Charlie Engle (marathoner)

Charlie Engle (born September 20, 1962) is one of the most accomplished ultramarathon runners in the world. Charlie has a track record of winning or placing in many the toughest endurance foot races across the globe. He has raced in jungles, summited high ranging mountains and volcanoes, and traversed large expanses of deserts through sand storms. Among his most notable races in the United States is the Badwater Ultramarathon. This is an annual race that stretches 135 through Death Valley, California in July. This punishing race ends after a steep climb of Mt. Whitney. In the world of Ultramarathons this race, often reaching temperatures around 130 °F is frequently coined "The Toughest Foot Race in the World." Beginning in the 1990s into the early 2000s, Charlie competed in the Eco-Challenge series put on by Mark Burnett (the creator of the wildly popular CBS television series, Survivor). The Eco-Challenge took Charlie to Borneo, New Zealand, and Vietnam. The list of Charlie's international races is long, but he is most well known for running across the Sahara Desert, from coast to coast, in 2007. Charlie's historic and record setting journey was documented in the film Running the Sahara, narrated by Matt Damon. He was joined by two other runners: Ray Zahab of Canada and Kevin Lin of Taiwan. This transcontinental run through deep sand and politically unstable countries remains one of the premier accomplishments in the ultrarunning sport. The runners completed over 4,000 miles, averaging over two marathons per day, for 111 consecutive days.

Charlie's motivation to run and tackle adventure to such extreme lengths stems from his battle with addiction to drugs and alcohol. Sober since July 23, 1992, he has credited a large part of his sobriety to the purposeful devotion and emotional release he experiences while running. Charlie says that the sport, along with 12 step recovery meetings, yoga, and family and friends, has been a corner stone of not only his sobriety but of his quest to be a better, more-authentic and empathetic person. He has been quoted as saying, “Drugs and alcohol had been my way out. Running would be my way through.”

Early life and Education

Charlie Engle was born on September 20, 1962, to mother Rebecca Ranson and father Richard Engle. His parents were students at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) when Charlie was born. His mother was aiming to be a playwright, while his father majored in English. His father played college basketball his freshman year for Dean Smith. Charlie's grandfather on his mother's side was Dale Ranson, a prominent track and field coach at UNC for whom the university's cross-country course is named. In eighth grade, Charlie ran his first mile in under five minutes for the first time.[1] After living in California for a time, he moved to Southern Pines, North Carolina with his father and stepmother in 1976 and began attending Pinecrest High School.[2] He was class president and excelled in athletics. As the lead quarterback for the football team, Charlie drew attention from college recruiters and received scholarships offers.

Charlie enrolled in UNC, like his parents, but soon began to have problems with alcohol and cocaine, which caused him to falter in his academics.[2] During Engle's junior year his father, who was then living in Seattle, Washington came to pick Charlie up after a concerned call from one of Engle's fraternity members. Removed from UNC, Charlie started to spiral, bouncing from job to job as he battled his addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Years later in July 1992 while Charlie was working in Wichita, Kansas, one of his cocaine binges ended with his car being shot at with a spray of bullets. He decided that day to turn to a life of sobriety and hasn't used drugs or alcohol since. Charlie began regularly attending a local Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that day and overcame his addiction. He frequently mentions that day as helping motivate him, stating to Runner's World: "That was my lowest low. The day when I woke up."[1][3]

Career

Charlie started running marathons in 1989.[1] His first was the Big Sur marathon and he ran in several more marathons, including the Boston Marathon, before getting sober. Engle entered his first ultra-marathon by accident in Brisbane, Australia, in 1996, thinking he was entering shorter-distance event. He still managed to win the men's division and began entering endurance competitions around the world.[4] After seeing an Eco-Challenge on the Discovery Channel, Engle registered to participate in one of the events.[1] He described himself as a "documentary filmmaker" despite having limited experience in the hopes that the statement would be self-fulfilling. When Engle was accepted into the Borneo Eco-Challenge he was asked by CBS about having him shoot footage of the event for the series 48 Hours, which ended up using eleven minutes of footage that Engle shot.[1][4] Following the Borneo challenge, Engle went on several weeks later to complete the annual Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii.[3]

His camerawork for 48 Hours helped Engle get a job as part of the camera crew for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and eventually he became a producer for the show. During his time with the show, Engle continued doing work in car dent repair and continued competing in endurance events. The contacts he had developed in the entertainment industry from working on Extreme Makeover helped Engle get director James Moll to film a documentary of the Sahara expedition.[1][4]

In 2010 Engle was convicted of mortgage fraud and sentenced to 24 months in prison. He was released after serving 16 months in 2012. [5]

Charlie is a freelance writer for several magazines, including Runner's World. His first book, a memoir published by Scribner (an imprint of Simon & Schuester) has received high critical acclaim. It was released on September 13, 2016. The book is titled Running Man. Charlie begin an American book tour in October 2016, visiting cities such as Chicago and San Francisco.

Achievements

Personal life

Charlie Engle has two sons, Brett, born in 1992 and Kevin, born in 1994, from his first marriage to Pam Smith. He is very close to his sons, and has remained friends with Pam.

In 2013, Charlie met Stacey Astacianna Hatcher in a small town gym during a workout. Stacey is an athlete and adventurer and the two bonded quickly. Just a few months later, they were married in a grove of towering Redwood Trees in Big Sur, California. They've since travelled to several countries in Latin America and Africa together. When they are back in the US, they reside in North Carolina where they are close to family.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pearlman, Jeff (10 March 2008). "Charlie Engle: Endurance Junkie". Runner's World. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
  2. 1 2 Sinclair, David (21 June 2012). "Former Pinecrest Star Released From Prison". The Pilot. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Charlie Engle, Addicted to Adventure". Sigma Phi Epsilon. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 Higginbotham, Adam (September 2011). "Nowhere to Run" (PDF). Men's Journal. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  5. ↑ https://www.google.com/amp/www.runnersworld.com/newswire/ultrarunner-charlie-engle-makes-post-prison-plans%3Famp?client=safari

External links

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