Telski Welcomes Nyad & Stoll, in Town for Telluride EverWalk+, 9/21-9/23

27 Aug Telski Welcomes Nyad & Stoll, in Town for Telluride EverWalk+, 9/21-9/23

EverWalk is the shared vision of ultra athlete and motivational speaker Diana Nyad and her best friend and handler (on the Cuba to Florida swim & more), Bonnie Stoll.

Nyad and Stoll are coming to Telluride Friday- Sunday, September 21-23, 2018 for their next EverWalk event.

Set in the beauty of the San Juan Mountains and hosted by the Telluride Ski & Golf Resort, attendees will learn how they can become part of an initiative designed to change current negative health trends in the U.S.

Scroll down to learn more about Diana Nyad and Bonnie Stoll and how scientist are proving that being out in Mother Nature is vital to our health. (Nyad and Stoll’s fun-filled, fact-filled podcast tops off the narrative.)

Tickets can be purchased at tel.ski/everwalk. Also visit tel.ski/everwalk for a complete list of preferred lodging in Mountain Village.

For further information about this EverWalk Retreat in Telluride, contact Holli Owen, howen@tellurideskiresort.com.

Here’s what we know about Diana Nyad.

In the pitch-black night, stung by jellyfish, after nearly choking to death on saltwater, hallucinating and singing to herself for days, on September 2, 2013, at age 64, Diana Nyad became the first person to swim, without the aid of a shark cage, the 110 miles from Havana to Key West in 53 days, realizing a goal she first set out to achieve starting at age 28.

In the 1970s, the ultra athlete became known as the world’s greatest long-distance swimmer with her open-water achievements, including a record-breaking swim around Manhattan.

For the next 30 years, Nyad worked as a prominent sports broadcaster and journalist, filing compelling stories for National Public Radio, ABC’S Wide World of Sports, and others. She has also written for The New York Times, Newsweek and other publications.

Nyad is also author of the upcoming memoir, “Find a Way,” and three other books. Her first “Other Shores” (1978) is an autobiography about her life as a long-distance swimmer. She wrote a women’s training book aptly titled “Basic Training for Women,”(1981),  and authored a biography of NFL player Keyshawn Johnson titled “Boss of Me: The Keyshawn Johnson Story.”

Diana Nyad is also a national fitness icon and one of today’s most powerfully engaging public speakers.

Here’s what you may not know about Diana Nyad.

She was a victim of sexual assault at age 14. The predator was her trusted high school swimming coach,“a pillar of the community,” Nyad told the New York Times last November in a harrowing account of the incident and its impact on her life.

Nyad was thrown out of Emory University after jumping out of a fourth-floor dormitory window in a parachute. She later graduated from Lake Forest College in Chicago, majoring in French literature.

Among her favorite pastimes is hunkering down into a worn leather chair and reading a book like “The Great Gatsby” or better, a story about astrophysics. Used to be all about Carl Sagan, but today Stephen Hawking, Lawrence Krauss, and Brian Greene, “with his substantial ‘The Elegant Universe’ pull me on,” she told the New York Times in 2015.

Nyad is also a talented linguist and the ingenious Odysseus of the epic journey (and of Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad fame) is purportedly one of this modern-day heroine’s heroes.

Nyad’s TED Talk in December 2013, just a few months after her swim, has so far been viewed by over five million people.

And finally, Diana Nyad and her best friend and head handler, Bonnie Stoll, are coming to town for three days of EverWalk 2018.

Because while others reach for the stars, Nyad’s gaze is always fixed on distant horizons – like the ones down Telluride’s mountain roads.

Diana Nyad & Bonnie Stoll, coming to town to walk with a few of their friends.

Created by Nyad and Bonnie Stoll, EverWalk is a vision to inspire a million people to get up, get out into the magnificent outdoors, talk with each other and adventure along new corridors through walking.

EverWalk events have been held in Key West, Los Angeles and across New England—where participants walked 134 miles from Boston to Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Next up, they will host EverWalk events in the Pacific Northwest—beating feet from White Rock, Canada to Seattle. Next up is Telluride, Colorado, with walks against the scenic backdrop of the iconic San Juan Mountains.

Taking place in the heart of Mountain Village, event attendees are invited to enjoy invigorating morning yoga sessions with Stoll and participate in two 10-mile hikes along trails led by both women.

“As we walk through the majestic nature of Telluride, we will breathe that pristine air, we will gaze at those magical trees, and we will all imagine who we can be, what we want to do with our precious lives,” said Nyad.

Participants can select from four packages based upon the level of immersion they want to experience during the three-day weekend retreat.

There is a Regional Pass ($150 per person) for guests looking to attend the Saturday and Sunday walks, as well as the lunch, a swim demo and a keynote presentation on Saturday.

Silver ($315 per person) and Platinum Passes ($450 per person) include additional events with Nyad and Stoll such as specially-crafted breakfasts, lunches and cocktails to keep participants fueled and even more inspired.

Highlights of the Platinum Pass are an intimate welcome dinner on Friday evening and a farewell brunch with Nyad and Stoll on Sunday morning.

For those looking to spend more one-on-one time with Nyad and Stoll during the weekend organizers will help craft a customized VIP Retreat Experience.

As for the star of the show, Diana Nyad will offer the Telluride community a freestyle swimming demo at The Spa at The Peaks Resort, the largest spa in Colorado, as well as provide motivational ideas throughout the weekend.

Nyad will close the retreat with a keynote presentation Saturday evening.

Nyad and Stoll believe guests will find the “epic” within themselves as “we stride along the curvature of the earth, feeling the self-empowerment of covering miles on our own steam, inspired by the grandeur under our blue skies, connecting and caring about our community as we walk together. EverWalk has brought joy and meaning to thousands of walkers, from Maine to Key West to Seattle…and next up is the breathtaking town of Telluride. The mission aims to inspire a million Americans to leave their screens, head out to the great outdoors and adventure. EverWalk is galvanizing Americans toward becoming a nation of walkers.”

“When we leave our September Telluride retreat, we expect our new friends there to establish walking as a worthwhile part of their everyday lives,” said Stoll.

Just how important is the idea of being out in Mother Nature and walking that extra mile?

Let’s put it this way: an apple a day is far from sufficient.

Perhaps the transformative powers of being out in nature is a giant “DUH,” for those living in Telluride, but we are guessing your conclusion – as many conclusions on the subject to date – is largely empirical and qualitative. It is not based on the study of alpha waves.

An evolving science – nature neuroscience to be exact – focused on the impact of the nature on our minds and bodies suggests that regular exposure can now take its rightful place next to kale, aerobic exercise, yoga, and meditation as one of the newest – and oldest – miracle cures, an antidote to the modern malaise of stress and screen addiction and the secret to a longer, happier, healthier, more creative life.

According to the latest research, as little as 15 minutes in the woods has been shown to reduce test subjects’ levels of cortisol, the stress hormone and lower blood pressure. Increase exposure to the sights, sounds, and smells of nature to 45 minutes and most individuals experience improvements in cognitive performance. Researchers in England have shown that access to green spaces reduces income-related mental health disparities. And the awe of being at a place like the Grand Canyon – or Telluride – or staring at the Milky Way affirms the mystery of the unknown and takes us out of ourselves. In awe, we stop staring at our belly buttons, stop ruminating (which contributes to depression), and magically feel connected to the larger world.

In “The Nature Fix,” award-winning author Florence Williams easily, breezily, sassily demonstrates that our connection to nature is far more important to our cognition and peace of mind than we ever knew and that even limited exposure to the natural world can enhance our creativity and elevate our mood. After all, as she pointed out to a Mountainfilm audience in 2017, we evolved outside.

Being indoors on screens all day, everyday wears us down.

Find out about more things you may not know about Diana Nyad and Bonnie Stoll and more about EverWalk by listening to their podcast.