2019t have a clear objective like I currently don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

And I am Latin, so it can be hard to stay set in my routine! However, it is important to stay in shape and I am currently still doing at least three hours of exercise a day.<\/p>\n

I hope to be back out on the water soon. But until then, stay safe!<\/p>\n

Santiago<\/p>\n

Article courtesy of Red Bull, \u00a9 Red Bull Media House<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ideas from the pros on how to cope and prosper on your own<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10064,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spring-summer-2020","category-spring-summer-2020-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9988"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10070,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9988\/revisions\/10070"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}