bobby bostic

Bobby Bostic, who recently ran the North Pole Marathon as a fundraiser for CFA, invited me to sit at the table he sponsored at the Challenged Athletes Foundation Celebration of Heroes, Heart and Hope benefit. I accepted not only for the opportunity to attend this amazing event, but also to meet him in person, finally, after exchanging comments and messages on-line here.

NBC gave me a digital camera to take with me to the North Pole.. The link below takes you to the story they did when I got back.

Enjoy!
Bobby

http://www.nbc11.com/movingpictures/13349206/detail.html

Bobby Bostic isn't the only one, it seems, to have quite a Hot and Cold Running tale to tell. (Bobby, who just completed the 2007 North Pole Marathon and bike race, last year finished the Death Valley Ultramarathon.)

As reported on Global Cool, Sean Cornwell and Ed Stumpf have a similar tale. They competed alongside Bobby at the North Pole, and earlier this year completed the Sahara Marathon (as in Sahara Desert in Africa). ... I wonder what's tougher: the Sahara or Death Valley?

Sean, according to the article, also took a brief skinny dip in the Arctic Ocean.

So Bobby Bostic completed the North Pole Marathon over the weekend (AND a challenging 26.2-mile bike race) and is now hanging out in Longyearbyen, Norway. He'll be posting up a storm in the coming days with stories and photos about his weekend. Meantime, I got on Skype with him this morning (well, my morning, his evening) just before the awards ceremony. Here's our conversation:

Steve says: Glad you made it back! How was it?

Bobby says: It was fantastic!... I've been trying to load all of my pictures this afternoon, but the connection is dreadfully slow. I started typing up my notes, but got sidetracked with a dogsledding trip I took this morning.

Live from the North Pole via satellite phone, here's Bobby Bostic's first account of his polar adventure. He completed the marathon in one minute over 5 hours; took a snooze; then rode a 26.2-mile bike race! Wow. ... Here's his first short audio report. (He sounds tired. Wouldn't you be?!)

As he mentions in his report, he's got his sat phone and welcomes calls at the North Pole. (He'll be there through Sunday.) The number is 011 8816 4145 8659 ... Disclaimer: You'll be billed for the call and it isn't cheap, so be extra sure you want to chat with him!

Through the miracle of modern technology (Skype), YourRunning.com's editorial and community manager Neal Young was able to connect with Bobby as he sat in Longyearbyen waiting for his flight to the North Pole. Take a listen to hear about the lunacy of their schedule, the dynamic group he's racing with, and his plans for post-race celebration.

While Bobby Bostic was the lucky one -- or was he? brrrr :) -- to win the Brad Feld/YourRunning.com North Pole Marathon Entry Giveaway contest, I sincerely hope that you'll want to help him in what really is a noble cause:

Raising up to $250,000 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

Each of the last several years Bobby has done some crazy solo endurance thing and raised money for CAF. Last year when he did an ultramarathon in Death Valley, he raised over $150,000.