INTRODUCTION
During 1994 in Morocco, a runner named, Mauro Prosperi, was lost during a race through the Sahara Desert and survived 9 days alone. During this time, he showed many survivor traits by doing what was necessary to stay alive. The Sahara is tough to survive in due to intense weather and potential predators. Mauro was alone and unprepared with no food, water or shelter. I believe Mauro Prosperi survived 9 days in the Sahara desert due to a combination of luck, survival knowledge, and his strong will to live.
STORY
Mauro Prosperi, 34, decided to enter the Marathon de Sables (Marathon of the Sands) in Morocco, the spring (1) of 1994 (3). He was an experienced marathon runner, Olympic athlete and an Italian policeman at the time. Mauro was on day 4 and in 7th place when an intense sandstorm hit during a water break at a checkpoint. Instructions from the race were to stay put and wait for assistance. Mauro did not wait. He put on his special sandstorm scarf and sunglasses and claims to have kept moving in order to “not get buried” (2). Eight hours later when the sandstorm had finally calmed, Mauro was nowhere near people or the race. He tried his emergency flare gun (3) but it was too late; he was too far from humanity. His survival instincts quickly kicked in. He held an empty water bottle and urinated in it, knowing that first urination contained the most water. He kept it incase it became necessary. Prosperi knew to only walk during the cooler part of the days: mornings and evenings. He would find shade during mid-day and burry himself in the sand at night to stay warm. On the 5th (3) day Mauro stumbled upon a Muslim shrine and went inside for shelter. He hung his flag outside to keep it cool. Inside, he found two bats. He wrung their necks and drank their blood for nutrients. He thought he was going to die so he wrote a suicide note to his wife on the
In the story "Running for His Life", Michael Hall explains the genocide that Gilbert Tuhabonye experienced when he was in high school in East Africa and how he managed to escape and begin a new life in Austin, Texas. Friends of theirs burned and beat to death the teachers and Tutsi teenagers. However, if students tried to evacuate the building they would be killed. The building was on fire, burning corpses, and burning to death many students. Gilbert tried to commit suicide since he could not bear the situation he was in but he did not succeed. Gilbert expected to be killed when he broke the window and jumped out of it, but no one visually perceived him and took the opportunity to escape. A decade later, Gilbert lived in Austin, Texas. He became known as one of the most popular adept running coach 's in town, and a former national champion. With a mission to win an Olympic medal, and to tell his story, of the heinous crime he experienced. Demonstrating what one man, set on fire and left to die can do (Hall 601-604).
When Louie was a teenager he wanted to find ways to stop people from bullying him. His father helped him learn to defend himself with a punching bag and homemade barbell (Unbroken 9). He soon defeated his bullies. This toughness also helped him during his running career. During a NCAA meet, some runners tried to sabotage him in the middle of a race. The men used the spikes on their shoes to stab and cut Louie. Though he was bleeding and in pain, his toughness helped him to win the race and set a new NCAA mile record of 4:08.3 seconds (Unbroken 44). This would never equal the toughness Louie needed to survive at the POW camps. At these camps, he was locked in small, confined spaces, beaten, humiliated and forced to work hours to just receive small rations of food. Louie could have easily given up and accepted his impending death; instead, he kept his head held high and did not give up. His toughness kept him ready to take on whatever life threw his
But the biggest achievement was that all men of the endurance expedition survived, and that through that Shackleton made loyal companions and friends for the rest of his life.
Steve Roland “Pre” Prefontaine once held every American record from the two-mile to the 10,000 meter. He has often been called the greatest American distance runner in history, all because “ Steve Prefontaine did the impossible: He made distance running cool to Americans” (Murphy 203). Steve Prefontaine depicted the embodiment of hard work, determination, and he trained hard every day in an effort to pave the way for other amateur athletes.
Every single person on this experience hardships and uses perseverance to overcome it. Linda Sue Park writes a historical fiction called A Long Walk to Water, which depicts how the quality of perseverance can lead a person to achieve their goal despite difficult circumstances. Park’s story of Salva Dut and the Lost Boys of Sudan demonstrates how these young men used perseverance to complete their quest for safety despite walking thousands of miles and being near-starvation.
In the non-fiction book, Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, a soldier named Louis Zamperini faces hardships as a POW in World War II. Therefore, he had a great deal of obstacles to overcome. He had to persevere through physical abuse, extremely poor living conditions, and war.
A hero among the runners was Dr. Natalie Stavas, a pediatric resident at Boston Children’s, Hospital, whom of which was running toward the finish line when the explosions went off. She rushed to the rescue of many of victims who lost limbs and consciousness and suffering from shock. (Eligon and Cooper)
This man had survived 47 days on a raft in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. He had survived two years of beatings, starvation, terrible living conditions, and forced labor everyday. He was declared dead by his own government a year after his disappearance. This man was Louie Zamperini. Louie was born in New York and shortly moved to torrance California. Louie became an olympic runner during 1940, but then joined the airforce. After surviving a plane crash Louie spent 49 days on a raft. Then, being captured by the Japanese he had to endure a horrible two years in POW camps until his final release in 1945. In Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken, Louie Zamperini shows many examples of how he is rebellious but also forgiving,
There are many challenges in life and how they are overcome can separate that person from everyone else. Louis Zamperini in Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand was one of the best runners to ever live and his road to success was not an easy one. Running is not only a sport that requires physical toughness, but requires mental toughness and both of those were key elements that helped Louie Zamperini stay alive.
In the article, “The Great American Desert”, Edward Abbey (1977) is trying to convince the general public that the desert is not a place for humans to explore. He talks a lot about the dangers of the desert and tries to convince the readers that the desert is not worth wasting your time and going and visiting. I disagree with Abbey. Anyone who has some knowledge about the desert and takes a class or is accompanied by an expert who knows a lot about the desert should be able to venture out in the many great American deserts.
Throughout history man has made many journeys, both far and wide. Moses’ great march through the Red Sea and Columbus's traversing the Atlantic are examples of only a couple of men’s great voyages. Even today, great journeys are being made. Terry Fox's run across Canada while fighting cancer is one of these such journeys. In every one of these instances people have had to rise above themselves and overcome immense odds, similar to a salmon swimming upstream to full fill it's life line. Intense drive and extreme fortitude are qualities they needed to posses during their travels.
Della Quercia Acopo, Rivera Ricardo. (April 20, 2013). The Marathon Runner Who Got Lost in the Sahara. Retrieved from; http://www.cracked.com/article_20367_5-insane-true stories-that-prove-humans-can-survive-anything.html
Smith, Stephen. "In The Long Run, Marathon May Hurt.” Boston Globe: 0. Apr 01 2003. ProQuest. Web. 14 May 2014 .
‘“Survival can be summed up in three words - never give up. That 's the heart of it really. Just keep trying,” said Bear Grylls. Unlike other animals, humans are unique and irreplaceable can do many things that other species can’t do. From the second a human being like creature has formed, there are always ways for humans to survive, not matter under what circumstances. Despite all the natural disasters , humans have found ways to survive.
The Sahara Desert is the world’s largest desert area. The word Sahara comes from the Arabic word sahra’, meaning desert. It extends from the Africa’s Atlantic Ocean side to the Red Sea and consists of the countries of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, and Sudan. It is about 5,200 miles long. Overall, the Sahara Desert covers 3,500,000 square miles. The geography of the desert is varied. In the west, the Sahara is rocky with varied elevation. It does contain underground rivers, which sometime penetrate the surface, resulting in oases. The central region of the Sahara has more elevation than the other areas, with peaks such as Emi Koussi and Tahat. Even though the area lacks rainfall, these peaks are snowcapped during the winter. The Eastern part of the Sahara, the Libyan Desert, is dry with very few oases.