The Pursuit Zone

Rockall is a tiny, uninhabited, and remote island in the North Atlantic – 290 miles west of Great Britain. For Nick Hancock, the island was the backdrop for his Rockall Solo expedition – a record-breaking 45-day solo occupation of Rockall. He lived in a small survival pod on an 12 by 4-foot ledge on the granite island and helped raise funds for Help for Heroes , an organization providing support t...

Sophie Radcliffe had a great job and all the trappings of success, but she wanted to create a new path for herself. Without a plan, she quit her job and set out to pursue a career in adventure. She began by starting her blog, challengesophie.com , and before long she finished Ironman Wales, had a job with Epic TV, and completed the world's first expedition to summit the highest mountains in each o...

For 368 days and 30,000 km, Peter Dudfield cycled around the world to raise money for the British Red Cross International Disaster Fund. Starting in Greece, his adventure took him to 4 continents before riding back to his hometown of Cambridge, England. You can learn more about his adventure at peterpedals.co.uk . Peter Dudfield, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

Emma Burgeson and Mitzi Peine were the first female team to compete in the Yukon 1000. It's the world's longest paddling race on the Yukon River from Whitehorse, Yukon to a remote Alaska Pipeline crossing near Fairbanks, Alaska. The two are avid paddlers and explorers of the wilderness and met four years ago on a 6-week canoe trip on the Anderson River in the Canadian Arctic. Competing in the tand...

Megan Rose spent this summer hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. During her 1300 mile hike, starting at the border of Mexico and California, she summited Mt. Whitney, got caught in a snowstorm, lost her money, and dodged a bullet. She did this to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society , a disease her father has lived with for the past 14 years. You can learn more about her adventure a...

Pulling a 260-pound wheeled cart with all his provisions, 23-year-old British explorer Ash Dykes became the first person to walk solo and unsupported across Mongolia. It was a world-record, 78-day adventure through some of the wildest terrain and weather on the planet. You can learn more about his Mongolian expedition and his fundraising for the British Red Cross at his website ashdykes.com . Ash...

Haley Maurice was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of eight.  Since then she has volunteered to raise funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation , taking part in their walks each year to raise thousands of dollars towards a cure.  This summer, she took the fundraising walk to the next level.  Along with her brother Ethan, the two backpacked 221 miles along the John Muir Trail to...

A final podcast to explain the abrupt ending of the adventure with Brian Schilling and Robin Kerber who were cycling westward on the TransAmerica Trail and writing about it at crazyguyonabike.com .

Pete Marshall and Andrew Morris set out in June 2014 to recreate Mina Hubbard's 1905 canoe expedition through Labrador in Canada. It was an adventure to both retrace the route and relive the experience of canoeing with vintage, handmade equipment. Pete is co-producing a film of the expedition called Labrador Passage and you can learn more at labradorpassage.com . Pete previously appeared in episod...

Jack Hawkins is a freelance travel writer from New Brunswick Canada. He recently discovered cycle touring and has been building his kit in preparation for a 2015 cross-Canada tour. He writes about learning to become a bicycle tourist at his website jackonabike.ca with plans to include gear reviews, interviews and more. Jack Hawkins, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

In August 2013, Reza Pakravan and Steven Pawley began their attempt to set the world record for the fastest bicycle journey from Nordkapp in the Arctic Circle to Cape Town in South Africa. Their unsupported expedition called Kapp to Cape took them across 13 countries in 102 days, a total of 18,000 km. Along the way they raised funds to support Azafady , an organization building schools in poverty-...

For 83 days beginning in March of 2014, Patrick Hutton and Richard Johnson became the first to traverse Papua New Guinea in a continuous, unmotorized and unportered crossing at its widest point from Vanimo to Daru. It was a 1,000 km adventure requiring bushwhacking through nearly uninhabited dense jungle, climbing over the 3000 meter Star Mountain range, and rafting a crocodile infested tributary...

It took Cindy Abbott 14 years to discover she has a rare and potentially life-threatening disease called Wegener's granulomatosis. Despite this, she summitted Mount Everest and wrote a book about it titled Reaching Beyond the Clouds. She is currently training to run the 2015 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, trying to become the first women to both summit Everest and complete the 1000-mile Iditarod. C...

Dixie Dansercoer and Eric McNair-Landry kite skied 4,044 km unassisted in 55 days to become the first to complete a circumnavigation of the Greenland Icecap. They called their expedition Greenland ICE and one of their missions was to share their observations about the delicate environment of Greenland with scientists and educators. You can learn more about their adventure at greenlandice.be . Dixi...

The Race Across America is one of the most challenging endurance races in the world. It's 3,000 miles from Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, MD and is must be completed in 12 days or less. Bob McEnaney raced it solo for the first time in 2014 with a goal of raising money and awareness for the Minnesota Military Family Foundation. You can learn more at his Ride. For. A.Reason. Charities facebook page . B...

Beeline Britain is a straight route heading northeast from Lands End to John 'O' Groats. The journey is mostly by sea kayak, but also by cycle and by hiking through the Cairngorms mountain range. It was 1,100 km completed in 28 days by a team of four consisting of Ian O'Grady, Nick Beighton, Adam Harmer, and Tori James. On their way they set the record for the longest sea kayak crossing in UK wate...

We're back with our 3rd podcast with Brian Schilling and Robin Kerber who are cycling westward on the TransAmerica Trail and writing about it at crazyguyonabike.com .

In a yearlong adventure to explore his home country of Scotland, Will Copestake kayaked 1655 km around the coast in 122 days from Solway Firth to Berwick Upon Tweed. He then cycled 2510 km while summiting all 282 Munros. It was a doorstep adventure he calls Machair to Munro and you can read more about it at his website willcopestakemedia.com . Will Copestake, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

Maria Leijerstam became the first person in the world to cycle from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole in December of 2013. She rode a custom, 3-wheeled polar cycle on the Antarctic Traverse covering 400 miles in 10 days 14 hours and 56 minutes, setting a new speed record. Maria produced a documentary about the expedition called The White Ice Cycle and you can learn more about it her website wh...

We're back with our 2nd podcast with Brian Schilling and Robin Kerber who are cycling westward on the TransAmerica Trail and writing about it at crazyguyonabike.com .

For Julie Buckles and her husband Charly, their honeymoon plans consisted of building a wood and canvas canoe, paddling 1,700 miles from Lake Superior to Northern Saskatchewan, wintering over on Wollaston Lake, then paddling 1,100 miles to Gjoa Haven on the Northwest passage of the Arctic Ocean. It's an adventure she writes about in her book Paddling to Winter and you can learn more at her website...

Ian Packham traveled around the coast of Africa for 13 months without the support of a backup team. It was a 40,000 km journey using locally available public transportation and although Africa has a coastline shorter than Europe, crossing the borders of 31 countries is no easy task when corrupt regimes, poor infrastructure, and war may be around the next turn. Ian wrote a book about his adventure...

During the summer of 2014, Brian Schilling and Robin Kerber will cycle the TransAmerica Trail from Yorktown, Virginia to Astoria, Oregon – a distance of 4,242 miles. Both recent university graduates and aspiring farmers, the adventure was partly born for a desire to live and work in the Northwest as well as to understand the relationship between agriculture and community across the United States....

The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail spans 3,100 miles across 5 states from Canada to Mexico. It is one of the most remote and challenging long-distance trails with altitudes ranging from 4,000 ft. to 14,000 ft. across landscapes from tundra to desert. Dan Drehmel was one of the 150 people that attempt to thru-hike the trail each year. In 2013, he set out on his first long-distance hike an...

In March 2013, Oli Goulden and Matthieu Liard left Shanghai China to cycle the Road of Smiles. An 8-month cycling adventure to London to raise money for Operation Smile an organization that performs free surgeries for children around the world that have cleft lip, cleft palate, and other facial deformities. It was a 16,000 km cycle tour across 16 countries, 4 deserts, and 3 mountain ranges and you...