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I imagine that to just about everyone, running a half marathon represents a challenge, but tackling a half marathon above the Arctic Circle while barefoot sounds akin to a superhuman feat. But for Dutch extreme athlete Wim Hof, aka the “Iceman,” such a remarkable endeavor was just another ticked item on an already extraordinary to-do list — one that includes submerging himself in ice for nearly two hours and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in shorts and sandals. Hof also holds a whopping 26 Guinness World Records.
What makes this remarkable life possible?
One answer is that Hof learned to embrace the cold and its healing effects at a young age. As he told The Guardian, he jumped into a canal in Amsterdam at age 17, and briskly (pun intended) thought, “This is it!” He also believes in the power of mind over matter.
