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Adventures in Breaking Impossible
We're all about ordinary people overcoming big, difficult challenges!
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Join Chris and Michael as we train, travel and, step by step, build up to The Big One(s)
Previously we walked around Lake Washington (in 24 hours), ran marathons (and ultra-marathons), flipped a tire for a mile (twice), all to prepare for our biggest, most difficult challenge yet . . .
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the Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge
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Chris Toepker
May 14, 20212 min read
Hails to the Rails!
By now you’ve noticed - I really enjoy the rails to trails. It’s the way they wind through so much, connecting it all. The rails are...
91 views0 comments
Chris Toepker
Aug 13, 20205 min read
Let's have adventures!
What makes a good adventure? Good weather? Good friends? Something more? Let's find out!
144 views0 comments
Chris Toepker
Jun 14, 20203 min read
Doing good, going hard
What is "good" anyway? To me, after struggling with painful knee, it is going back to "nothing," & "hard" through faster, further, heavier.
39 views0 comments
Chris Toepker
May 12, 20203 min read
Its Quiet. Too Quiet!
The past few weeks have been quiet ones, like with many of you I’m sure. While I had been taking advantage of the exceptions for outdoor...
38 views0 comments
Michael Van Elsberg
May 11, 20205 min read
Breaking Obstacles
I have practiced martial arts since I was nine-years old starting at one of Ed Parker’s (Tracy’s) Kenpo schools before the Bruce Lee...
423 views0 comments
Michael Van Elsberg
Apr 4, 20203 min read
The MacLehose Trail Part Two
The MacLehose trail is the longest trail in Hong Kong and it covers most of the highest peaks from one side of the New Territories to the...
174 views0 comments
Chris Toepker
Apr 2, 20208 min read
Real Challenges Require Standards
Without standards, without the chance to clearly fail, it is too easy to spin into self-doubt and time wasting.
46 views0 comments
Michael Van Elsberg
Mar 28, 20203 min read
Lantau Island
At the beginning of my second trip to Hong Kong in February I stayed in Tung Chung for several days and got my first taste of the Lantau...
228 views0 comments
Chris Toepker
Mar 22, 20203 min read
Microadventuring
I have been out microadventuering - getting a bit of challenge, difference & outing into everyday life. Here's a summary of 8-week attempt.
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Michael Van Elsberg
Jan 9, 20203 min read
The MacLehose Trail Part One
I'm going back to Hong Kong in about a week to face the MacLehose trail for my third time. It's a daunting prospect. The Mac is the...
158 views0 comments
Chris Toepker
Dec 30, 20193 min read
2020: Must We Resolve? (We Must)
Set a goal, it'll niggle just enough to move you along. Small wins add up. Soon, those goals are astonishing!
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Chris Toepker
Dec 15, 20194 min read
Incrementally Yours
Get where you're going incrementally. Seemingly small accomplishments add up. Get started, keep going, don't stop. Step by step.
155 views0 comments
Michael Van Elsberg
Dec 12, 20193 min read
Hong Kong
I fell in love with Hong Kong when I made my first trip there in November to train for the Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge (and get...
390 views0 comments
Michael Van Elsberg
Oct 11, 20192 min read
Secret Beach Lessons
So, Chris and I agreed that the Secret Beach run at Gold Beach, Oregon, would be a "training run" and a "nice day on the beach" if...
77 views0 comments
Michael Van Elsberg
Sep 19, 20191 min read
GoPro Experiment
Yesterday I ran 20 miles and tried using my new GoPro with its time lapse photo feature but did not have enough room on the 32GB micro SD...
52 views0 comments
Michael Van Elsberg
Sep 3, 20193 min read
Inspiration from the Special Operations Community
Special Operations Forces (SOF) are essentially endurance athletes with weapons. They are warriors, Spartans, and occasionally epic,...
91 views0 comments
Chris Toepker
Aug 20, 20192 min read
Getting Verts In
Going vertical to work it all out. Hiking up Dirty Harry's Peak, and right into a Chinese painting.
29 views0 comments
Michael Van Elsberg
Aug 14, 20192 min read
On Running
I started running at the beginning of the first big running craze that followed the publication of the Complete Book of Running by Jim...
85 views0 comments
Michael Van Elsberg
Aug 10, 20191 min read
Naysayers and Setting Big Goals
Helen Keller said, "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." Every day we are confronted with the choice of comfort vs growth and...
115 views0 comments
Chris Toepker
Aug 6, 20194 min read
Test: Terrain Race 2019
Terrain Race 2019, in Seattle, continues to test fitness and mettle - join the challenge!
72 views0 comments
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