NOLS Grad to Attempt World Triathlon Starting July 10

Wittmack will swim around 400 miles, cycle 11,248 miles, and hike from the lowest point in Nepal to the summit of Mount Everest– a climb Wittmack has already made once before in 2003. The expedition equates to about 100 times an Ironman triathlon; traversing over 12,000 miles, 12 countries, and a collage of different climates that are sure to test his limits.Even though Wittmack’s journey will be physically trying, he has still managed to keep the bigger picture in mind, incorporating educational and health components into his journey. In an effort to reduce mortality rates of mothers during child birth, Wittmack will aim to train local health-care professionals in areas where they experience the world’s 16th highest death rate. In addition to the global health initiative, Wittmack developed a free program for school children where students are able to track his journey online and help him solve problems along the way.

Back home in Des Moines, Iowa, Wittmack is an attorney where he and his wife, Cate, have a young son, James. Both Cate and James will accompany Wittmack during stretches of the journey and support him remotely throughout the entirety of it. “It’s okay to take a couple of decades to work on a dream,” Wittmack told a Des Moines publication.

Follow Charlie Wittmack’s journey on his website, on Facebook, or on Twitter