The journey of a thousand miles...

Begins with one step, right?

Well, the funny thing about that 'one step' is that we sometimes have no idea when we're taking it - and it can set us on new life changing journeys in an instant. For my first (what eventually became) Outspire adventure - my 'one step' took place in a pizza restaurant in Manly Beach, Australia. A casual conversation with a dear friend of mine from Sweden discussing a race that he is about to accomplish for the third time called Vasaloppet. I don't quite know what took over but I could not learn enough or talk enough about this race. 

A fire was lit - my first step had been taken.

Given Vasaloppet is an annual race with 16,000 competitors a year - tickets are very hard to get ahold of and it took me a few years to secure a spot. Now, in 2015, I have landed my place in the Swedish classic cross country ski race... the only thing left is to learn how to ski, and have as much fun as a I can along the way.

A couple months into the program (self created) - I have had a number of amazing people come out of the woodwork to support, and I suppose that's the way with epic commitments. You put yourself to something, and follow through each step of the way - and as they say "the universe will conspire to help you". I have had people on the other side of Australia reach out to supply gear to train on land with (thank you Roller Ski Australia!) my trainers at Million Dollar Fitness in Manly get incredibly involved and design workouts specific to skiing, and now I am even training with an Olympic cross country skier from Slovenia - the amazing Barbara Jezersek - simply because I have put myself out there and backed myself on this journey.

I have 90K to race in 13 hours in a sport I've never attempted before. At the time of writing this I have still yet to hit the snow... but I know that with my determination and the amazing people that I have connected with - that truly anything is possible. This is also what has driven me to found Outspire - being a platform for inspiring others to get outside and bring adventure and "play" into their lives. We can all do anything we want - its just commitment and communication, and thats what is driving me to help others via this webpage.

With that, Vasaloppet training - and Outspire is born.

I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I will.

Josh