Wild Northerner Magazine Summer 2016 | Page 34

the kind of trips he does. He does what he does because he loves it. It is a personal challenge for him and he has to succeed at it. He trains for it and prepares for it and has back up plans.”

Martin is the type of person who isn’t easily persuaded to give up on his expectations for life.

“He is like everybody and has big dreams and he goes after them,” Justin said. “He doesn’t give up either. He keeps doing it.”

Murray gets asked a lot what goes through his mind during the big expeditions. He doesn’t have time to reflect on life like many think he

does. He puts all his focus on his routine and

staying true to his plan.

“These trips are serious work,” he said.

“Anything can happen out there. I

focus on keeping the right pace and

going in the right direction. There

isn’t much thinking for me. When

the day is done, I eat, relax and

go to sleep - it’s not hard to do.

It’s all about walking and

recuperating. When the trip is

over, that is the best moment

because there is a sense of

accomplishment and that is

a good reward.”

Murray doesn’t see himself

as anyone special. He sees

himself as person who made

a change in his life and ran

with it and not from it. It

organically grew from there.

“I think everyone has the spirit

of adventure in them,” he

said. “I have people come

up to me and ask about

my adventures and how

they are moved by them.

It’s nice to know. When I took

control of my life and quit smoking,

it came back into me and the natural

thing to do was go outdoors. I’ve come

a long way and had some ups and downs.

My life has changed for the better.”