The Dirt - ROAR
Woman’s Best Friend—and Hero On December 13, 2006, Danelle Ballengee, one of the top endurance athletes ever to grace the field of adventure sports, was on a leisurely 10-mile run on a trail near her home in Moab, Utah, when shortly after noon she slipped on a patch of black ice and fell down three successive rock faces, leaving her at the bottom of a rocky canyon 60 feet below. In immense pain and unable to stand, Danelle, 35, took five hours to crawl a quarter mile to a puddle of snowmelt she figured she could drink from in case she ran out of water. There, dressed in only lightweight running pants and a fleece top, Danelle spent the next 52 hours—huddled with her dog, Taz, and fueled by two packets of raspberry energy gel—in temperatures that dipped as low as 20 degrees F. At 12:30 p.m. on December 15, the local police found her truck at the trailhead. As Search and Rescue were assembling, Taz came running up. Exhausted and hungry, he anxiously led rescue teams to Danelle, who had a broken pelvis and innumerable internal injuries. “[After the fall] I thought a lot about how I could get out of there—crawl, drag myself, whatever. I kept hoping someone would come up the canyon. I kept yelling for help. I spoke with Taz, telling him I was hurt, asking him if he could go get some help. Telling him I love him. I thought about my family and friends—how much I love them and they mean to me. I was afraid of death—it scared me so much—and the closer it came to reality, the more it scared me. I wasn’t ready to die. Most of all I thought about surviving. I knew I had to stay positive, so I fought away the negative thoughts. Taz helped, in a huge way, to save my life. For one, his companionship and protectiveness helped keep me calm out there. Second, after I fell and I was crawling and dragging myself out of the canyon, I followed his route so I knew where to go. Third, he cuddled up next to me that first night to provide warmth. And the most amazing thing Taz did was run all the way back to my truck, where the rescue crews had assembled. They realized they needed to follow Taz, and sure enough he led them straight to me! The whole time I was stuck out there, Taz kept checking in with me, licking me, and letting me pet his warm, soft fur. He knew I was hurt, and he provided whatever comfort and help he could. After going for help, Taz arrived back first and was really thirsty—he drank a bunch of water. I thought, crap, that’s my only water. But I noticed his demeanor seemed different; it gave me hope again. My spirits hit a low point just before he returned. I was starting to lose it a bit. I knew I had to hang on. I yelled so loud for help. I heard the sound of an ATV. I wept in joy as it got louder and louder, a feeling that I can’t really explain. I had thought I was going to die, and then I knew I was going to live. There’s nothing better than life. The thoughts of my friends and family passed through my head again—this time of being able to hug them and hold them close. When I found out Taz had helped lead the rescuers there, I could and couldn’t believe it at the same time. If it wasn’t for my good physical condition, I would be dead right now. I lost a lot of blood, and my body went through a lot of trauma. If I didn’t have a strong heart, lungs, and muscles, it’s very unlikely that I would have survived. My good physical condition is also helping with my recovery—and will continue to help me over the next year or so of rehab. The even better news is that the prognosis for the future is good. I will walk again. I should be able to run again. I might even be able to compete again. I am motivated. I’m giving it my best effort to do what I need to do to first heal up, then do rehab and get back in shape. As tough as it is, as much as it hurts, and as frustrating as it can be, I always remember how lucky and privileged I am to be alive. My ultimate goal is to be able to compete again at the level I used to. This is a lofty goal but one that I will work toward. I am confident that I will be able to run, ride, and kayak again—I’m quite certain that I will be able to enjoy these activities again. I will be happy with that. “Taz has been spoiled a bit since his heroic exploit. He’s gotten some extra treats from my parents and me. Friends have brought lots of treats and even special cookies with the words ‘Taz Hero’ printed on them. A lady from Michigan sent an entire box of steaks for Taz. I’m trying not to spoil him too much with treats. I want him to be healthy. I spoil him plenty with love though.” |
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Women’s Blood: Needed Now More Than Ever Despite ongoing fears of shortages at local blood banks, the Red Cross has made a decision that could save the lives of up to 150 blood recipients annually. In an effort to curb the ever-growing number of cases of a potentially lethal condition called transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI), blood banks around the world are separating out the plasma from women’s blood and using only the plasma of men. Hundreds of blood recipients each year are infected with TRALI, a condition that causes the lungs to fill with fluid. The exact causes are still a mystery, but experts do know that women who have been pregnant carry an antibody that, though harmless to themselves, can potentially clash with a recipient’s white blood cells and cause this sometimes deadly reaction. Dr. Richard Benjamin, chief medical officer of the American Red Cross, began studying TRALI when the rate of infected blood recipients doubled in less than two years. His findings showed that more than 60 percent of infected patients were linked to plasma transfusions. When the National Blood Service in Britain conducted a study called the TRALI Risk Reduction Project, researchers learned that when only men’s plasma was used in direct transfusions, the incidents of TRALI plummeted immediately. An international blood meeting took place last fall in response to these findings, and the American Red Cross is now taking 95 percent of its direct plasma transfusions from men only, using women’s plasma for other purposes. Scientists are worried that this new information will cause fewer women to donate at a time when blood is needed more then ever. Plasma is directly transfused only 25 percent of the time, meaning the other 75 percent that is used to manufacture other lifesaving blood factors can still come from women. Every two seconds someone in America needs blood, and the demand for blood rises every year. Currently, as few as 5 percent of eligible U.S. blood donors get out to donate. So what are you waiting for? Donate today by contacting the Red Cross at www.givelife.org or calling 1 800 GIVE LIF (1 800 448 3543). You never know whose life you may be saving. |
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HEALTH NEWS In a recent study in Devon, England, by British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) producers attempting to build a unique reality TV show, nine people ranging in age from 36 to 49 were chosen to live in a tent next to the apes at the Paignton Zoo Environmental Park and take on the ape’s diet. During this 12-day study, the subjects abided by the “Evo Diet,” conceived by Lynn Garton, a nutritionist and dietician at Kings College Hospital in London. The subjects traded in their modern diets of meats and processed foods for a simpler one not unlike that of our earliest ancestors and the apes at the zoo. During the first week, the nine volunteers partook of daily meals of water and up to 11 pounds, or 2,300 calories, of honey, hazelnuts, and fresh fruits and vegetables. During the second week, the subjects added cooked, oily fish. The results were uncanny. The average cholesterol drop for the group was 23 percent in just 12 days, a feat normally accomplished only with medication, and the average weight lost was 9.7 pounds per person. Many members of the group began the experiment with blood-pressure levels bordering on hypertension; by the end of the experiment, they were lowered significantly to very healthy levels. Some nutritionists believe that a raw, vegan, or vegetarian lifestyle can help wipe out disease and reverse conditions like diabetes and heart disease. And the best part? The participants agreed that making the switch to a primitive diet was easier than imagined. To the disappointment of the producers hoping for some real drama, once the initial cravings for favorite junk foods and caffeine passed, the participants were generally happy, energetic, and satisfied at the end of each meal. Where’s the proof, you ask? It isn’t in the pudding—but try the broccoli! Check out www.bbc.co.uk/sn/humanbody/truthaboutfood/healthy to learn more about the Evo Diet and its results. |
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SPORTS TREND Love to run and ride horses? You’re not alone. Since 1971 Ride and Tie races have combined the two sports into one challenging event over rugged 30-mile courses across the country. How, you ask? In teams of two, one person starts out on foot while the other rides. When the rider reaches the first designated “tie” point (each team determines its switch-off points before the race), she dismounts, ties the horse, and continues the course on foot. When the first runner catches up to the horse, she mounts and continues on the course, passing her teammate. At the next tie point, she dismounts, leaves the horse, and starts running again. The partners continue to alternate throughout the course, allowing each to run the terrain she handles best. “Horses are great training partners; they push themselves for you and encourage you to push yourself for them,” explains Alina Vale, whose team placed second in last year’s World Championship—the first two women to ever finish that high. “During an event, I love it when I run around a corner and see my mount tied ahead on the trail. When the horse turns around and whinnies to me, it sends shivers throughout my body!” Ride and Tie has a devoted, tight-knit community. “We all camp together with our horses before the race, usually have a big meal together, and generally talk about horses and running,” says Carrie Barret, Alina’s teammate. “What’s better than that? The hanging out with everyone is as fun as the race itself.” For more information about Ride and Tie, log on to www.rideandtie.org. |
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OUT THERE What’s your favorite part of traveling? The anticipation? The trip itself? The memories and stories you come away with? All of it? Whatever it is, we figure you should save your energy for every magical moment, so we’ve found some great websites that will help make your journey as seamless as possible. Now you just have to decide where to go. Flight Consultant is the only independent global search engine that gives you every combination of flights possible for your itinerary—all in one place. Without the confinement of dates and times, you can research as many travel destinations as you want. In addition, Flight Consultant provides a benchmark ticket price and a duration itinerary for your destination without requiring that you select a specific airport. For example, you can search all possible flights from San Francisco, California, to Venice, Italy. Once you’ve weighed the different travel combinations, Flight Consultant gives you the option to narrow your search via airline, flight, or airport. With such a thorough resource, you’ll rest assured knowing that you’ve chosen the best flight out there. www.flightconsultant.com Once the travel location has been specified and the plane tickets purchased, the next potential stressor can be the travel logistics. Concerns such as airport parking and long waits to clear security are eliminated by FlightStats. This comprehensive site offers invaluable information about airports—from maps of specific terminals and approximate wait times at security gates to arrival and departure updates. The timesaving site also includes customer feedback in regard to specific airports and airlines. So say you had an exceptional experience flying Continental to London, you can post a bulletin at FlightStats and share your story with other travelers. www.flightstats.com With the travel logistics in place, now comes the fun part. How do you want your trip to flow, and how do you want to spend your time? Is your favorite band performing in New York during your stay? Do you want to see the cityscape of San Francisco via bike paths? SideStep is the perfect search tool for making the most of your trip. You specify a location and the dates, and SideStep compiles a list of popular activities and tourist attractions for your destination. By searching multiple travel sites, from www.enterprise.com to www.sheraton.com, SideStep can also help you select hotels, restaurants, and car rental options. And it accommodates travelers of every variety—from the first-time New York tourist seeking the top 10 attractions, to the traveling connoisseur needing information on a specific restaurant. www.sidestep.com |
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BOOK REVIEW It is astonishing to think that only 36 years ago women were not allowed to run the Boston Marathon. It is equally disturbing that in recent editions of the New York Times, women athletes are covered less than 3 percent of the time. These are the facts that prompted journalist Lisa Taggart to explore and celebrate contemporary female athletes. In this behind-the-scenes look at some amazing women, Taggart pays tribute to all who have struggled, persevered, and ultimately succeeded in sports. Ten champions are profiled, and each portrait is unique, inspirational, and heartwarming. From surfer Jamilah Star to climber Lynn Hill to soccer player Julie Foudy, the experiences of these athletes demonstrate how sports empower us and show us why we “need to explore the limits of our power, push our strength, find something that drives us to keep going beyond pain and fatigue, beyond what others have identified as the edge of our abilities.” Whether you love to win on land, rock, or water, these stories will motivate your inner champion. |
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FRESH FROM THE FIELD Performance, sustainability, beauty—three words that are individually unassuming yet together are working symbiotically to change the standards for how we think about apparel. Thanks to a new clothing company called Nau (Maori for welcome), we can choose performance-based clothing that strikes a balance among these three principles, creating attire that both is stylish and aspires for a broader impact on the world. Nau, based in Portland, Oregon, is committed to changing the paradigm of how outdoor clothing is worn and made. The apparel is functional and stylish enough that it can transition seamlessly from a trek in the mountains to a night on the town. Nau also works closely with its suppliers to design new fabrics that are more sustainable than the average performance textiles, such as nylon, Gore-Tex, and fleece. Nau strives for materials high in durability, have maximum efficiency, and are low impact on the environment. Why introduce a new product into a market that is already saturated with functional performance clothing? Ian Yolles, Nau’s vice president of marketing, says, “We wanted to create functional performance apparel with a different point of view.” This includes everything from simplifying sales channels to changing the customer shopping experience. Nau has not only instituted new ways of doing business but also created a new standard for giving back by committing an unprecedented 5 percent of every sale to a nonprofit organization of the customer’s choice. This creates a “direct and intimate experience for our customers,” says Yolles, “and will make Nau a goodwill leader in the apparel industry.” Nau apparel can be purchased at www.nau.com or at one of its innovative “Web Front” stores, which integrate the simple online shopping experience with the presence of a physical retail space. Web Front stores are currently in Boulder, Colorado; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; and Chicago, Illinois. Visit www.nau.com for more information. |
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EARTH TALK Most environmental organizations appear to be run by men. But who are the women leaders in this field? I’d love to know about them. The ranks of environmental advocacy are teeming with female movers and shakers, both at the community level and in some of the highest posts, though no one would know it from watching mainstream TV networks that tend to let men do most of the talking. For starters it was a woman, Rachel Carson, who ignited the modern environmental movement with her 1962 book Silent Spring, which brought widespread attention to problems with pesticides. The book led to a U.S. ban on DDT, spurred the founding of several influential environmental groups, and helped blaze the trail for passage of the nation’s bedrock environmental laws in the early 1970s. In 1978 Lois Gibbs pressured New York authorities to evacuate and clean up Love Canal, a chemical-dump-turned-housing-development whose residents were suffering from high incidences of cancer and birth defects. Gibbs also lobbied Congress to pass the “Superfund” law mandating cleanup of such sites. Today she runs the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice, which helps communities with similar problems. Wangari Muta Maathai, who has led thousands of women in Kenya in restoring denuded lands through tree planting, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her efforts. Another green heroine was Dorothy Stang, who was murdered in 2005 by land speculators angry at her efforts to preserve the Amazon rain forest. Not all of environmentalism’s brightest female lights are so high profile, but their work is key nonetheless. Deb Callahan turned the League of Conservation Voters into a strong political force during her decade-long stint as executive director. Frances Beinecke became the first woman president of the Natural Resources Defense Council in 2006, and Betsy Taylor founded the Center for a New American Dream, which provides resources for people who want to “green up” their lifestyles. Mary Evelyn Tucker co-directs the Forum on Religion and Ecology and has organized major environmental conferences to bring together religious leaders of all faiths. Mary Pearl heads Wildlife Trust, an international network of scientists working to save endangered species. And Rebecca Wodder has been president of American Rivers, the nation’s leading river conservation group, since 1995. Theo Colburn, senior scientist at the World Wildlife Fund, co-authored the 1996 book Our Stolen Future, which brought worldwide attention to the fact that common contaminants can interfere with human fetal development. Laurie David, wife of TV icon Larry David, produced Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth and founded Stop Global Warming, an effort to engage everyday people in addressing climate change. Thousands of other women—in local offices, in boardrooms, and on the front lines all over the globe—work tirelessly on environmental issues that affect us all. Got an environmental question? |
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SPORTS CLINIC Adventure Racing for Dummies Robyn Benincasa can boast about being the only American woman to win the Eco-Challenge and the prestigious Raid Gauloises in Ecuador. The 40-year-old firefighter from San Diego, California, has been adventure racing for 13 years. She is captain of her team, Team Merrell/Wigwam, has finished in the top five in six Eco-Challenge races, and has nine wins under her belt. Ever wondered about adventuring racing for fun? We thought Robyn was the perfect pro to break it down for us. What Is It? “It’s more about the people you race with than your skill level,” says Robyn. “The teams that can carry each other and communicate will always finish well. Pick fun, low-key people.” She suggests that potential teammates find out in advance if they play well together by going cycling or paddling for a day. If you collaborate effectively, your enjoyment factor will go up tenfold. Some of the sports in a race may seem intimidating, but that’s all in your head. If you can let go of that mind-set, you are golden. Robyn stresses, “Go out and have fun.” Pure and simple. Start“There are races from two hours to 10 days in length,” says Robyn. So if you’re looking to get your feet wet, there are plenty of options. “The best entry-level race is the Muddy Buddy series,” she adds. These events are held nationwide, and all you need is a two-person team, two hours, and a desire to have fun. “It’s a place where you don’t have to worry about the competition factor,” says Robyn. Go to www.muddybuddy.com to find out more. “Another great resource is http://usara.com,” she adds. “They have a calendar of events, listings of clubs nationwide, and a lot more.” Tips“Going into my first adventure race, the only experience I had was doing triathlons,” says Robyn. “I had never paddled or done any kind of caving.” She looked into getting some instruction about three months before her first race. If you want to get some training in, Robyn recommends three lessons:
If you can develop these three skills, says Robyn, you will have a leg up on the competition. Race Day“If you focus on having a great day with your team, that is what will propel you to be successful,” says Robyn. “Start in the back of the pack and go a consistent speed throughout. This will take the stress out of the game, and you will start eating people up.” Finish These resources will give you the scoop on the world of adventuring racing for participants of all levels. www.internationaladventurers.com www.adventureracingconcept.com The Complete Guide to Adventuring Racing by Don Mann and Kara Schaad (Hatherleigh Press, 2001) Adventure Racing: The Ultimate Guide by Barry Siff and Liz Caldwell (VeloPress, 2001) |
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