Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
Subscription Form

Get notified of the best News

Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn
22K Followers
25K Likes
5K Followers
1K Followers
Mountain Life
Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
  • Mountain Lifer

Mountain Lifer: Simon Donato

  • August 14, 2014
  • Ned Morgan
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
0
0
0
Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Donato (far right) filming Boundless in Egypt. Photo courtesy Travel+Escape.
Donato (far right) filming Boundless in Egypt. Photo courtesy Travel+Escape.

Simon Donato competes in some of the toughest endurance events on earth but the Merrell Canada ambassador wears several hats. He runs Adventure Science, a company that leads scientists and search parties into remote locations. He also heads Stoked Oats, a Calgary-based breakfast cereal company. And as host of the adventure travel show Boundless, he travels the globe competing in some of the most gruelling ultra-endurance races on the planet, from the barrens of interior Iceland to the Sahara Desert and Cambodian Jungle. This 10-part documentary sees Simon pushing himself to the limit and beyond in some of the world’s most extreme races.

During the course of last year’s first season, Donato ran stage-races in Iceland and the Sahara, ultras and triathlons in Kenya and Cambodia as well a 50km stand-up paddleboard race in Hawaii. Like any competing athlete, Donato experiences all the rollercoasters of emotion inherent in these epic events.

 

Donato in Kenya. Photo courtesy Travel+Escape.
Donato in Kenya. Photo courtesy Travel+Escape.

 

“Last year we really did get to tackle some dream races in exotic destinations,” said Donato in a recent interview. “Kenya was a nightmare, though. The heat, altitude, and my knee injury all pushed me to the edge and I was incredibly close to quitting – but I’m so happy that I chose to continue. Crossing the finish line in the Kenya race was so rewarding after I had to watch my goals evaporate and literally walk 15 miles to the finish. Cambodia had its ups and downs, but seeing my friend Sophie nearly die from hyponatremia was certainly the most frightening and unnerving experience from the season. The most challenging race for me however, was the Sahara race. The final day was an 86 km stage and it took every ounce of energy that I had to make it through. From about 50 km onwards, the heat was so brutal that all I wanted to do was walk, so I had to continually convince myself to keep running. It was a serious mental battle that only became easier in the final 5 km, when I knew I would make it. My greatest memories are from the moments where I persevered through the greatest challenge. Ultimately, finishing well was good, but it didn’t lead to the most profound experiences.”

 

SD1
Photo courtesy amazingmaasaimarathon.com

Donato’s go-to philosophy sums up his adventurous, thrill-seeking spirit best: “Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat” – Theodore Roosevelt.

 

10329138103_0c694fc24b_z
Photo courtesy Kensington Tours Flickr.

 

 

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • Boundless TV show
  • Merrell
  • Merrell ambassasor
  • Simon Donato Boundless TV show
  • Simon Donato Merrell
  • Travel and Escape channel
Ned Morgan

Previous Article
  • THE GEAR SHED

Go-anywhere, Do-anything Surf Trunks

  • August 13, 2014
  • Ned Morgan
View Post
Next Article
  • The Great Outdoors

Red Mountain Steps Up Its Game

  • August 14, 2014
  • Ben Osborne
View Post
You May Also Like
Jamie-Mocrazy-portrait
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Skiing
  • The ML Interview

Jamie MoCrazy: Thriving after Traumatic Brain Injury

  • Mountain Life Media
  • May 17, 2022
Relic-The-Beachcombers-Ben-Tour-illustration
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer

Requiem for a Relic

  • Mountain Life Media
  • May 16, 2022
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Paddling

For the Love of SUP

  • Sarah Bulford
  • May 10, 2022
Was-It-Worth-It-Kermode-bear-mcallister_PR
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer

Was It Worth It? A Wilderness Warrior’s Long Trail Home

  • Mountain Life Media
  • May 5, 2022
Helly-Hansen-search-and-rescue-helping-hand-OVERBECK_HH-SAR_4503
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • The ML Interview
  • Videos

Friday Flick: What it Means to be a Search & Rescue Responder

  • Mountain Life Media
  • April 29, 2022
Andrew-Burton-and-Michael-Kirby-Patagonia-films2
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Videos

Friday Flick: Facing Climate Disaster, a Village Seeks Justice

  • Ned Morgan
  • April 22, 2022
Andrea LeClair-Esteves - Mount Robson Clouds 7
View Post
  • Features
  • Mountain Lifer

The Last Wish of a Cultural Giant

  • Mountain Life Media
  • April 18, 2022
Anuximana-RACHEL-TOPHAM-PHOTOGRAPHY-COURTESY-YVR-ART-FOUNDATION-crop
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer

Anuximana: The Heart Speaks in Colour

  • Mountain Life Media
  • April 11, 2022

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Featured Posts
  • Jason-Hardrath-Journey-to-100-standing-peak 1
    Friday Flick: Journey to 100
    • May 20, 2022
  • 2
    Friday Flick: Waterproofing 101
    • May 13, 2022
  • Jamie-Mocrazy-portrait 3
    Jamie MoCrazy: Thriving after Traumatic Brain Injury
    • May 17, 2022
  • River-crossing-Cambria-Icefield-ABBY-COOPER 4
    Kwhlixhoosa’anskw: A River Runs Through
    • May 19, 2022
  • Relic-The-Beachcombers-Ben-Tour-illustration 5
    Requiem for a Relic
    • May 16, 2022
RECENT POSTS
  • Helly Hansen Presents: Adventure Planning 101 with Squamish SAR
    • May 16, 2022
  • Dynafit-Sea-to-Summit-Delphi-harbor-revised
    Friday Flick: Skiing with the Gods of Delphi
    • May 13, 2022
  • Nick-Gottlieb-Pereval-Dzhuku-pass
    Touching the Mountains of Heaven
    • May 12, 2022
Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn
INSTAGRAM
mountainlifemedia
22K Followers
Weekend motivation with @skifelix + @yankaczynski #mountainlifer
FRIDAY FLICK! @jasonhardrath has spent his entire life in motion: whether that was on sports teams as a young boy, as a triathlete through his early adulthood, or in the mountains, through today.
#ThrowbackThursday 👉Rhythmic raindrops pounded on the truck’s canopy. Wet snow avalanches growled down the slopes, and the river echoed its roar—evidence the Nass Valley’s spirit was very alive. According to the Nisga’a people, K’alii-Aksim-Lisims (the Nass River, one of BC’s richest river systems) is as much a part of them as their own flesh and blood, flowing through their land and lives.
Join us to hear from the Squamish Search & Rescue on trip planning, outdoor safety, outing ideas, and tips for backcountry travel while enjoying local beer and good company at @hellyhansenwhistler tomorrow eve! #Linkinbio to register!
@jamiemocrazy’s traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurred on her second competition run in slopestyle skiing at the finals of the World Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler in April, 2015.
Reel Rock 16 is coming to #Squamish! There are two showings 👉 May 20th and June 1st at the Eagle Eye Theatre, Howe Sound Secondary School, in beautiful Squamish supported by @climbonsquamish! #Linkinbio to get your tickets! #climbing #film #filmfest #climbers #adventure #climbon #adventure #squamishbc #tickets
Finding that picture perfect moment with @sweenyj #mountainlifer
The winter that just keeps on given-er! 🤘#mountainlifer
FRIDAY FLICK 💥 This past March, speed mountaineer Benedikt Böhm @benediktboehm rocked a five-hour sea-to-summit expedition up Mount Parnassus in central Greece. Starting at sea level on his road bike at the village of Itea on the Gulf of Corinth, he climbed up to an altitude of 2.414 metres. #linkinbio to watch the film!
I had no idea what to expect from this trip, neither from bikepacking, a fancy term for cycle touring and a sport I’d never done before, nor from Kyrgyzstan, a country most people cannot find on a map. Carl, who I’d only just met recently after moving to Canada—I’d flagged him down after backcountry skiing after seeing his Montana license plate—had invited me on this trip while on a mountain bike ride. I said no. A few weeks later I figured, “Why not?”
Follow

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

Weekend motivation with @skifelix + @yankaczynski #mountainlifer
FRIDAY FLICK! @jasonhardrath has spent his entire life in motion: whether that was on sports teams as a young boy, as a triathlete through his early adulthood, or in the mountains, through today.
#ThrowbackThursday 👉Rhythmic raindrops pounded on the truck’s canopy. Wet snow avalanches growled down the slopes, and the river echoed its roar—evidence the Nass Valley’s spirit was very alive. According to the Nisga’a people, K’alii-Aksim-Lisims (the Nass River, one of BC’s richest river systems) is as much a part of them as their own flesh and blood, flowing through their land and lives.
Join us to hear from the Squamish Search & Rescue on trip planning, outdoor safety, outing ideas, and tips for backcountry travel while enjoying local beer and good company at @hellyhansenwhistler tomorrow eve! #Linkinbio to register!
@jamiemocrazy’s traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurred on her second competition run in slopestyle skiing at the finals of the World Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler in April, 2015.
Reel Rock 16 is coming to #Squamish! There are two showings 👉 May 20th and June 1st at the Eagle Eye Theatre, Howe Sound Secondary School, in beautiful Squamish supported by @climbonsquamish! #Linkinbio to get your tickets! #climbing #film #filmfest #climbers #adventure #climbon #adventure #squamishbc #tickets
Mountain Life
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising

Input your search keywords and press Enter.