Typical spring break stories are about fun in the sun on a beach somewhere, not running a marathon in Antarctica encountering all four seasons as well as penguins and seals on the course like Lone Star College-Cypress Center’s Biology Professor Adam Eiler did this year.
“It was worth running 26 miles on a hilly, rocky, muddy course in the cold and gusty winds to finally reach my personal goal of being a Seven Continents Club®? member,” he said. “It is immensely satisfying to accomplish what so few in the world have done.”
According to the Marathon Tours and Travel site, only 578 men and 305 women have successfully completed a marathon on all 7 continents.
Running for Eiler began as a fitness goal in which he ran the 5k Rockets Run followed with the Houston Marathon as bucket list item to do before age 40. A competitive nature plus a desire for something special led Eiler to a historical Athens Greece run.
“Since that time I have continued to run destination marathons to stay motivated, challenge myself, and achieve particular goals,” said Eiler.
The first personal goal was completing the Six Star Abbott World Marathon Majors (New York, Boston, Chicago, London, Berlin, Tokyo) and then, having already done marathons on three continents, he set his sights on all seven.
Finishing this continental goal took more than two years. Originally, his last continent run set for January 2021 was postponed due to COVID to December 2021 at which time he arrived in Chile only to have the race cancelled. It was another 15 months later before Eiler flew to Ushuaia, Argentina (the world’s southernmost city), took a boat across the Drake Passage (where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet) and was dropped off on King George Island to finally accomplish his goal in Antarctica, his seventh continent.
“Personally, the impact of running destinations both domestic and abroad, aside from the sense of accomplishment, is experiencing and gaining an appreciation for other cultures and diversity,” said Eiler, who has taught biological sciences at LSC-Cypress Center since 2016. “Professionally, this is beneficial in my interactions with a diverse student population in my classroom. Hopefully my students are motivated and inspired by my travels, not necessarily to run marathons but rather to appreciate it's never too late to try something new, to set and achieve goals, and to pursue one's passion.”
What’s next for Eiler? Perhaps running all 50 U.S. States, he said. In the meantime, Eiler will be in the classroom continuing to serve as a guide for his students on their educational journey.
Registration is now open for May mini-mester classes that start May 15 and summer sessions starting June 5 and July 13. For information, go to LoneStar.edu/regcyfair.