Jail Time For Dopers, Says Carl Lewis

Suspensions are for high schoolers who get caught smoking in the school bathroom - Olympic dopers should go to jail, says nine-time gold medalist Carl Lewis. The legendary track and field star thinks using banned substances in a sport should be a crime, with government-authorized penalties. Currently only Italy makes doping illegal, according to a story on the BBC. Lewis, who failed three drug tests in the 1980s but was cleared of wrongdoing, got the reputation for being a "tattletale" for speaking out against doping. But with performance-enhancing drug scandals now rocking the sports world from baseball to cycling to track and field, plenty of people are keen to see a return to clean living.

--Emily Matchar
 

Iraqi Woman Sprints to Olympics

With the Olympics set to start in less than five months, Iraq's lone female competitor has been training twice a day, six days a week on a track inside a Baghdad stadium that predates Saddam Hussein's regime. And as a result of all she's done to make it into the Olympics, once the opening ceremonies are over, her fellow competitors will surely seem small in comparison. Dana Abdul-Razzaq is the 21-year-old Iraqi record holder in the 200 meters, and in addition to that event, she will compete in the 100 meters as one of the five "wild card" entries given to Iraq by the International Olympic Committee, Reuters reported today. Her Olympic path has been anything but easy, as Abdul-Razzaq has not received any of the typical Olympic-athlete perks. She has no masseuse loosening her sore muscles, no dietitian making sure her energy levels never dip at the wrong time, and she pays her own money for access into a public Baghdad gym. But worse than all of the things she hasn't been given are the few things she has received. Like the bullets one sniper fired at her during a workout in central Baghdad. Initially, the young sprinter fainted after being shot at, but as a testament to her determination, just a half hour later she began running again. Certainly, a few fast women won't scare her.

--Jason Kerkmans

U.S. Skiing is Back

    For the first time in 25 years, the U.S. Ski Team has captured the overall World Cup titles for both the men and women. And to go along with Lindsey Vonn's and Bode Miller's overall titles, 23-year-old Ted Ligety won the season's giant slalom title. Miller also added a season combined championship and Vonn captured the season downhill title. That's five cups for the triumvirate but is it enough to cause a stateside stir two years before the next Olympics?
    As Vonn told reporters afterwards, "Americans focus on the Olympics and that's my No. 1 goal as well, but to be honest this is harder to accomplish because it lasts over the full season...hopefully with Ted and Bode and my success [Americans] will pay more attention because these titles are not easy to come by."

--Jason Kerkmans

Aquaman's New Suit

With six months left before the start of the 2008 Summer Olympics, swim wear manufacturer Speedo has just unveiled what it says is "the world's fastest swimsuit." As the New York Times reported, the company has begun taking orders for the $550 body suit and is providing a glimpse into what makes its new LZR Racer its most advanced suit yet (see video below). The company's roster of Olympic swimmers - Michael Phelps, Amanda Beard, Dara Torres, and others - were all on hand for the unveiling while donning the new swim skin, which Speedo claims provides ten-percent less drag and five-percent more oxygen efficiency. The LZR Racer suit (pronounced "laser racer") is built from just three pieces of fabric - if you can call any part of the ultra thin, water repellent, compression suit fabric - and in place of speed-constricting seams the three sections were ultrasonically welded together. For Phelps, who won eight Olympic medals in 2004 and shared his workout with Outside (The Big Chill, January) as he prepares to win more in Beijing, the new suit is likely the last thing his competitors want to hear about.

--Jason Kerkmans

One Coarse Meal

Think warthog rectum is simply delicious? Or bull-penis stew utterly divine? Then maybe you have the stomach for a culinary tour with Anthony Bourdain. And now you just might have the chance to do it.

The Travel Channel is casting one lucky person to serve as Bourdain’s personal tour guide for an episode of his hit show, No Reservations. This spring, Bourdain will be at the mercy of a viewer as he gets a gastronomic tour of his chaperon’s chosen local.

Want your chance? Just send in a three-minute video by March 15th describing where and what you think Bourdain needs to sample next. Win, and you’ll experience the master verbal reductionist himself, who Outside profiled in November.

Warning: As with anything raw, Bourdain is likely to increase your risk of food-borne unpleasantness, so be wary of what you order.

—Ryan Krogh

Peter Will Go

Pro Surfer Peter Mel can be ready at a moments notice to cut into a wave that’s taller than a six-story building. Right now, he's waiting in California for the swells on the North Shore to rise so the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational in Memory of Eddie Aikau can be held. When the Waimea Bay waves do rise, he’ll have less than a day to get to Hawaii before competing against 23 of the world’s best surfers. Quiksilver holds the contest - sometime between December 1 and February 29 - only if the swells outside the bay measure a minimum 20 feet for a full day. Outside caught up with Mel as he kept an eye on the weather and waves.

--Jason Kerkmans

Outside: How do you prepare for an event that may take place thousands of miles away with only a few hours notice?
Mel: It can be difficult. Especially since I come from the mainland. It’s the surfer’s responsibility to know when it might happen, so you become an amateur meteorologist, looking at maps and forecasts. The anticipation is hard but you have to roll with the punches and be prepared to get over there whenever it looks possible. A big problem we have right now is that the NOAA [ The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] buoy is out of commission and so we’re basically out of factual information. We have to rely more on estimates. But even if the event wasn’t going to happen I’m always paying attention to the reports. I chase swells, it’s my job and I’m passionate about it.

Outside: How do you train for an event that might not occur?
Mel: Right before last time the Big Wave Invitational almost happened [January 13, 2008] it ended up that I was driving to another surfing event in Oregon and got a call that there was a big swell in Half Moon Bay, California. So I turn around and go there. That night I get another call that the Quiksilver could be happening. So, the next morning I landed in Hawaii and had to be ready for the event. [It didn’t happen because of the lack of wave quality that day.] I’m becoming a travel agent of sorts also. I know that the latest flight I can catch from the West Coast and still make it to Hawaii in time for my heat is a 2 a.m. departure out of Las Vegas that lands at 6:30 a.m. on the island.

Outside: What does the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational mean to you?
Mel: It’s the biggest surfing event in my career. I went to Hawaii for my first North Shore experience when I was 14. I met Richard Schmidt, who became my mentor and who was an invitee for the Big Wave event. I remember the images from 1990 when he finished second and they stick with me to this day. I’ve been going every year since then, and I’m 38 now. I’ve been a member for 13 or 14 years and in that time the event has been held five times. Richard and I only competed together twice in the Big Wave before he was the one who passed the torch to me. He went to Quiksilver and said he wouldn’t be able to do it anymore and that sort of opened the door for me. And even though I never got to formally meet Eddie Aikau we all idolized him as kids and being invited was and is a great honor. Eddie is the father of Hawaii’s big wave surfing.

Readers eager to scout the same swells Mel watches, can get Web updates from Quiksilver.

Bode's On Top

Bode Miller became the most successful American skier on Sunday in Austria in his typical, out-of-control fashion by completing a run that included skiing off a downhill fence without wiping, according to the Associated Press. The one-time Outside cover boy is now standing alone atop the list of American World Cup winners with 28 career victories, and he's also traveling alone this year after leaving the U.S. Ski Team in May, 2007. With the 2010 winter games in Vancouver on the horizon, and a not so great public showing in the 2006 games, maybe Miller will listen to Outside contributor Brian Curtis's 2006 advice on how to be liked.

Then again, maybe not. Nearly a year ago, Miller told the Associated Press that he won't take part in another Olympics, a stance he's softened on some but never denied.
--Jason Kerkmans

Lance to run the Boston Marathon

Lance Armstrong will compete in the Boston Marathon in April. The Associated Press has the story here. He qualified by virtue of the 2:46:43 he posted at last year's New York City Marathon.
—John Bradley

Q&A with Hiking Phenom Andrew Skurka

In 2005, Andrew Skurka became the first person to hike the entire Sea-to-Sea Route, a nearly 7,800-mile trek from Cape Gaspe, Quebec, to the Olympic Peninsula that took him 339 days to complete. The following summer he cooked up his next big trip: a 6,875-mile journey through the American West linking the Pacific Crest Trail, Pacific Northwest Trail, Continental Divide Trail, Grand Enchantment Trail, and Arizona Trail, plus a trail-less segment through the Sonoran and Mojave deserts. Demetri Coupounas, president of GoLite, Skurka’s lead sponsor, later dubbed this hike the Great Western Loop. Skurka finished the Great Western Loop on November 3, 2007, after 208 days of hiking.

Here he talks about the most indispensible gear he used (it involves a can of cat food), how he put back 11 energy bars a day, and where he’s off to next.

Chris Sharma, The NPR Interview

	A Face For Radio: Sharma hangs tight on his 2005 Witness the Fitness. (Corey Rich)

Thursday on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, 26-year-old climbing phenom and frequent Outside personality Chris Sharma sits down with Melissa Block to discuss his approach to climbing, his quest to find what he calls "king lines," and why he screams as he goes for a hold.

The ATC crew was nice enough to send over a sneak teaser, which you can listen to, here . If you've never heard Sharma climb, his style is just as distinctive without the visuals.

And for public radio buffs, the segment will mark an interesting first. NPR has started running short video clips online with certain stories. For this one, Sharma demonstrated his craft at a local crag near D.C. —Grayson Schaffer

Aaron Fotheringham's Wheelchair Backflip

In our December issue, we report on Aaron Fotheringham's amazing feats of wheelchair daredevilry. Here, he demonstrates his signature backflip.

Q&A with Into the Wild Stunt Double

Last year, professional kayaker Marlow Long, a producer with Young Guns Productions, got a call from Hollywood. A film crew was looking for a stunt double for some kayak scenes and Long, a 23-year-old with shaggy blond hair and a fit build, looked the part. The film, he would find out, was being directed by Sean Penn. It was a remake of the 1996 book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, which began as a story in Outside’s January 1993 issue. The story, as we all know now, was about 22-year-old Christopher McCandless, who, in 1992, walked into the Alaskan wilderness and never returned. In the film, Sean Penn wanted to include kayak footage from the Grand Canyon, since McCandless had once paddled nearly 400 miles on the Colorado River. They brought in North Carolina-based Long as their expert, and for 14 days in June 2006, he gave kayak lessons to Emile Hirsch, the actor playing the part of McCandless, and posed as McCandless on the bigger rapids. Look for a behind-the-scenes interview with the cast and crew of Into the Wild in Outside’s September issue, on stands August 14, by Outside editor Christopher Keyes (Watch a preview for the film and hear a podcast interview with Keyes on his experience reporting the story here). But for now, we caught up with Long to find out what it’s like when Hollywood pays you to kayak.

Outside: So they must have paid you the big bucks.
Marlow Long: Let’s just say I made the same amount in two weeks working with the film crew as I normally do in an entire year as a pro paddler, earning a salary from my sponsors.

Outside: What exactly did they have you doing?
Long: I taught Emile kayak techniques, everything from how to roll, to how to read water and how to maneuver his boat. We were using really long, old boats, so mainly I was showing him how to be comfortable in the boat. And then for the big wave trains, they shot me to be his double.

Outside: So when we watch the movie, can we tell it’s you and not Emile?
Long: If you slow down the clips on the big rapids, you can tell it’s me. But they even put makeup on me to make me look more like him.

Outside: How did the actor hold up when he was on the river?
Long: Emile had been in a kayak a long time ago, and he’s a pretty athletic kid, so he picked things up easily. The first time he tried to roll his kayak, he actually did it. It was crazy. But then he couldn’t do it again. He was fine in the flat water, but he was super timid in the whitewater.

Outside: What about Sean Penn?
Long: He’s a bit of surfer, so he was pretty comfortable in the water, too, but not really in the whitewater. At one point, Sean and I took a two-person kayak down. He sat in the front, holding a 15mm camera, and I was in the back, steering and paddling. The waves were huge and we totally submerged the boat.

Outside: Where did you guys sleep while you were in the canyon?
Long: We camped along the river. The funniest thing was seeing the Hollywood people hanging out in the wilderness. Some of them had never camped before.

Outside: Wow, so you were really re-living McCandless' adventure.
Long: It was fully catered. We hardly starved.

We So Called That

Last week at the Hardrock 100 ultrarun, near Silverton, Colorado, Patagonia ambassador Krissy Moehl, knocked a half-hour off the previous course record. Now, a moment of self-congratulation: In our 25th Anniversary issue, Krissy was one of the 25-year-old athletes who we thought would soon be making her mark. Here she is making good on that prediction, just in time for her, and our, 30th birthdays.

Q&A: U.S. Trail and Mountain Running Champ Rickey Gates

In the span of one week this June, Rickey Gates became America's new king of the mountains.

The 26-year-old Boulder, Colorado-based trail runner beat some of the best off-road racers in the country at the U.S. Mountain Running Championships, held June 24 at the Cranmore Hill Climb in North Conway, New Hampshire. Then, he did it again at the U.S. Trail  Championships, held on a steep 7.5 mile course the next weekend at Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Usually, it takes weeks for runners to recover from a brutal race like Cranmore, which features some long, nasty downhill sprints. After winning that race in 1:02:48, ten seconds ahead of runner-up Paul Low, Gates was at Steamboat the next weekend, out-kicking Teva pro Simon Gutierrez, 41, by a single second in the final stretch. The impressive performances earned him a berth on the Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team and a chance to compete in the mountain running world championships in Switzerland this September.

Gates is full-time bartender and waiter who trains without a watch, doesn't have a coach, doesn't keep track of his workouts, and lives in an off-grid cabin outside Boulder. After the races, he moved to Europe for the summer to compete in the European running circuit, where he found an internet connection and sent Outside Online these thoughts on winning the most impressive double-header in trail running, bloody toes, and how to stay sane while training like a champ.

OUTSIDE ONLINE: You managed to beat the best American runners in mountain running and trail running in separate races one week apart, winning the national championships in each. That's insane. How does it feel to be you right now?

RICKEY GATES: I don't know what to say about winning the two national championships. I went to New Hampshire to make the team and worked it out with my schedule to go to Steamboat the following weekend in the event that I needed another qualifying race. Having made the [U.S. national team] already in New Hampshire, my intention in Steamboat was simply to enjoy myself. Jon Severy (my best friend from high school) would be there as would my high school running coach. My mother would also be there. So really, I just wanted to use the opportunity to spend some time with them. Run the race and enjoy it which is something that I don't always get to do, you know, treat it as just a training run, enjoy the scenery, enjoy the event. You have to put your mind somewhere else for these races. Somewhere stoic. And now that I think about it, my outlook on the race may be the reason why it went so well for me. Although I was the first to the top on the first lap of the ascent, I was barely in the top ten by the time we'd made it back down to the bottom for the start of the second lap. I was able to relax on the downhill and simply not care that I was being passed by so many other racers. It wasn't until about halfway up the second and final lap that I realized how badly everybody else was hurting, I think primarily because they underestimated a second lap. That's what made this race interesting. I rounded a corner only to find some of the top amateur runners in the nation walking the steep sections of the race. It was at that point that I decided to take the race seriously.

OUTSIDE: How sore were you after the back-to-back races in the mountains?

GATES: After New Hampshire, I was in severe pain.  I work in a restaurant in Boulder, and for two days I was practically worthless on the dining room floor. I knew in advance, though, what it would do to my body. I had two massages in between races just to get my body back in line. I've lost two toe nails as a result though. Which somehow seems like a right of passage in this sport. I liken it to the scars that crack climbers accumulate on the back of their hands or the bruise that violin players form beneath their chins. It shoes that you're making an attempt to take it to the next level, or that you're a complete idiot and should buy larger shoes and cut your toe nails more often, one of the two.

OUTSIDE: That's gross. Anyway, tell me about the race to the finish in Steamboat. Sounds like it was a very close finish. It came down to a real race for the finish—something unusual in mountain races like these.

GATES: The race came down to the final downhill. Two miles of gradual descent where the lead started with me, then went to Simon [Gutierrez]. I lost another spot to Clint Wells, who is an exceptional runner. Payton Batliner was close behind me and who I've lost to (by quite a bit, I should add) on more than a couple occasions. When it comes down to two miles of gradual downhill, you simply have to hope for the best, because it doesn't necessarily separate the fast from the slow or the fit from the unfit. Often times it is simply a matter of guts. You begin to wonder how much abuse your feet and ankles can take. The pace, if I were to guess, was around low 4 minute miles which I simply can't do on the flats or on the track. Clint and I worked together for a little while and started to close the gap on Simon. Only when I had reserved to letting the race come down to 2nd or 3rd did Clint say, "You've got it." He dropped off ever so slightly then. There was a half mile to go at this point and I was faced with the choice of a solid 2nd place or a potential 1st. Steadily, I closed the gap between me and Simon, and we exchanged leads a couple times in just a short distance. I finally got ahead of him and stayed ahead of him. Without hesitation I can say the final 200 meters were the fastest of my life. I immediately took my shoes off after crossing the finish line to find both of my big toes bleeding. It was a wonderful feeling.

OUTSIDE: You're pretty new to the sport. How did you come to it?

GATES: I wouldn't say that I'm new to the sport. I'd say that only recently have I gotten fast enough to be recognized. As for the terrain, I grew up around Aspen,CO, where you can train on nice roads or awe inspiring trails. I love running the trails around Boulder and Aspen more than anything in the world. I'd say that there is nothing that compares to it. To be able to race the same trails and do well in the races is simply the icing on the cake.

OUTSIDE: What's your training like?

GATES: My training is the simplest of anybody I know. Ask me how far I am running tomorrow and I probably won't be able to tell you. Ask what I ran two weeks ago and again, I'd struggle to tell you. Like most runners at my level, I used to keep a log of every mile and every minute, how I felt, what was working, what wasn't. I used to run two speed workouts a week. A long run on Sunday. etc. Not only did this approach never really work for me, but furthermore I saw it then and see it now almost as a sort of sickness. I am anal-retentive by nature. It used to be that if my shoes weren't lined up correctly before I went to bed that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep. I'd keep thinking about them until finally I'd get out of bed and re-align them. To have one more element of my life governed by rigidity finally became too exhausting. Two years ago, I made the vow to do away with my watch, and training log. I only write down two things anymore. I write the date of purchase on a new pair of shoes and make sure to buy a new pair two months later to the day. And I write down my place and time on the back of my race bibs. That's it. I go for a run every day. If I feel good I go hard. If I'm tired I go easy. My miles are shorter than most (rarely going above 60 miles/week) and faster. Quality over quantity. On occasion, I'll run just a few miles a day for days and days. The flip side is that occasionally I'll run an all out effort day after day when my body feels that it can. There is nothing scientific about it. It is about quieting that which is around you and listening to the greatest coach in the world: your own mind and body.

OUTSIDE: Why do you do mountain running, rather than road races, where there's more money and sponsorships?

GATES: I honestly don't think that I could make money on the roads. I don't have the build for it. Even if I did, would I really enjoy it? I run because I enjoy running. I have a friend with a Nike sponsorship. He runs big races on the track and on the road, but has told me how little he actually enjoys it. To him it is a job.

OUTSIDE: Where do you hope to finish in the World Mountain Championships in September?

GATES: I don't think that a top ten finish at worlds is out of my reach. I am excited for what is in store for the American team this year. We could potentially have the strongest team that we've ever had and one of the strongest teams at worlds. The team will be a combination of both great talent and long time experience. I am writing this from Europe where I am getting a feel for the competition with every race that I run. It is exciting to be here where the sport is already at a much higher level than it is in the States. Not to say that the Europeans are any faster than we are, but rather that there is simply more of structure. Race directors are in constant contact with the top athletes, trying to get them to come to this race or that race. It is simply better represented, that's all.

OUTSIDE: Thanks Rickey. Good luck this summer in Europe.

-Justin Nyberg

Rising Star: 17-year-old Mountaineer Bridger Root

We've already seen the invasion of groms in the boardsports industry--John John Florence in surfing and Paul Rodriguez in skateboarding--but this year, one youth is summiting peaks as if altitude doesn't even exist. Seventeen-year-old Bridger Root of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, is stepping it up.

As Mountain Hardwear's youngest athlete, the mountain-happy teenager notched all 54 of Colorado's 14ers by age 14, went on to cross all of California's 14ers off his list, and then completed all the 14ers in the lower 48 states. This past June, Root summited the treacherous, 20,320-foot Mount McKinley in Alaska and now has his sights set on Kilimanjaro. Oh, and, he's already knocked out Mont Blanc as well.

In honor of his achievements, Root is being honored as one of the Outdoor Industry Foundation's Outdoor Idols this season.

Savage Rower: Brit takes on the Pacific

Roz Savage is driving her yellow pickup truck—one of her two possessions—across the Golden Gate bridge in one final burst of errands. Yellow rubber duckies line the dashboard, a reminder that she has her ducks in a row no matter how nuts the rest of the world may think she is. In a few weeks Savage will swap living out of her truck for living out of her 24-foot carbon fiber Sedna, the vessel she rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to Antigua in 103 days in the winter of 2005/2006.
    One successful solo ocean crossing would be plenty for most people, but in July, Savage is setting out from San Francisco Bay to attempt a three-part crossing of the Pacific, stopping first in Hawaii, then on to Tuvalu, and finally landing in Australia. If her voyage is successful, Savage will have become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific.
    Not that it really matters to Savage. The 39-year-old Brit, who left her house, husband, red sports car, and corporate management consultant job behind in London, is far more excited about the freedom and opportunity the expedition gives her to spread the word about the environment and life as a vagabond ocean rower.                                                                                                                                      —Stephanie Pearson

When are you going to launch?
I’m really hoping that I’ll be able to get away between the 11th and 13th of July. I need to get out on a good ebb tide. It depends on the wind. If it’s against me, I’m not going anywhere. The weather conditions are really tricky. I have to look at wind, currents, tides, hurricane season, a sudden rush on shipping…it’s a bit hair raising.

You’ve already rowed the Atlantic. Why the Pacific? What do you have left to prove?
Well, I certainly didn’t enjoy the Atlantic and there is something I need to prove. When I was on the Atlantic I had a lot of aha moments, things like the weather does what it does regardless of me. I couldn’t just wish my way to Antigua. I want to prove to myself that I’ve taken those life lessons on board. I suppose I could learn those lessons on dry land...

What else will you be doing out there?
I’ll be sending back really cool data. I’ll be using electrodes to get my physiological data, taking part in a psychological case study, and sending environmental data. It’s part of a project of the San Francisco and D.C.-based Blue Frontier Campaign, National Environmental Trust, and NOAA. I’m really just trying to get the environmental message out there about all the marine garbage that’s finding its way into the world’s oceans.

What happens if you run into the infamous garbage patch?
I’m hoping to not run into it, but I’m in a pretty unique situation to actually see what I see. I find it hard to imagine the scale of the problem. I’m torn between wanting to see lots of garbage to goad people into action to, of course, not wanting to find it.

On your website you say “inspiration struck” to row solo across the Atlantic. Was it slowly cooked or was it an a-ha moment?
It literally was a light bulb moment. I thought, ‘Hey this materialistic lifestyle isn’t really making me happy,’ I was trying to figure out what life was all about. I had already quit my job, left my husband, and my Miata had been stolen, so luckily fate intervened and I didn’t have to sell it. I was like a carpenter with no tools or wood. I needed a big project, something to work on. The project needed to have no environmental impact and it needed to be sufficiently unusual so that people would be willing to pay me money so that I wouldn’t have to go back to the office.

Did you design your boat?
Somebody else designed the hull, another person put the cabins on, then I fit it out, and put on the rowing system, rudder, and electrical system, and turned it into a perfectly self-contained life-support capsule. I’m certainly not a boat designer, but I was pretty pleased with how I did. I had never done anything remotely like that before. So it was a pretty big learning curve.

You had rowed before, right?
Yes, I took up rowing when I went to University College, Oxford, because I wanted to be able to eat more without getting fat.

So did you get buff on the Atlantic?
I lost about 30 pounds. At the moment, I’m feeling a bit heavy, nothing that the Pacfic can’t sort out. Physical side effects like the sores on my bum were pretty unpleasant, also my fingernails lifted off, maybe the pressure from the oars or bacteria and fungus. It was all very revolting.

What was your worst moment?
People might expect the worst to be when the oars broke, but in fact, I didn’t really mind because it gave me an opportunity to focus on something I could fix. For me it was much more psychological. The little personal failures got me down. I got off to a really bad start. I was seasick the first two days, in the first three days I developed tendonitis, and there was really bad weather. I was looking at 3,000 miles and feeling utterly overwhelmed. But I was already past the point of no return because you can’t row these boats into a headwind. The only way to go ahead was forward.

Did you have a mantra or anything you’d repeat when the going got really rough?
“Tougher than Most” was one I used quite a lot. That was probably the best one.

What was your best moment?
Two days after my satellite phone was broken, 22 days before the end of the row. At the time I was secretly pleased. For me, I was like ‘Yes! Peace and Quiet!’ I had just washed my hair, which was always a great morale restorer, and I feel so totally at peace, calm, efficient, and self-reliant.

What’s next? 
I’ve got a friend planning to row the Indian Ocean in 2009. It would be pretty cool to do that. I don’t want to declare publicly that I’m going to do x,y,and z. I’ve spent a lot of my life doing stuff I didn’t want to do. I’m not going to fall into that trap again.

For more on Savage and her expedition, visit her Web site.

NEWS: Karnazes Runs for Another Record

Dean Karnazes, the ultra-marathoner who recently ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days, is currently attempting to break another record for the most miles run on a treadmill in a 24-hour span.   

His record-breaking attempt is part of a national marketing campaign to launch Accelerade, a sports-energy drink, and Karnazes’ run will be broadcast live over the internet. 

Adding to the stunt appeal, Karnazes will be running atop a platform on the Reuters building in New York City’s Times Square.  The current record is set at 153.76 miles.

Karnazes began running at midnight Thursday morning.    

For more on Karnazes, read our complete January 2007 interview.

Books: Green Tips from Hollywood?

Environmental advice from the likes of Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, and Justin Timberlake?  That’s pretty much the gist of the book that hit  stands Tuesday, “The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time” featuring a hefty helping of advice from celebrities and written by slew of co-authors including Cameron Diaz who, to her credit, is also one of the organizers of the Live Earth concert, going global on July 7. The book also has contributions by tested enviro-celebs like Robert Redford who recently launched The Green, on the Sundance Channel the first regularly scheduled show devoted to the environment, which includes a 13-part original series title “Big Ideas for a Small Planet” (watch a clip from the first episode below).   —Anthony Cerretani

Rising Star: Jake Sakson

You may recognize Jake Sakson already. He's a former child actor with television appearances in the late 1990s on shows like Beverly Hills 90210, Boy Meets World, and Star Trek: Voyager. Now, at the ripe age of 17, Sakson has taken on a new public persona: extreme athlete. Last winter, he won the junior men's category at Crested Butte, Colorado's U.S. Extreme Freeskiing Telemark Championships. He's also a freestyle kayaker, who will likley be competiting at this weekend's First in Boating on the Arkansas River (FIBARK) Festival in Salida, Colorado. As an upcoming senior at Carbondale-based Colorado Rocky Mountain School, he's also an active member of their mountain unicycling team. "CRMS has very few ‘typical’ high school sports: no baseball, basketball, or football," says Jeremy Simon, the school's director of communications. "But it’s an extreme-sports oasis whose primary competitive sports include five different types of snow sport (including a backcountry-ski team and telemark-ski team), kayaking, climbing, mountain biking, and others of that ilk. Jake is one of our extreme-sports renaissance men." Although Jake maintains his Screen Actors Guild card, he's not currently pursuing any acting gigs. Our prediction: Next time he'll be on the big screen, he'll be skiing or kayaking.

NEWS: American Climber/Photographer In Critical Condition

The climber and photographer Bobby Model is fighting for his life in a hospital in South Africa after someone apparently threw a piece of concrete through the windshield of the car he was driving. Model hails from Cody, Wyoming.  More...

PERSONALITIES: Big Man on the Mountain

Here's the trailer for Montanan-turned-gymnist-turned-ski-phenom Tanner Hall's new film, Believe. (No, it isn't possible to be both a Montanan and a gymnast.)  Hall is known for his park and pipe prowess—he's the favorite in any superpipe contest—but more recently has shown he's capable of styling any big-mountain line. Check out the pillow series at the end of the clip. The film comes out this fall. Look for it at Oakley.