Twelve thousand miles: Iowan Charlie Wittmack attempting the all-time triathon

It seems utterly impossible.

Swimming 400 miles in a 40-day span, from the River Thames in London to the shore of France.

Then, bicycling 11,248 miles over 11 countries in Europe and Asia.

Finally, hiking from the lowest point of Nepal to the summit of Mount Everest.

Des Moines attorney Charlie Wittmack has every intention of doing all of the above, starting July 10 and concluding in May 2011.

“The entire expedition is roughly 100 times an Ironman triathlon,” Wittmack said.

As if that wasn't more than a person could possibly undertake, Wittmack's “World Tri” will incorporate health and educational components that he cites as the most important parts of his journey.

“Eight weeks in the middle of it will just be focused on global health,” he said.

“This is a $1.2 million expedition, and over $600,000 is going to our global health initiative. That's now been fully funded through partnerships with Des Moines University, Mercy Hospital (in Des Moines), and the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood.”

Medical professionals and students will go to Nepal as part of the World Tri. They will help train local health-care professionals in how to reduce that nation's mortality rate for mothers during childbirth, the world's 16th-highest.

The trip will be used as a teaching tool in U.S. schools, too. A curriculum will be available for classes to follow his journey on the Web, with a focus on earth sciences.

“The existence of this expedition allows us to create a health program that otherwise wouldn't be done,” Wittmack said. “We want to raise a greater global awareness about that health issue.

“And, we want to try to get the next generation of Iowans inspired to take on global issues so they don't feel powerless about some of the issues facing our future.”

This all revolves around one person, a 5-foot-8, 145-pound, 33-year-old lawyer who has been given a leave of absence from the Davis Brown Law Firm so he can train for several hours a day. The distance between Points A and B is about 12,000 miles, with little coming easily.

Wittmack said he has fantasized about taking on such an enormous challenge since he was a teen who enjoyed running, swimming and cycling.

Completing any of the three parts of the World Tri is, of course, out of the realm of possibility for 99.9999 percent of us. Wittmack, however, isn't part of that majority.

For one thing, he planted an Iowa flag atop Mount Everest in 2003. He survived spending three days above 20,000 feet without food or water, and was without an oxygen bottle for a day. But he still became the first Iowan to reach the world's highest point.

“Being a lawyer, that's never really been a title I've claimed,” he said. “I guess it was given to the first Iowa-born Iowa resident to climb Everest. But it's a pretty small community.”

Wittmack won the male division of the 2008 Swim Around Key West, a 12.5-mile event he completed in five hours and 32 minutes. He attempted to swim the 21-mile English Channel in 2008, but was pulled out of the water after 15 miles because he was suffering from hypothermia.

“I didn't wear a wet suit,” he said. “This time, I will.”

After each day of his six to eight hours of swimming, Wittmack will then use a bike trainer for an hour or two to prepare for the longest leg of the World Tri.

The cycling is scheduled from Aug. 10 to Dec. 1. “The toughest leg, frankly, will be the bike ride,” Wittmack said.

“There are so many mountains I'll have to cross. I'll be going across a mountain glacier. There will be an 1,100-kilometer road across the desert that is without services.”

At 18, Wittmack not only rode on the Iowa 150 Bike Ride that went from one end of the U.S. to the other, but he was the chief bicycle mechanic for the 5,100-mile ride.

Chuck Offenburger, then a columnist for the Des Moines Register, was an organizer of that event, which promoted Iowa's 1996 Sesquicentennial.

“When Charlie reached the summit of Mount Everest in 2003, under the most difficult conditions, that banished any lingering doubts anybody should have about what this young guy can accomplish,” Offenburger said. “He'll get it done.

“And maybe the best thing about Charlie is that just getting it done is not enough for him. He wants to share the whole experience with all of us, in real time and afterward, too. Iowans, especially, should not miss this. We should be following him every bit of his way, London to Everest.”

This will all be documented by Web journalist/travel coordinator Brian Triplett of Bettendorf and filmmaker Andy Stoll of Iowa City. Wittmack's wife, Cate, and 2-year-old son, James, will be on the trip when possible.

Attempts at marathon swims have ended before their scheduled completion. Attempts at marathon bicycle rides have ended abruptly. Most attempts to climb Everest end unsuccessfully.

To do all three in succession? It's utterly impossible. Or is it?

“I've had 15 years of training so far,” Wittmack said. “It's a lot of hard work. The physical piece of this is sort of one in a million. I'll need a couple miracles along the way.”

The Wittmacks have sold their house, will sell their cars, and have borrowed money to fund the triathlon portion of the World Tri.

“We're going after it,” he said.

That may be the Mount Everest of understatements.