The last few days I've been doing some research and trying to collect inspiring stories of people doing unusual things in their life. I've selected, so far, six people to write about - but I'm looking for more.

These people will end up being tied into a section of the film talking about what core ideas are behind people setting off to swim great rivers, or climb challenging mountains, or bike huge distances, etc.

I thought I'd mention a few of the people I'm writing about now, and see if any of you had great suggestions that I could research for the film.

The first two people are college friends - Thelma Jones and Doris Roy. The two young woman left Buffalo, NY, on June 22nd, 1944, and headed west through Ohio, then south at the Mississippi where they eventually took a freighter to New Orleans. From the gulf they circled around the coast toward D.C.. They were both 21 years old.

Then there is Donald Forest - he climbed his first mountain at the age of 40, having never shown any interest in climbing before in his life. Several years later he reached the peaks of 27 of the highest mountains in the Rockies - all within the same year - setting a record.

I'm also researching Gertrude Ederle - who had lost much of her hearing, at an early age, after a deadly case of the measles. She would become the first woman wade into the waters off Grey Nose Cape, France, and 14 hours later, reach the other side of the English Channel.

Then there is Martin Strel, born in the Republic of Slovenia, in 2007 he spent 66 days swimming the length of the Amazon. In the end he travelled over 3,270 miles... a distance wider than the Atlantic Ocean.

And last there's Thomas Stevens - a miner from Colorado, who at the age of 29 bought his first bicycle (weighing 42 pounds) in San Francisco. On April 22nd, 1844, he left the Bay area and 103 days later reached Boston, becoming the first person to ever cross the US by bicycle. He decided then to keep traveling, becoming the first to bike around the entire Earth. He returned to San Francisco by steamer in Jan of 1887.


I'm open to more historical cases of great adventures - but at this point I'm specifically looking for more and more modern stories of travel. People who, at the later stages of their lives, decided to up and backpack across the world... Or run for years at a time. The suggestions should be physical accomplishments. I'm looking forward to everyone's ideas! Thanks in advance.