Amazing feats

Amazing feats

Amazing feats, The following individuals had the drive and determination to complete some pretty amazing acts. They've achieved physical, mental  and even bizarre  feats, illustrating at times the truly unique abilities of the human race.

A mile a day keeps the doctor away

Californian Mark Covert  ran at least one mile every day for an astonishing 45 years . The community college teacher  began his running streak when he was just a teenager before finally deciding to take a day off earlier this summer.

A grandmother sets sail

Grandmother Jeanne Socrates  became the oldest woman to sail solo around the world when she reached Victoria, British Columbia in July . The retired teacher, who sailed a 38-foot boat called Nereida , had attempted the feat twice before.

A high-flying karate master

Earlier this year, skydiving instructor Ernie Torres  combined his day job with his hobby – karate –when he broke the record for the number of wooden blocks smashed during a freefall . Torres, who has a black belt in karate, jumped from 16,000 feet and completed the feat in just over a minute .

A real leap of faith

Felix Baumgartner , or "Fearless Felix" as he's also known, completed a record-breaking jump from space  in October 2012. The skydiver's feat was streamed live on YouTube  and watched by millions .

One man's cross-country cycle for cancer

Luigi Laraia  didn't let a cancer diagnosis  slow him during the summer of 2012. The 37-year-old decided to ride his bike from Washington, D.C., through 12 states and finish in Canada  to raise money and awareness for this health organization.

The oldest female Everest climber

Japanese woman Tamae Watanabe  became the oldest woman to summit Mount Everest in 2002 and in May of last year – a decade later – she did it again. How high is the summit?

An ultra-achievement

Ultra runner Lizzy Hawker  doesn't take things sitting down. When her flight to Katmandu was canceled , she took things into her own hands – or feet, rather – and ran there herself.

A strong set of chompers

Seema Bhadoria hit the headlines in July 2011 for the extraordinary strength of her teeth. The then-26-year-old, who reportedly started pulling items with her teeth when she was just a child, pulled a huge truck using just her chompers.

The Human Spider' climbs more than a beanstalk

Climber Alain Robert , also known as "The Human Spider," has climbed the Eiffel Tower, the Sears Tower , and, as of 2011, can add the world's tallest building to his resume. The Frenchman, also called "the French Spider-Man," makes most of his climbs even more challenging by going sans climbing equipment.

A new high-energy sport?

Winter , as he is now known , has invented what can perhaps be referred to as a sport, or at the very least an activity or hobby. The now-41 year-old has traveled across the globe for years with the goal of visiting every Starbucks in the world  in a process he calls "Starbucking."

An age-defying activity?

Mohr Keet  got his name in the record books on April 6, 2010, when he bungee jumped off the world's highest commercial bungee bridge in South Africa . How high is it?

A man with superhuman strength

Firefighter Chris Hickman perhaps went beyond the call of duty when he came across a car accident during the summer of 2008 . Hickman  noticed a victim's arm was trapped beneath her car and proceeded to lift the car  so her arm could be freed.

A chilly world record

Dutchman Wim Hof  has been breaking world records – his own, mostly – left and right. In one of his most famous ice bath immersions, the man they call the "The Iceman" kept himself in a box of ice  for over an hour outside this art museum in New York City in 2008.

'The Deepest Man on Earth'

Austrian Herbert Nitsch  is a champion free-diver. "The Deepest Man on Earth" earned his nickname by diving an incredible depth on a single breath in 2007 .

Marathon madness

Ultramarathon runner Dean Karnazes set himself an intense running goal in 2006 – to complete the 50/50/50. The extreme endurance runner ran an impressive 50 marathons  in 50 consecutive days across all 50 states.

One man's very mathematical mind

Lu Chao  spent more than an entire day reciting digits of pi in 2005. The then-student  reportedly had even more memorized  but made a mistake about two-thirds of the way to his goal.

The world's oldest practicing physician

Dr. Leila Denmark was already a centenarian when she retired from her doctor duties in 2001. She started her practice at her home in Atlanta  and died a supercentenarian in nearby Athens in 2012.

A long way to row

Scottish rower Diana Hoff  finished an incredible feat when she docked her boat in Barbados in early 2000. The doctor and mother of three  had just rowed across the Atlantic Ocean completely on her own.

One man's way of using his noggin

John Evans  has balanced a number of large items on his head , but in 1999 he became the Guinness World Record holder for the heaviest car balanced on someone's head .

Two men with a lot of hot air

In 1987, aeronaut Per Lindstrand  and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson  got their names in the record books by completing the first transatlantic hot air balloon flight. The pair flew their balloon, "The Virgin Atlantic Flyer", from Sugarloaf Mountain, Maine, to Ireland.

The 'Human Lightning Rod'

Park Ranger Roy Sullivan  unintentionally achieved an amazing feat when he was struck by lightning several times between the years of 1942 and 1977. The "Human Lightning Rod" was injured during a couple of the strikes  but survived every one.

Walking a tight line

Frenchman Philippe Petit  got his name in the history books when he illegally walked between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on a tightropeduring the summer of 1974. He completed the feat several times before being arrested by police .

One man's surgeon? Himself

Dr. Leonid Rogozov  found himself in a mighty dilemma in Antarctica in 1961  when he realized his severe stomach pains were appendicitis. With no other doctor nearby, Rogozov made the decision to operate on himself and remove the appendix.