Sleep deprivation, massive temperature swings, dehydration and a side order of pain are all in Pushpa Chandra鈥檚 60th birthday plans.
The 麻豆传媒映画naturopath and grandmother officially reaches her sixth decade on Feb. 15, but the party begins in earnest on Jan. 30, when Chandra begins the gruelling, cross-continental exercise in endurance known as the .
Covering seven continents in seven days, the undertaking begins in Antarctica before criss-crossing through South Africa, Australia, Dubai, Portugal, Colombia and Florida.
Chandra and 50 others will run a full marathon 鈥� 42 kilometres 鈥� each day over that week-long span, and the variables at play border on misery: 50-plus hours in the air, temperatures fluctuating between -20 and 50 C, and, if she鈥檚 lucky, roughly five hours of sleep a night.
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鈥淚t鈥檚 eat, fly, run 鈥� there is no recovery time,鈥� Chandra said. 鈥淵ou will be constantly jetlagged, you will be constantly stiff, you will be constantly fatigued from the marathon and also from sleep deprivation.鈥�
Chandra鈥檚 pre-trip regimen consists of anywhere from one to six hours of cardio training per day. She鈥檚 also upping her intake of supplements to combat jetlag. Tangible training efforts aside, Chandra can lean on considerable hindsight to get her through. Her past marathon exploits have taken her to Mount Everest and the Sahara and Gobi deserts. She spent her 50th birthday running around the North Pole and last year took part in Morocco鈥檚 Marathon Des Sables, a 250-kilometre trek that has killed past participants.
As if those terrains weren鈥檛 bad enough, consider the flora and fauna along the way: 听waterways infested with crocodiles, poisonous snakes in sand dunes and sleeping near lions in the desert.
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All of which begs the question: why?
鈥淚 feel that it鈥檚 not even about running anymore,鈥� Chandra said. 鈥淚t feels like I鈥檝e gone through an experience in my mind. It really has nothing to do with cardiovascular endurance. It really is about discipline for my mind.鈥�
Chandra visualizes racing similar to climbing steps: climb one, climb the next, repeat. She also relies on personal mantras that she recites when the going gets particularly tough:
鈥淚鈥檓 a very fiercely determined woman.鈥�
鈥淚 have the power within me.鈥�
鈥淚 am a machine.鈥� 听
Chandra鈥檚 selfless approach to running extends beyond mountaintops and glaciers. As part of her current fitness foray, she鈥檚 attempting to raise $30,000 for impoverished school kids in Mumbia, India. Plan International鈥檚 School on Wheels program funds a mobile classroom that reaches India鈥檚 most isolated children living in poverty. Raising $30,000 will get 60 kids into the program for one year.
鈥淚 hope my story becomes empowering for any woman out there, that if I can do this at 60 someone else can do it at 30,鈥� she said.
Those looking to donate to Chandra鈥檚 efforts can do so online at .
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