Imagine a running race that takes place in the remote mountains of Tennessee. The course is five loops of off-trail, backwoods hills. Each loop is 42 km long. That\u2019s 210km total. You have 60 hours to run this race. And the total elevation gain is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest, twice.<\/p>\n
Sounds impossible, right? What entrepreneurs might call a “Moonsho<\/a>t”. But what if we choose to believe that it is possible? Why are people compelled to explore the boundaries of human capacity? And how might we build in our students the desire to attempt things that are difficult?<\/p>\n I recently watched a film called The Barkley Marathons<\/a>, about this insane race that takes place in the hills of Tennessee every year. I found the race and Lazarus Lake, the mastermind behind the race, utterly fascinating. As someone who recently completed my first full Ironman<\/a>, I understand people who feel compelled to push themselves to the edges of what they think is possible. But, there were also many points in the film where I found myself thinking about teaching and learning.<\/p>\n The somewhat insane and slightly twisted — but fully brilliant — Lazarus Lake touched on big ideas about what drives people. And he made me wonder how I could apply his thinking to motivating students. Watch this clip from the film, and I\u2019ll explain.<\/p>\n