For most of us, the thought of running one marathon in normal conditions exists as a never-to-be-obtained ideal. But how about five marathons, in five days, across one of the driest places on earth?
That thought didn’t scare Rhiannon Henley, a Grade 12 student at Brockton School – quite the opposite. When record-breaking ultramarathoner Ray Zahab came to present at her school, mentioning an organization that takes youth on adventure trips, she threw up her hand during the Q&A.
“Where do I apply?” she asked.
That question would eventually take her to the Atacama Desert in Chile, where she and two other selected youth ambassadors ran extreme distances with Impossible2Possible, an organization that promotes youth leadership though experienced-based learning.
During their trip, Henley travelled across the barren landscape while learning about extreme weather from Weather Network meteorologist Jaclyn Whittal.
Going into the trip in November, Henley was excited but not sure what to expect. She arrived at the airport in Santiago, meeting everyone for the first time – the other youth ambassadors, the organizers, the photographers and videographers.
“It was kind of like, ‘Hey, nice to meet you,” Henley said. “And then the next day we’re running together.”
'I definitely gained so much self confidence'
Running is not usually a team sport. But an expedition, it’s a team event. Being the only female youth ambassador, and the youngest person there, Henley was a bit nervous.
“That was really intimidating at first, because we got to the airport and I saw these two really tall, buff guys and I’m like, ‘This is a little bit nerve racking,’” she said. “So I did have imposter syndrome a little bit. I didn’t really feel like I belonged there.”
“But throughout the trip, I definitely gained so much self confidence,” Henley said. “And I learned that I’m not just Rhiannon, I’m Rhiannon and I can do crazy things like that.”
Imposter syndrome or not, she underwent a rigorous training routine leading up to the trip: a gym day Monday, seven-kilometre runs Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, a physio rest day on Friday, a half marathon on Saturday and a 10-kilometre recovery run Sunday – for six months.
That would prepare her for the eventual long desert days, when marathon runs started at 7:30 a.m. each day. Reaching the next camp in the early afternoon, they would meet meteorologist Whittal for learning sessions that would later be broadcast on the Impossible2Possible website.
Barefoot under a tent, they learned about the possibility of desert snow, hurricanes and tornadoes. They learned about why the Atacama Desert is the driest non-polar place on earth, and how sometimes it rains, even there.
Afterwards, they’d hop on Zoom calls with elementary school students to talk about the experience. Henley recalls taking questions from enthusiastic sixth and seventh graders in Colorado.
“They were honestly just so curious, because they haven’t heard of having done stuff like this before. And I think it’s powerful for them,” she said. “That’s what I really want – to just inspire other people and make them realize that you can do stuff like this, like, you just have to work really hard.”
Henley said she’s also brought positivity from her learning experiences to share back home.
Because Brockton School is junior kindergarten to Grade 12, she’s been able to give presentations to a broad range of students, including younger ones, “which was really cool,” she said.
“There’s always little kids coming up to me in the hallway and they’re asking me questions, or they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re the girl who ran across the desert.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, you could do that too.”
