Community Corner

Updated: Bubble Man's Run to Catalina Called Off

Bubble Man Reza Baluchi aims to be the first person to run to Catalina Island and back inside a giant inflatable bubble.

UPDATE Friday 1:30 p.m.

After approximately three hours of running in his inflatable bubble in an attempt to run to Catalina Island, Reza Baluchi was forced to return to Redondo Beach's King Harbor after experiencing ventilation issues inside his Zorb ball. 

Even though Baluchi had engineered a special mask to feed him fresh air inside the bubble, the rotating motion of the ball caused the air line to get cut off, he said.  

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Baluchi set out on his quest to be the first person to run to Catalina Island and back at around 7:30 a.m. Friday morning and returned to shore shortly after 11:30 a.m. In just three hours of running, Baluchi said he had lost 7.5 pounds in weight.

While he was not successful in his quest on Friday, Baluchi said he will attempt the feat again in three weeks in a different Zorb that features two large holes on either side of the ball. His current Zorb only had one opening, preventing cross ventilation and fresh air from entering.

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Baluchi told Patch that he was completely confident he will complete the journey on his second try.

"I never quit," he said.

Original Story:

In the 1957 song 26 Miles (Santa Catalina), The Four Preps describe several ways to get to Catalina Island – "the island of romance" – including joining the Navy, riding in a leaky boat and even swimming across with water wings.

The group didn't suggest running, but that is what one man tried to do early Friday morning in Redondo Beach's King Harbor using a giant inflatable bubble. 

Iranian-born runner Reza Baluchi is attempting to be the first person in history to run from the mainland to Catalina Island and back inside a specially modified inflatable "Zorb" ball. In the process, he hopes to raise money to build schools for children in impoverished areas of the world and promote his message of peace.

"If your mind is strong, you can do anything you want," Baluchi said before departing on his approximately 30-mile journey to the island.

His Zorb, nicknamed "The S.S. Captain Bubble," is comprised of an inflatable ball placed inside a circular metal frame resembling a paddle wheel that Baluchi specifically designed for the run. Inflated soccer balls spaced around the circumference of the frame act as stabilizers for the rig.

While inside the bubble, Baluchi will use both his hands and feet to rotate the contraption through the water to Catalina. A custom-made mask attached to a long tube will feed Baluchi fresh air and prevent him from passing out from lack of oxygen while inside the Zorb. 

Because temperatures inside his vessel can reach nearly 120 degrees, Baluchi said he took up residence in Death Valley for two years and ran an average of 30 miles per day in the desert heat to train for the Catalina run.

"I try to run on top of water," Baluchi explained. "Very hot inside; very warm... I make so much sweat inside."

In addition to the heat, Baluchi will have to tackle additional challenges such as ocean swells, currents and strong winds that can blow him off course or make his trek more strenuous.

"Maybe water, wind take me to Florida," Baluchi joked.

If all goes as planned, Baluchi's journey to the island will take an estimated 12 hours. Along the way, Baluchi will be escorted by a boat from the Redondo Beach-based nonprofit City2 Sea.

If successful, Baluchi said that he will up the ante and attempt to run from the United States mainland all the way to the Hawaiian islands in an estimated 46 days.

While it is a feat that no one has ever attempted, Baluchi is no stranger to immense challenges requiring incredible athletic prowess.

Among his many accomplishments, Baluchi ran 11,720 miles around the perimeter of the United States over the course of 202 consecutive days in 2007, ran 3,300 miles from Santa Monica to New York City in 43 days in 2009 and spent seven years biking across 55 countries for a total of 49,700 miles.

If his athletic accomplishments were not enough, Baluchi has also overcome adversity in his home country of Iran, where he endured 18 months of imprisonment in 1996 for "associating with counterrevolutionaries," he said. Baluchi has also been publicly flogged for eating in the daytime during Ramadan.

Once Baluchi gets to Catalina, he will spend the night there, turn around and make a 10-hour journey back to Moonstone Park in Redondo Beach. Organizers said he is expected to return sometime between 4 and 6 p.m. Saturday and welcome all who wish to cheer him on. 

Baluchi's run will help support the nonprofit organization Plant Unity, which will use any funds raised to help build schools and provide education for children in impoverished areas of the world.

"Children are in my heart and I have seen that many do not have good schools, clean water, medical centers or parks to play in," Baluchi wrote on his website. "I will do what I can with my heart, my hands and my feet, whatever I can do."


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