Guy Running on Ocean in a Bubble Gets a Save

Coast Guard picks up Reza Baluchi after he suffers fatigue
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 5, 2014 8:05 AM CDT
Guy Running on Ocean in a Bubble Gets a Save
An MH-60 aircrew assists a man they medically evacuated east of St. Augustine, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014. Reza Baluchi, whose latest goal was to reach Bermuda in a floating bubble, was rescued by the Coast Guard.   (AP Photo/U.S. Coast Guard)

If your idea of a good time is running across 3,500 miles of ocean hamster-wheel style in what amounts to a bubble, well, we'd advise packing more than water and protein bars. As NBC reports, the United States Coast Guard yesterday came to the rescue of marathon runner and peace activist Reza Baluchi, whose somewhat dubious plan to run—in an inflatable plastic bubble known as a hydro pod—from Florida to Bermuda to Puerto Rico and back to southern Florida was foiled by good old-fashioned fatigue. After Baluchi activated a locating device yesterday, an air crew picked him up about 70 miles off the coast of St. Augustine, Fla.

But it wasn't Baluchi's first run-in with the Coast Guard; Sky notes that officials had earlier in the week warned the Iranian exile to abandon his attempt after noticing that he had only water and protein bars with him; he reportedly planned to catch fish. Baluchi refused, notes NBC, arguing that he had prepared for the journey for two years. Baluchi has some experience with distance runs: His website says he has twice run across the United States. (More Reza Baluchi stories.)

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