NOTICE: WEM20 has now moved over to the online arena becoming #VirtualWEM20 – a virtual conference to be held on Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th October 2020. Immerse yourself in a WEM online environment where you can be inspired from the comfort of your sofa (or, frankly, from wherever in the world you can get online). So, unfortunately whilst this particular session won’t be running, you can find our brand new #VirtualWEM20 programme including inspiring panel sessions and fascinating speakers here.
“A feat of extraordinary courage and determination” – Sir Ranulph Fiennes
A real treat for #WEM20 will be to hear from nature conservation advisor, author and illustrator Katherine Lowrie, as she talks to us about her remarkable story of personal endurance. An expedition that saw her become the first, and only woman in the world to have run the entire length of South America (alongside her husband) all to raise money and awareness for conservation.
Combining their love of wildlife and wilderness their epic adventure saw them run the 6,504 mile length of South America unsupported, they travelled through Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Venezuela as they ran back-to-back marathons (they had run the equivalent of 250 marathons by the end of the expedition), day-after-day, for months on end. In constantly changing environments ranging from jungle, mountains and coasts, the couple ran from the freezing south to the tropical north, slept by the side of the road and pulled everything they needed to survive in a homemade bamboo and recycled bicycle trailer.
They took in awe-inspiring scenery, ran through the biggest rainforest on earth, came across a multitude of wildlife and were able to drop into local schools to talk to children about their journey and enjoy the generosity of the local people. They survived hurricane force winds, searing heat, near 100% humidity, swarms of biting insects and some of the most crime-ridden places on the planet.
Their plight even drew admiration from several celebrities and notable people, including HRH Prince Charles who said:
“I am hugely impressed that you are undertaking such a gruelling and challenging run for such a vitally important cause and I pray you will not have too many blisters, mosquito bites and other travel scars by the time you return from such an extraordinary marathon (…) I send you both my kindness good wishes and admiration”.
Hear Katherine’s remarkable story on Day 1 – Expedition and Wilderness Medicine of the 2020 World Extreme Medicine Conference.
The essentials:
Who: Katherine Lowrie
What: ‘Running South America’
When: Saturday 17th October 2020 @ 17.00
Where: Salisbury Suite
