Our very own Robyn Metcalfe will begin her final Racing the Planet Desert Race: The Last Desert
Robyn Metcalfe, 61
United States
Dr Robin Metcalfe is a Professor of History at Boston
University in the United States. The mother of 23-year old Julia and
21-year old Max entered her first 4 Deserts event in 2005 with the Gobi
March. She says it was the toughest of all the races: “because I knew
nothing about these events, was totally unprepared, was by myself and
made all sorts of mistakes.” Things were entirely different in the
Atacama Crossing in 2006. Competing with her son Max by her side, Robin
says the experience was worlds apart. “It is also just an amazingly
beautiful place.” By 2008, Robin was completing the Sahara Race. Her
greatest memory of the events is “walking across the desert with Max at
night, long talks, long silences, stars, lights, breeze, laughing.”
Training now for The Last Desert 2010, Robin is doing “lots of cross
training, running, hiking, swimming, biking and strength, six days a
week.” She says the event series has changed her in many ways:
“expanding my horizons by seeing places with a purpose. Knowing that I
can help others by using my experiences, both positive and negative,
patience, added faith, appreciation for the details in life.” Robin has
raised money for a faith-based group for young people, which has added
to the sense of helping others. Her perception of the desert has also
changed, particularly from her perspective as a historian: “Since I’m a
historian of good markets in cities, I also used the events as a way to
go to places where I could visit old markets, which I did in China,
Chile and Egypt.” She says these are “very enriching events, aside from
the racing part. The events are good at including cultural connections
on many levels. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to pull it
all together.”
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