Over the sea, up the mountain, through the desert: what was once an adventure is now high-performance sport. The audience follows, spellbound, how ultimate limits are explored.
Completely exhausted: British Jasmin Paris will be the first woman to complete the Barkley Marathon in 2024.
Howie Stern
Around the globe in a sailboat, across the USA on a bike, and up the highest mountain on earth with a rope and ice ax. When people are no longer exposed to the daily struggle for existence, they look for adventure and confrontation with the forces of nature.
The 20th century was marked by pioneers: in 1911, Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole, in 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay stood on Mount Everest, and in 1968/68, Robin Knox-Johnston sailed around the globe without stopping at a port on the way. In the 20th century, traditional competitive sports also experienced unbridled growth: football tournaments and the Olympic Games became global mega-events thanks to live television broadcasts.
What was once an adventure is now a competition
But competition and adventure are increasingly mixing. There is a rowing regatta across the Atlantic, in the Himalayas the aim is to climb as many 8,000-meter peaks as possible in a short time, there is a speed record on the north face of the Eiger, and the Race Across America has become a cycling time trial over 5,000 kilometers: it can’t be done for a long time It’s more about mastering the distance – it’s the records that count more and more, always associated with the danger of grandiose failure.
This type of sport is attracting increasing interest, especially since it can be followed even when it takes place in no man’s land. The competitors can be tracked in real time on the Internet and spectacular images are posted on social networks. You’re virtually there live when it’s not just about victory and defeat, but about expanding human performance and suffering.
The traditional media has noticed the trend and is publishing gripping stories from the border area. The Barkley Marathon was long an event by a weirdo for weirdos, but now there is almost a ritualistic coverage. This year, Britain’s Jasmin Paris was celebrated worldwide as the first woman to complete the ordeal over 6 days, 160 kilometers and 18,000 meters in altitude within the prescribed 60 hours.
This running event also represents a new development in extreme and adventure sports. For decades the challenge was considered almost impossible to overcome; it was only in the tenth event that there was a finisher, and out of over 1,000 participants so far only 26 made it to the finish line. But the athletes are training better and better and preparing ever more meticulously: in 2024, five finishers were celebrated.
This trend is supported by the Swiss team for “World‘s Toughest Row”: They approach the extreme challenge with the mentality of top athletes. At some point, adventurers who are moderately talented in sports will have no chance. If they still want attention, they have to look for even crazier challenges. Spaniard Beatriz Flamini, who endured alone in a cave for 500 days, may have set the latest trend.