For two men who've previously run across the Sahara, biked the Iditarod trail, and trekked to the South Pole, this expedition has proved to be one of our toughest. The harsh Siberian winter showed its teeth as we made our way across Lake Baikal unsupported, dragging 110-lb. sleds. We faced raging winds and snowstorms that pelted our tent and made it almost impossible to sleep. The humidity was so severe that by the middle of the journey, our sleeping bags, along with all our clothes and gear, were soaking wet. The temps dove down to -40 degrees, and the wind chill drained the life out of the batteries in our electronics. It was a constant battle to find enough sun to get the slightest bits of solar charge for communication. It was also difficult to maintain our 1:00 a.m. Web updates with the students back in North America who are following our journey, but connecting with the kids was always worth it because they inspired us to push harder.
–Kevin Vallely and Ray Zahab
In March 2010, and will embark on the . They will run 65 to 70 kilometers per day across the frozen surface of ,which is 636 kilometers long–carrying all the food and gear for theentire trip. They'd like to finish in 10 to 12 days, which would be aworld record, according to Vallely. Why go through such trouble? Toraise awareness and funding for clean drinking water projects aroundthe world and inspire students through the . This is the ninth in a series of their dispatches forϳԹ Online.