Ray “Reza” Baluchi is a 44 year old marathon runner from Iran. At a young age, Baluchi felt he needed to help his family since his parents had a hard time providing for him and his six other siblings. To do so, Reza got a job which entails running fourteen miles after school to and from his work, to help support his family. His parents were proud of him and his commitment to help them. The pride that his parents showed motivated him to do more work, so Baluchi picked up cycling. He spent seven years biking across fifty-five countries that were over six different continents. That long bike ride was over 49,700 miles.
After 9/11, Reza wanted to show Americans that Iranians were peaceful, so he moved to New York. In 2007, he ran the perimeter of the United States, which is 11,720 miles and he completed it in 202 consecutive days. The money he made from that escapade was donated to The Children’s Hospital of Denver. Baluchi believes in charities and peace, so he does these extraneous amounts of running and cycling to raise money so that he can donate the money to charity.
Reza’s latest adventure which was and still is creating a lot of buzz was to run in a bubble from Florida to Bermuda. Although there are good intentions behind doing this, running over the ocean in a bubble poses a big danger. For example, the temperature inside the buvbble can make breathing difficult. Reza’s website states that, “… the temperature inside the hydro pod bubble can get to 120 degrees… it will be very hot and humid. One can easily dehydrate quickly and lose breath.” Because of those problems, a coastguard recommended that Reza not go out a second time. The first time Reza tried to complete the travel, he had to be brought back with the help of helicopters, which caused around $144,000. All of that was paid by taxpayers. He disobeyed the guards and taxpayers’ wishes and for the second time, a coastguard had to pull him back into the shore, which angered the those who had to pay the price. After him being called in, Baluchi ended his voyage voluntarily.
Baluchi didn’t go into this expedition without strategy. His plan was to “… catch fish, eat protein bars and sleep on a hammock inside the pod.” This strategic plan shows that there is some method to his madness, but the conditions that were previously mentioned about the living conditions in the hydro pod overrule his ideas for food.
As for his next adventure, Reza is planning to run through 198 countries and travel across the ocean using a craft boat. He wants to do this to show that anything is possible if you can just believe. This stunt will take about four years and will be across more than 85,000 miles. A film crew will follow him around so that Baluchi can share his experience with the world.
