TARKA L'HERPINIERE

An unquenchable thirst for adventure

Some of Tarka’s friends have been quoted saying that they first

realised that he wasn’t ‘normal‘ when he turned up on foot to a

holiday gathering in the South of France, having run all the way

from the UK because he couldn’t afford the air fare.

Tarka is a man with an endless desire for adventure on a

grand scale. It has just always been this way for him.

At the age of 16, along with a great friend, he took a bicycle

out of a skip, put it back together and began a 1000km journey. 

In 2000 as part of an experiment in human endurance and intrinsic

motivation he chose to run 8 consecutive marathons in 8 consecutive days.

In recent years Tarka's expeditions have been increasingly challenging. In 2005

he became the second person in history to attempt to trek to both the North and

South Poles solo and consecutively but sadly was forced to abort the attempt due to financial difficulties. Then in 2006, as part

of the EverestMax expedition, he set out with an elite group to summit Everest without oxygen. During this expedition, at more than 7km above sea level again he faced an insurmountable obstacle as he developed High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE).

In 2007 Tarka and partner Katie-Jane Cooper completed their first expedition together. In an incredible feat of determination,

facing temperatures from -35 to +40 degrees they successfully trekked entirely self-supported over 4500km through the Taklimakan desert and across Northern China along the entire length of the Great Wall of China. 

On their next expedition entitled 'One World' Tarka and Katie-Jane will embark on an unprecedented and historic journey. Using only their own motive power, in the form of manhauling, cycling and ocean rowing, they will attempt to go beyond what is believed possible and navigate the globe on its polar axis on an epic 30,000km voyage from one geographic pole to the other.

To find out more about Tarka, Katie and the One World expedition visit their excellent website: www.primaljourney.com