New York City, 27 y.o.
…I began a journey of self-discovery to find out what truly called me…
It was a drifting time and right then I realized I wasn’t happy with what I was doing and even less about who I was becoming.
I was living in New York at that time, and one spring night in the city that never sleeps, I found myself waking up from this dream of a life I never wanted.
After yet another night spent at a private party in an exclusive hotel filled with bottles and celebrities, I walked home alone and sat outside of the window of my apartment, letting my feet dangle beneath me.
I felt the cool air wake me up, and right there I realized that that life wasn’t for me.
I wanted freedom I wanted adventure, so I began a journey of self-discovery to find out what truly called me.
I did tons of researches reading books of adventures and explorers of all kinds: from ocean rowers, big river swimmers and high mountain climbers but none of those spoke to me.
I was 27 years old and even if it sounds strange, I was experiencing a massive midlife crisis.
By chance I stumbled up on a book, hanging off a shelf in a bookstore in Union Square. This runner bursting out of the cover caught my attention and drew me right in opening my mind to a new world I didn’t even know existed. He wasn’t talking about running. He was talking about something more: he was talking about ultra running. I found his story compelling because he left behind the stereotypical dream of “money = happiness” in pursuit of his passion.
He found his voice running extreme distances in extreme conditions and I thought: that’s it. The very next day I bought a new pair of running shoes and I started running loops in Central Park. The spark was ignited. I wanted to find out what happens beyond the physical limit when the pain is so unbearable that the whole body tells you to stop.