THE EVENT

In the Olympics there is an event called The Modern Pentathlon. It is five events in one derived from a story of a battlefield courier, who got shot off his horse, used his pistol and sword, swam across a river, and ran to reach his company. The modern events include: riding a horse through an obstacle course, shooting a pistol, fencing, running, and swimming. General George Patton was one of the greatest of the modern competitors in this event. The five components in the Second Wind Pentathlon read like time travel from prehistoric to modern man highlighting an uncommon topography and providing the perfect setting for an uncommon athlete. Perhaps the name of the event could be Caveman to Modern Person.

RUN from the Spanish border past the airport sharing the course with jets and automobiles, red phone booths, Union Jacks, blue-helmeted bobby police, a stylish marina and waterside condo, Europort, past Rosia Bay where David came ashore 30 years ago on his first-ever crossing from Africa and Lord Nelson's body after the battle of Trafalgar, past the botanical gardens, and onto Europa Point, recognized as the most southerly point in Europe. - A run through a country.

RAPPEL off the Rock into the Mediterranean at the site of the Neanderthal Caves.

SWIM the eastern side of The Rock to Sandy Bay staying close enough to The Rock so the current doesn't push them out into the Mediterranean Sea, yet not so close that they would be smashed against the sheer rock.

MOUNTAIN BIKE climb to the top of the Rock, 1,398 feet high through caves used by prehistoric man and tunnels used during the 14 sieges Gibraltar has experienced since 710 AD, past the present day pack of lively Barbary Apes. From the top the payoff is the view. As David wrote in his last book about the special place, "sitting on the cliff at the Rock of Gibraltar, I can see the Atlantic Ocean, the Straits of Gibraltar, the Mediterranean Sea, Africa, and southern Spain as the history of humankind spills out in my imagination...'

KAYAK (doubles) around The Rock through the Mediterranean, the Straits of Gibraltar, into the Bay of Gibraltar, finishing at the marina near the Spanish border.

All five athletic experiences will be achieved one after another non-stop. In triathlons it is called speed through transition. Although here we are not speeding, but having a memorable set of experiences. David has competed in over 70 triathlons. The story connecting each event with the terrain and history will give the pentathlon special mass appeal and interest. In addition the participants will tour the lower chambers in St. Michael's Cave where normally only eight people per day are allowed due to ecological precautions. Scuba diving on shipwrecks off The Rock will be included as part of side expeditions.