All Abbie Newton could see as she stood on the Andes Mountain range were voluminous white clouds. At 12,000 feet above sea level Newton’s 140-mile journey through Peru began.
Newton, a journalism and political science sophomore, traveled to Peru from Nov. 1-17, to take on the ultimate challenge — running 140 miles in six consecutive days with four other youth ambassadors from the U.S., Canada and Australia.
The trip was sponsored through Impossible2Possible, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing life-changing experiences to young adults.
Newton ran 20 to 25 miles a day through many different ecosystems, winding her way down through rocky terrain, past flowing rivers and waterfalls and into the tropical Amazon rain forest.
“Half the time you forgot you were running, just because you were captivated by the beauty of the land,” said Newton, who had never left the U.S. before.
One day of the expedition, their run was cut short because of the possibility of jaguars coming out at night. Newton also saw snakes, monkeys and other indigenous animals.
Newton said running through the rain forest brought about claustrophobic feelings.
“You can’t see the sky very much,” she said.
Newton slept in tents along the way, and carried one backpack filled with toilet paper, hand sanitizer, socks and food.
“We didn’t really shower except for a waterfall that we ran through,” Newton said, laughing.
The ambassadors received food and water on a daily basis from a lead vehicle that traveled ahead of them. They followed the vehicle to stay on track as they ran.
The group also stopped in local villages to meet the native people and try the cuisine.
“We had a lot of llama, (and we) tried guinea pig — (it was a) slimy meat,” Newton said.
Ray Zahab, the founder of Impossible2Possible, said every expedition features youth ambassadors running to a specific destination that is educationally relevant.
“It opens their minds to the possibility that they can do anything they set their minds to,” Zahab said about the experience of the expedition.
Newton said her day typically began around 6 a.m. and the group would run from 8:30 a.m. to noon, completing 13 to 14 miles in the morning.
During the break, the ambassadors held video conferences with schools around the globe to inspire students about resiliency.
Newton said she spoke with between 8,000 to 10,000 students through the video conferences.
After they ate lunch, the group ran for three or four more hours and ended the day with a lesson about the ecosystems they personally witnessed through the day.
To join the expedition, Newton filled out a general application that youth all around the world can apply for. From these applications, the Impossible2Possible team picked 20 finalists. The finalists then went through a series of interviews, after which Newton was selected as one of the five ambassadors.
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After being chosen in August, Impossible2Possible put Newton through intensive training to prepare her for the rigorous expedition prior to sending her to Peru, which was paid for by the organization.
“It’s not a matter of throwing these people to the wolves,” Zahab said.
Newton said returning home to her apartment in East Lansing was a stimulation overload after seeing the simple life of the Peruvian people.
“It made me appreciate the little things in our lives,” she said. “We don’t need to be all extravagant.”
