Quote of the Day: “Dare to believe in the reality of your intention and watch the world play its part, relative to its fulfillment.” – Neville Goddard
Photo by: Marc-Olivier Jodoin
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
99 years ago today, Kruger National Park was established in Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa. One of the largest game reserves on the continent, it is more than twice the size of Yellowstone, at 7,576 square miles (19,623 square kilometers). Part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, it crosses over the border with Mozambique and Zimbabwe, forming a protected area bigger than Belgium where animals have room to roam to their heart’s content. READ more about South Africa’s wildest corner… (1926)
Dropped off via helicopter on a cliff edge high on a rocky escarpment in South Africa, an observer might have mistaken a pair of herpetologists for Army Rangers.
In reality, they were searching for a gecko species not seen in 30 years since the first instance it was recorded. So much time had passed without a sighting of the little desert-colored reptile that scientists had begun to doubt its existence.
The Blyde River flat gecko vanished from all knowledge after its first appearance in the scientific record in 1991, and being that there are other gecko species that look quite similar which live nearby, it was hypothesized that it might have just been a juvenile coloration of this other known species.
“Annoyed” by this lack of clarity, and armed with expedition permits that required two years to acquire, Darren Pietersen and John Davies from the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) were flown via helicopter to the exact spot where the original gecko had been found.
“Having a species that is data deficient annoys me,” Pietersen told AP. “I’ve always loved the species that others wouldn’t study because they’re harder to find or obscure.”
The flat gecko was found 300 feet atop a single escarpment, or inselberg, on Blyde River Canyon in Mpumalanga province in the far northeast corner of South Africa, and that proved to be a great place to start looking, as Davies and Pietersen found it again in short order after a 2-3 day camping trip.
They identified 20 to 30 individuals, photographed 7, and collected tissue samples from a few.
LOST AND FOUND:
A statement from EWT said the tissue samples would facilitate an in-depth genetic investigation as to the taxonomic placement of this species within the genus, and to confirm its status as a distinct species.
Hippos, snakes, crocodiles, precipitous drops, and ankle-twisting terrain represented the risks of wandering about in the nature reserve, pulling up rocks in search of geckos.
Further data will then be collected so that the species’ threat status can be evaluated, the threats its faces determined, and the conservation actions required planned and implemented.
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In London, organizers and staff have flipped a museum. Suddenly, the collection is the museum, and the exhibitions are whatever you decide.
At V&A East Storehouse, over 250,000 items sit inside carefully constructed storage warehouse wings waiting for a day that might have never came: the call that they would be included in a new or permanent exhibition at the London Design Museum.
One of the largest of its kind in the world, it owns everything from Roman frescoes to Renaissance paintings to the icons of mass production and haute couture.
Now however, museum curators and conservationists alike are encouraging the public to “lean into the delirium,” and enter a brand-new, 4 story gallery where visitors can view every single item, in a way not too dissimilar to the underbelly of a flatpack furniture showroom.
“This is real back-of-house museum work,” said the V&A East Storehouse’s senior curator Georgina Haseldine, on a visit by CNN. “We want visitors to learn what a collection is, how we store it… How colleagues work across the museum, from conservators to the technical service team.”
The “delirium,” which the V&A Storehouse design studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro spoke of, is the criteria by which the collection is organized: by age. As a result, you might hope to see the 14th century paintings of Simone Martini, but it could well be flanked by anything: a suit of armor, a thimble, a snuff box, a dining set, or a pair of fireplace tongs—before you see the next Martini.
Especially large museums like London Design are encountering a problem whereby the number of items they are collecting continues to grow far in excess of gallery and exhibition space. It means the chance of all such items being selected for public view decreases.
Rather than continuing to vest the power of deciding what the public gets to see in themselves, in a stroke of democracy akin to the invention of Wikipedia, the curators and management have given the reins over to the public: and that includes on the objects themselves.
NEW MUSEUMS:
Anyone visiting V&A East Storehouse can apply to enter the conservation room and handle or examine any item in the collection; alongside short concise lessons on the conservation techniques of various materials of various ages.
“These collections belong to the public. And it’s just incredible that we can enable access,” Kate Parsons, director of conservation, told CNN.
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From West Australia comes the story of some ‘lucky’ misfortune, as a pair of road-tripping Frenchmen found a “second home” in a small town.
Nannup has just 1,500 inhabitants—many of whose hands were on deck to help the tourists after they hit a kangaroo and wrecked their car just 4 hours into what was supposed to be an epic road trip.
Melina Gitton and Florian Crepinior were about 135 miles south of Perth when they hit the roo in the dark, caving the front-left side of their new Suzuki and leaving it undriveable. The pair, perhaps unwisely, spent the vast majority of their trip money in buying the car, but left it uninsured.
The couple’s dream holiday had all the hallmarks of a travel nightmare.
“I think without this kangaroo we would never know about Nannup. We were unlucky, but in this unlucky we were lucky,” Mr. Crepinior said. “Until the end of my life, for sure, I will never forget that.”
What he won’t forget was the arrival of locals from the town of Nannup, who helped get them and their car to the home of Kate and Craig Jenkins, two residents who opened their hearts and doors to the stranded visitors for the next three weeks, including Easter.
According to ABC News Australia, it didn’t take long for word to spread about the “Frenchies” in the town, and welcomes, well-wishes, even donations to help fix the car, soon arrived in heaps.
THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS: Dock Worker Brings Stranded Ferry Passengers Home: ‘You’re All Staying at My House Tonight’
The Parisian pair said it was something they’ve never experienced. While staying at the Jenkins household, they attended local sports events and enjoyed time with their unexpected hosts while Craig and Florian—neither of whom are mechanics—managed to nearly fix the car all by themselves.
“Neither of them had done it before but they worked it out together. Then what they couldn’t figure out our local mechanic in Nannup fixed up the last few bits,” Ms. Jenkins told ABC.
MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: Americans Who Took-in Stranded Koreans During Christmas Blizzard Just Flew Over the Ocean to Visit Their House
Kate and Craig’s children, perhaps while watching the blue Suzuki finally back out onto the road, began insisting a sign be put up outside of town reading “travelers are welcome to crash here.”
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You’ve heard the famous “Blue Danube” waltz—even if the name doesn’t ring any bells. Trust us on this one.
Composed by the Austrian “Waltz King” Johann Strauss II, it has been borrowed for every kind of media imaginable, from commercials to Looney Tunes shorts.
Today in Europe, an interesting confluence will occur when the Waltz King’s 200th Birthday will coincide with that of the European Space Agency’s 50th.
Embodying the often playful nature of humanity’s relation with space and our exploration of it, “Blue Danube” will be beamed into space via the Vienna Symphony Orchestra tomorrow, May 31st.
ESA is taking a leaf out of NASA’s playbook this time, as the American equivalent also celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2008 by transmitting a song directly into deep space: the Beatles’ “Across the Universe.”
The live performance, which will be livestreamed in public in New York City, Madrid, and Vienna, Strauss’ birthplace, will be an accompaniment to the actual radio transmission—recorded today to avoid technical issues in converting sound files to radio waves. Both the live performance and the transmission though will happen simultaneously.
Or rather, they will begin simultaneously, because once the ESA controllers hit play, “Blue Danube” will depart Earth’s atmosphere in less than a second, and be passing Mars long before the musicians lower their bows and brass.
It will take 23 hours to arrive at Voyager 1, the farthest off man-made object still in communication with Earth, more than 15 billion miles away in interstellar space.
ALSO CHECK OUT: The Inspiring and Playful Hidden Message in the Mars Perseverance Rover’s Parachute
Following its inception, ESA collaborated with NASA on the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE), the world’s first high-orbit telescope, which was launched in 1978 and operated successfully for 18 years.
A number of successful Earth-orbit projects followed, and in 1986 ESA began Giotto, its first deep-space mission, to study the comets Halley and Grigg–Skjellerup. Hipparcos, a star-mapping mission, was launched in 1989 and in the 1990s SOHO, Ulysses and the Hubble Space Telescope were all jointly carried out with NASA.
MORE FUN SPACE STORIES: A Formation That Looks Like a Grizzly Bear Spotted on Mars by NASA Camera
ESA’s most recent and grandest achievements have been their key collaboration with the James Webb Space Telescope, and the Cassini space probe, again with NASA’s help, which went to explore the moons of Saturn, providing the best data and images collected of these mysterious bodies.
The founding member states included, Belgium, Denmark, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, but has since grown to include all of Western Europe, including Austria, Strauss’ home country.
Livestreams are available on the Waltz into Space website, here.
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Quote of the Day: “Hope is independent of the apparatus of logic.” – Norman Cousins
Photo by: Joshua Earle for Unsplash+
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
50 years ago today, the European Space Agency was founded by ten member states: Belgium, Denmark, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, that united two disparate space agencies into the one entity which today has been instrumental in several giant leaps for mankind. READ more… (1975)
A Georgia woman was so blown away by the work ethic of a teen who clocked in for a late evening shift at Burger King just after graduating high school, she decided to help with his college tuition.
Setting up a GoFundMe to tell the youth’s story, it raised $20,000 in no time at all, and the woman returned to the Burger King shortly thereafter to surprise him.
Wearing a cap and a gown, Mykale Baker had just been handed his diploma and a medal to wear around his neck when he became aware that orders were piling up at the Burger King where he worked.
Still wearing the medals and the gown, Baker drove over and clocked in at the drive-thru window. While Baker’s friends celebrated into the night, Maria Mendoza, a mother who had just watched her daughter graduate, stopped by the same Burger King for a late dinner when she saw Baker at work.
“He was so kind, so polite,” she told 11 Alive News. “Radiating joy, even after such a big day. His dedication and quiet strength really moved me. I felt called to do something to recognize that.”
Without saying anything, Mendoza set up a GoFundMe to help pay for his college. And, the viral photo raised tens of thousands in a few days. 11 Alive News reports that Baker was considering enrolling in the military to help with school, but he might have had a second thought after Mendoza came back with the big news: he was the proud owner of a $100,000 college fund.
GREAT GOFUNDMES:
“He doesn’t even know his story went viral. But thousands of people were moved by his dedication, humility, and work ethic,” Mendoza wrote.
She hopes the story will convince others to pay attention when teens are putting in the extra miles, to honor that hard work if possible.
WATCH the video below from local news…
CELEBRATE This Teen’s Good Work And Better Fortune…
From the south of England comes the eyewitness account of a road rescue by a hoard of good, young, Samaritans.
A photograph taken by a bystander shows one of the rescuers on top of the vehicle after it crashed, as well as a man and his 11-month-old son, who had been dragged from the wreckage by those who rushed to help.
The baby’s mother, still trapped inside at the time, was soon helped out through a passenger-side window.
Robert Winstanley took the picture as he was walking to a supermarket at about 5pm yesterday.
“Just as I was coming to the Esso garage, I saw all of these youngsters, about 100 yards away, rush into the road.”
“As I got closer, I could see a car had flipped onto its side, and some of them were standing on the roof trying to reach those trapped inside.”
TEENS TO THE RESCUE:
Mr. Winstanley says the group of teens pulled the father and baby from the car before rescuing the mother.
“I spoke to her while they were waiting for an ambulance to arrive,” he remembered. “She was understandably in shock and crying, but they were all unhurt.”
“It was really heartening to see, especially given what is often said about young people,” Winstanley said. “After everyone was out of the vehicle, they were all shaking each other’s hands and high-fiving each other.”
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People find time to volunteer for all manner of projects, and in Germany, a community recently got together to pitch in for the sake of their local, 5,500-year history.
The Neolithic burial site of Küsterberg is located in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt’s Haldensleben forest, and dates back to the time of Stonehenge. It was first excavated between 2010 and 2013, during which archaeologists made a detailed map of the site’s original layout.
Based on archaeological finds, the excavation team was able to determine a first-use date of around 3,600 BCE. During the transition from the Bronze to the Iron age, around 1,000-600 BCE, however, some of the 19 large “orthostats” or standing stones were disturbed, leading to the structure’s partial dismantling.
Thousands of years passed and modern developments and land use further degraded the site, until a project was dreamed up by the Saxony-Anhalt State Office of Monument Preservation and Archaeology to rebuild the original structure to mark the European Day of Megalithic Culture, an annual holiday on the last Sunday of April.
With the help of locals from the town armed with an excavator, archaeologists directed the reassembly of the orthostats and the 13 tons worth of granite capstones which enclosed the burial bit.
16 megaliths ringed the burial chamber, spaced 6.5 feet apart. These were also returned, as were the shards of stone called graywicke which covered the burial chamber floor and the space between the megaliths.
The ensemble was ringed by an earthen mound, which archaeologists suspect was built with dirt taken from a nearby hill. Additional archaeological work in the forests of Haldensleben has identified ten settlements from the time, which may explain the monumentality of Küsterberg.
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Küsterberg is aligned on an east to west line, consistent with many Neolithic sites around Europe to correspond to the rising and setting sun.
The reconstructed Küsterberg megalithic tomb is intended to inspire visitors with enthusiasm for the region and its long history.
MORE MONUMENTAL EUROPE: Much Like Stonehenge, Solstice Sunlight Would Have Danced on the Walls of This Neolithic Spanish Tomb
It will be added as an attraction to both the 24-mile long “4 million years of human history” circular route around Haldensleben, and the 48-miles long Aller-Elbe cycle path.
Additionally, the site has been added to a very cool travel idea known as the The European Route of Megalithic Culture, a network of linked sites and museums from Denmark, England, Germany, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden that highlight Europe’s incredible legacy of ancient stone-moving.
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An engineering team from MIT have designed a solar-powered groundwater desalination device that could supply over 1,000 gallons per day and doesn’t require batteries.
Envisioned as a way to provide water to communities whose groundwater is too brackish to drink, the device’s real trick is that it adjusts its desalination activity in response to the amount of solar power it’s producing.
Multiple times every second, the central control module takes readings of the strength of the sunlight and pumps correspondingly more or less water through the electrodialysis membrane stack. This innovation allows the whole package to skip the necessity for battery storage for times when the panels are producing more energy than the system is using.
No batteries means much lower costs and shipping weight, making it ideal for rural communities in arid parts of the Global South or southern United States with ample yearly sunshine and brackish groundwater.
Electrodialysis is one of two methods for desalinating water, with the other being reverse osmosis. Both have drawbacks at both the micro and macro scale, and in the case of electrodialysis, it requires electricity which is typically produced by fossil fuels. Renewables have replaced them before, but challenges persist.
“The majority of the population actually lives far enough from the coast, that seawater desalination could never reach them. They consequently rely heavily on groundwater, especially in remote, low-income regions,” says Jonathan Bessette, MIT PhD student in mechanical engineering and co-author on the project.
“[U]nfortunately, this groundwater is becoming more and more saline due to climate change. This technology could bring sustainable, affordable clean water to underreached places around the world.”
For Bessette and the team behind the invention, their biggest challenge was establishing feedback mechanisms in the system that were sharp enough to detect minute changes in sunlight—for example if a whisp of cloud passes by.
MORE FROM MIT: MIT Makes ‘Astonishing’ Discovery That Light Can Vaporize Water Without Heat–for Clean Energy and Desalination
Over months of testing and improvements, their “flow command-current control” module gradually reached the point at which 94% of the solar power generated by the panels was utilized immediately to pump water through the desalination system without any lag and any transfer of power to a battery.
During a 6-month field trial at the Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility in Alamogordo, New Mexico, the system produced 5,000 liters of water per day despite large swings in weather and available sunlight.
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“Conventional desalination technologies require steady power and need battery storage to smooth out a variable power source like solar,” explains Amos Winter, a decorated professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. “Being able to make drinking water with renewables, without requiring battery storage, is a massive grand challenge. And we’ve done it.”
Amos and Bessette are now looking to form a company to develop the technology into a product to help water-stressed communities worldwide.
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Quote of the Day: “When love is at its best, one loves so much that he cannot forget to do so.” – Helen Hunt Jackson
Photo by: Kurt Stocker (CC license)
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
260 years ago today, former Virginia governor and revolutionary Patrick Henry was not only born, but used his 29th birthday as an occasion to deliver a rousing speech is response to the British Parliament passing the Stamp Act. In response, Henry introduced the Stamp Act Resolves to the House of Burgesses in Virgina. Though his speech is only quoted today from recollections decades later by men not present, the general conensus is that at a certain point, Henry suggested that King George III be killed, to which a cry rang out “Treason!” Henry is supposed to have said “If this be treason, make the most of it!” READ about the Stamp Act and Henry’s life in general… (1739, 1765)
While less than 1,000 Siamese crocodiles remain in the wild, community members in Laos have released ten of the rare animals into a local wetlands to boost the population.
While crocodiles are not hunted, the species (Crocodylus siamensis) is ranked as Critically-Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature because of the threats of entanglement in fishing nets, the clearance of wetlands, and seasonal draining of habitat to expand dry-season rice cultivation.
Unlike many of its other aggressive cousins, the Siamese crocodile is not a threat to humans. Communities that reside close to the species’ habitat hold the crocodiles in high regard spiritually—believing they bring good luck.
The Xe Champhone Wetland where they were released is located in the Savannakhet province which represents the larger of two ‘Ramsar sites’ (Wetland of International Importance).
It’s home to an abundance of aquatic biodiversity such as endangered turtle species and waterfowl.
A dedicated conservation program for the Siamese crocodile is in place in the four target districts where they’re found. Volunteers work with government officials and eggs are collected to be transported to the village administration office for incubation at ambient temperature for about two months.
Once hatched, the baby crocodiles will be raised for about 32 months—at which time they will exceed 3 feet in length—and then released back into the wetlands. 163 small crocodiles are currently being nursed by the crocodile conservation team at the village level.
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Since the start of the program, a total of 183 crocodiles have been successfully released back into the wild. 6 to 8 nests are being found each year, and based on these nest counts, an estimated population of 200-250 Siamese crocodiles inhabit the Xe Champhone Wetlands.
The new visitors’ center offers an immersion in the incredible biodiversity of the Xe Champhone wetlands. With educational panels displayed all along the visitors’ path as well as wall murals on the crocodile’s life.
SOUTHEAST ASIA’S WILD SIDE: Asia’s Extraordinary Jumping Bird Now Thriving in Captivity–a Hopeful Halt to Population Slide
“I hope that the opening of the Xe Champhone Wetland and Crocodile Information Center, along with today’s release of the crocodiles, will bring lasting benefits to local communities as part of a long-term conservation effort,” said Mr. Khammone Thilavong, Deputy Director of Provincial Forestry and Agriculture Ministry, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, which assisted in the reintroduction, and released a statement on the success.
CHECK OUT THE BABY BOOM: First Back-to-Back Gharial Crocodiles Born in N. America to Help Save Endangered Species With 650 Left in Wild
“I also trust that everyone here shares a strong commitment to environmental preservation and the protection of these endangered species.”
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Japan is the first country to begin clinical trials of artificial blood, a medical innovation which if proven successful, would solve one of the largest hospital challenges of our age.
Beginning back in March, a clinical trial organized by Nara Medical University will look to build on the success of an early-stage trial in 2022 of hemoglobin vesicles, small artificial blood cells that were confirmed to be safe and capable of delivering oxygen as normal.
The trial will administer 100 to 400 milliliters of the artificial blood cells to further test safety before moving onto broader performance and efficacy targets, all in the hopes that by 2030, the artificial blood could enter clinical use.
Whether high-income or low-income, every country has challenges meeting the necessary amounts of stockpiled blood donations for emergency medical procedures.
In high-income countries where the 90% of blood stockpiles comes from voluntary donors, the challenge is getting enough of these donations, and crucially, enough from those with rare blood types.
In low-income countries where only 40% of needs are met with donations, the challenge lies in importation from abroad when donated blood packs are only safe for use for a few months. A useful proxy to understanding this shortfall is that of 175 countries included in a survey of blood donation and use practices by the World Health Organization, 106 countries report that all blood plasma-derived products are imported. These include things like immunoglobulins and coagulation factors which are needed to prevent and treat a variety of serious conditions.
Japan has a different challenge. The WHO found that the use of donated blood varied with income levels, reporting that high-income countries used more blood donations to treat those aged 65 and older, while lower-income countries used it to treat those aged 5 and under.
THE HORIZON OF MEDICAL RESEARCH: NIH Funding Now Will Prioritize Research That Eschews Animal Testing to Push Innovation
Japan has recognized that its long-since-collapsed replacement birth rate coupled with long life-expectancy will place a likely unsustainable burden of blood donation on a shrinking working-age population, making artificial blood a priority innovation.
Professor Hiromi Sakai at Nara Medical University has pioneered one method for its synthesis. Using hemoglobins—the oxygen-carrying molecule inside red blood cells—from expired donations and encasing them in protective shells, removes the need of matching blood types.
MORE MEDICAL ADVANCEMENTS: Cure for Pre-Eclampsia is On Horizon as Researcher Discovers Lipid Nanoparticle to Deliver Directly to Placenta
Another method comes from Chuo University where the hemoglobin is encased in an albumin-family protein, which has been used in animal studies to stabilize blood pressure and treat conditions like hemorrhage and stroke.
Either way, the necessity is there and it’s urgent for Japan and the world. If the country’s researchers succeed in this innovation, it will be a medical milestone of epic proportions.
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The tombs of three ancient Egyptian officials have been discovered in Luxor, the Egyptian government has stated, marking yet another discovery from the famous city on the Nile.
In February, the tomb of pharaoh Thutmose II was found not far from the Dra’Abu El Naga, an important non-royal necropolis where this new trio of discoveries was made.
Dating back to the era called the New Kingdom, starting from 1539 BCE and ending in 1077 BCE, the tombs belonged to several officials at the Temple of Amun, a deity worshiped as king of the gods at the time.
Inscriptions inside the tombs allowed the excavation team to identify the names and titles of their owners, said Mohamed Ismail Khaled, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, in the statement.
The first was called Amun-em-Ipet, the second Baki, and the third Es. The three men held various positions, and their tombs were constructed in similar ways.
Es, the most important, was recorded as being a mayor of the northern oases, a scribe, and the supervisor of the Temple of Amun. Baki was a granary official charged with overseeing the collection and storing of the vast amount of grains and cereals produced from farming along the Nile.
Amun-em-Ipet by contrast is less known. He worked either in the temple or the estate of Amun.
According to Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the excavations that uncovered the tombs were conducted by an entirely-Egyptian team, and marked a “significant” discovery for the country’s archaeological record.
Amun-em-Ipet’s tomb consists of a courtyard, entrance portal, and long hall ending in a niche, but is in poor condition.
LATEST FROM EGYPT:
Baki’s tomb was larger, and consists of a long, corridor-like courtyard followed by another courtyard leading to its main entrance. Entering the interior, a rectangular hall leads to another of the same, wherein lies the official’s burial niche.
The tomb belonging to Es also has a small courtyard containing a well, followed by a main entrance, and a transverse hall leading to an incomplete hall longer than the first, CNN reports.
One wonders if we will ever run out of these discoveries, which if found in many other countries of the world would be labeled as monumental, but, since being from the time of ancient Egypt, are relegated to acknowledgment via a simple statement on the Antiquities Ministry Instagram page.
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Hoping to get her “sanity and slight insanity” back after giving birth to her first child, a Canadian runner has completed a 60 mile run through Wales just 6 months postpartum.
It didn’t get in the way of her duties as a mother, however, and Stephanie Case was determined to breastfeed all along the way.
The Ultra-Trail Snowdonia race in Eryri, Wales, runs 100 kilometers through the region’s famous national park. Case had already signed up for it 6 months before her daughter Pepper was born.
Because it was her first ultramarathon since her pregnancy, she felt no pressure for any performance markers, she just wanted to get back out on the trails.
“I am scheduled to do a 100-mile race in Colorado in July, and because I haven’t raced in so many years, I thought I should do a practice run to shake out the cobwebs and make sure that I knew how to put one foot in front of the other and also practice doing the breastfeeding stops for my daughter midrace,” Case told CTV News Toronto.
She knew that would be a bit of a challenge, but as she started to run in preparation for the race, she could feel all the mental and physical benefits of running kick in again, and as race day approached, her mindset shifted.
GET INSPIRED BY: Runner Completes 268 Mile Race–18 Months After Being Unable to Walk Due to Brain Condition
“I realized that actually, yeah, I can set a higher goal for myself. Why not try to do well in these races? Why not try to shoot for something that seems impossible?”
Starting with the third and final wave of participant runners, Case used her two aid breaks to breastfeed Pepper, while the organizers granted her an additional third break purely for breastfeeding.
MORE SUPERMOMS: Texas Woman Sets Record for Donating Almost 700 Gallons of Breastmilk
She finished the 60-mile Ultra-Trail Snowdonia race in 16 hours, 53 minutes, and 22 seconds.
Her story got featured in People Magazine, and she is eager not to reinforce the idea that moms have to be it all and do it all. Doing it all means staying happy and healthy for the sake of oneself and their child, and for Case, that means running ultramarathons.
SHARE This Woman’s Incredible Determination With Your Mom Friends…
Quote of the Day: “Challenging the meaning of life is the truest expression of the state of being human.” – Viktor Frankl
Photo by: Benjamin Voros
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
93 years ago today, one of Europe’s greatest landscape engineering projects, the Afsuiltdijk, was completed in the Netherlands, proving that newly-mechanized Man could tame not only the land, but also the seas. The Afsuiltdijk closed off Zuiderzee (South Sea) Bay and converted it into a freshwater lake called IJsselmeer. In the previous 100 years, the Dutch had become experts at turning wetlands into polderland for farming, and armed with hydraulic machinery, they saw no reason why they couldn’t turn a sea into farmland either. READ how it happened… (1932)
