Expedition Bolivia: Ray Zahab and Team Run for Science
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i2P Expedition Bolivia – Day 1: 30 KM from GOi2P on Vimeo.
Ultrarunner Ray Zahab is in South America this week, running nearly 200 miles through Bolivia for the fourth stage of the impossible2Possible (i2P) World Expedition Series. Founded by Zahab in 2008, i2P is an organization that aims to inspire and educate youth through adventure learning and inclusion and participation in expeditions. Previous stages were a winter trek in Siberia, a speed trek to the South Pole, and Ultra-Marathons in all thirteen Canadian Provinces and Territories in thirteen Days.
On this fourth stage, Expedition Bolivia, five youth ambassadors from the U.S., Canada, and Chile are joining Zahab in running nearly a marathon a day over the next week. Along the way, the expedition team will be conducting science experiments in recognition of the United Nations International Year of Chemistry. Specifically, the team will look at high-altitude adaptations to physiology and blood chemistry by taking blood samples and occasionally wearing heart rate monitors. The team is also beginning the trek in Salar de Uyuni in southwest Boliva—a salt flat at nearly 12,000 feet above sea level that contains more than half the world's supply of lithium—to conduct a series of experiments demonstrating the principles of chemistry. Video blogs and live broadcasts of the expedition and experiments will be posted on the Expedition Bolivia web site.
Outside will also be keeping tabs on the expedition and posting updates here on our blog.
–Michael Webster