Mark Agnew - Asia's Adventure Journalist

The Endurance Asia Podcast

Mark Agnew is the Outdoor and Extreme Sports Editor at the South China Morning Post (SCMP) in Hong Kong. You can find all his articles for SCMP here: https://www.scmp.com/author/mark-agnew. And he’s on Instagram @adventureagnew

Mark has attempted to row the Atlantic on two occasions and is incredibly frank and honest about how those experiences impacted him. Not to be dissuaded, he’ll be part of the 2021 crew attempting to become the first in history to row the Northwest Passage, the 2000 mile route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It’s set to be an incredible undertaking on a truly fabled route, only made even vaguely possible because of global warming. The expedition will in part be a fact-finding endeavour to explore the truth of what’s occurring with the climate in the Arctic region.

In our chat with Mark we cover:

• His unique role at the SCMP and why running coverage is not more common in newspapers worldwide

• What draws high achievers and Type-A personalities to endurance sports (and why Hong Kong is the perfect example)

• The lack of diversity in endurance sports (for more on which, see here: www.outsideonline.com/2229791/why-are-most-endurance-athletes-rich)

• The books of Adharanand Finn, including Running with the Kenyans, The Way of the Runner and The Rise of the Ultra Runners

• Mark’s pick for the most impressive recent endurance sports achievements in Hong Kong, including the stories of James Somers Eve, Sarah Pemberton, Nikki Han, Hyun Chang Chun, former Endurance Asia guest Mayank Vaid and more.

• The recent CrossFit controversy

• Mark’s own attempts to row across the Atlantic

• China’s Kung Fu Cha Cha rowing team, who set two world records in their Atlantic crossing

• The forthcoming Northwest Passage Expedition 2021 (including sponsorship opportunities) and Mark’s own words on the subject.

For more on the history of the Northwest Passage, check out the books The Man Who Ate His Boots (recommended by Mark) and Arctic Labyrinth.

The Adventure Trail podcast Mark hosted with Mary Hui for the SCMP has sadly been discontinued, but the episodes are still available and well worth checking out.

In our follow-up chat, Scott and Ric discuss:

• The new Lands End to John O Groats (LEJOG) records in the UK

• Courtney Dauwalter’s Colorado Trail FKT attempt

• Singapore’s Monster Ultra 200

Podcast hosted by Ultra Endurance enthusiasts Scott Pugh and Ric Stockfis.