Frank Fumich isn’t just humble. He borders on oblivious.
“I’m not very skilled; I’m not a professional athlete. I’m a totally average, 50-something, almost-60 guy,” he says shortly after climbing Mount Everest. “There’s nothing physically incredible about me.”
His definition of “physically incredible” is open to interpretation because if you can name an extreme challenge, chances are Fumich has conquered it. Marathons are his Sunday jog. He does Ironman triathlons to stay in shape. Your bucket list is his maintenance phase.
Fumich’s resume reads like a list of made-up unpleasant things that would make you say, “What kind of psycho would do that?” He’s bicycled across America, run a 350-mile race above the Arctic Circle and paddle-boarded 32 miles from Molokai to Oahu.
He’d climbed the highest peak on six of seven continents, including Antarctica. Oh, and he skied to the South Pole, after he skied to the North Pole. Until this year, the only challenge he had yet to conquer is one that looms above every avid adventurer: Mt. Everest.
“I feel like for 20 years I knew I had to face it,” he said. “I’ve done the toughest things around the world, but any endurance career without summiting Everest just wouldn’t be complete. So, I was going to face it at some point. I’m getting older, getting worried, do I still have what it takes?”
13 Frank Fumich Endurance Feats By the Numbers
- RAAM: “The World’s Toughest Bicycle Race” starts in California, spans 3,000 miles, climbs 175,000 feet and crosses 12 states, finishing in Maryland in 12 days or less.
- 6633 Arctic Ultra: A non-stop, self-supported 350-mile foot race that takes place north of the Arctic Circle in Canada.
- Badwater 135: “The World’s Toughest Foot Race” is a non-stop 135-mile race run in Death Valley in July when temperatures often hit 120 degrees.
- Leadville 100: AKA “The Race Across The Sky” is a 100-miler in Leadville, Colorado, where most of the race is run at over 10,000 feet.
- UTMB: Ultra Tour du Mont Blanc is a 100-miler around Mont Blanc in the Alps. It ascends and descends over 33,000 feet. Runners begin in France and run through Switzerland, Italy and back into France.
- Furnace Creek 508: As the name implies, this 508-mile ultra cycling race is run through the Mojave Desert with over 36,000 feet of climbing.
- Molokai2Oahu World Championships: A 32-mile open ocean, stand-up paddle race.
- Racing The Planet’s 4 Desert Series: 150-mile, self-supported desert races over six days in the hottest, driest, highest and windiest deserts in the world.
- Western States 100: This endurance run is the world’s oldest and most prestigious 100-mile trail race. The race ascends over 18,000 feet and descends almost 23,000 feet.
- Marathon des Sable: The MDS is a 150-mile, self-supported desert stage race over six days in the Sahara Desert in Morocco. Runners must carry all their own food and gear for the week in their packs that can weigh 20-plus pounds.
- Coast2Kosci: A 150-mile ultra marathon from the coast of Australia to the top of its highest peak.
- DECA Ironman: A non-stop, 24-mile swim, 1,120-mile bike, and a 262-mile run. (Essentially 10 Ironmen total.)
- PLUS: Fumich has run 160 marathons to date.
A Career of Extreme Adventures
In some respects, you could call Frank Fumich “normal.” He’s built a steady commercial aircraft catering business, so the next time you’re enjoying a Biscoff cookie at 30,000 feet, thank Fumich. He’s married, and he has twin teenage daughters.
He also looks completely normal, or at least normal in that way older guys who do endurance sports do. Lean, athletic, tan and a little grizzled. But standing next to him isn’t like standing next to Derrick Henry. He gives off a relaxed, affable air, the kind of guy who’ll matter-of-factly tell you he just got done running 150 miles through the desert, then genuinely ask, “How was your weekend?”
That, however, is about where “normal” and Frank Fumich go their separate ways.
How Frank Fumich Became an Endurance Athlete
Fumich began his endurance career nearly 30 years ago when he ran the Marine Corps Marathon to honor his aunt, who had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor.
“I ran the marathon and I was just intrigued immediately,” he says. “I was in so much pain, but I was like, wow, even though your body wants to quit, your brain just makes you continue.”
He ran another marathon. Then signed up for an Ironman triathlon. Then literally jumped straight into the fire at the Badwater 135—a 135-mile road race through Death Valley in July, where temps can top 125 degrees.
“It’s just a challenge to see if I can do it,” he says. “The appeal of learning about some crazy event that, when you first read about it, sounds insane, and then wondering if I could do it. And then making the decision to sign up, and then you sacrifice all your time and you train for it, and then just to go and do it.”
Fumich reiterated he’s not somebody special. His body isn’t any more remarkable than yours or mine. He just won’t let himself stop.
In all his endurance adventures, he’s only failed twice. Once was during his first attempt at the Ride Across America, where intense saddle sores caused him to time out at the 2,500-mile mark. The other came during one of his early attempts at an Ultra Marathon in Leadville, Colorado, timing out of that race too.
“I say I’m tougher than 99% of people, I just hate to quit, and I’m super stubborn,” he says.
For example, when Fumich ran the Berlin Marathon a couple of years ago, he tore a hamstring during Mile 4. He then walked the remaining 22 miles, finishing 10 minutes before the cutoff.
“I was looking around like, nobody out here, if they pulled a hamstring, would be limping 22 miles to finish this,” he says. “I know I’m a psycho, but I’m just not going to stop until I get timed out. So, I guess I want it more than the average person, maybe.”
Finishing The Explorer’s Grand Slam
Having already summited the highest peaks on six other continents and skied to the North and South Poles, Mount Everest was the lone jewel left in his Explorers Grand Slam.
“Over 8,000 people have summited Everest,” he says, “But only like 70-something have done the Explorer’s Grand Slam. So, it’s a crazy short list for a totally average 50-something-year-old to finish.”
How Frank Fumich Trained for Mount Everest
His preparation began almost a year out, using a custom program he got from a mountain trainer in Chamonix, France. Fumich’s home in suburban Virginia doesn’t offer quite the alpine environment of Chamonix or even Colorado. So, he spent much of his training time climbing up a Stairmaster, carrying backpacks with 20% of his body weight. His longest session was just over six hours, doing each one to three times per week.
“It was like a full-time job,” he says.
He flew to Palm Springs and did portions of the Cactus to Clouds hike, gaining 10,000 feet of elevation in a day. He hiked in Shenandoah National Park, logging a few 12-mile trips ascending 3,500 vertical feet.
To help acclimatize, he spent nights in an altitude tent, where air was pressurized to 22,000 feet.
“It’s super uncomfortable—you find yourself choking yourself awake,” he says. “But physiologically, you just don’t know how you’re going to perform at altitude. The highest I’d ever been was 23,000 feet, and that’s a big jump from 23 to 29. I mean, planes fly that high.”
Cold, Death And Perspective Atop Everest
Once he arrived at Everest Base Camp—elevation 17,598 feet—Fumich learned that despite all his training, nothing could prepare him for the altitude.
“We were all waking up, choking in our sleep,” he says. “Any sudden movement, even at base camp, you’re panting.”
The altitude also causes severe loss of appetite, which makes fueling another unexpected challenge.
“I had no appetite the whole time I was there, so my energy level was really low. Knowing each day you have to get up and climb Mount Everest with no energy was pretty daunting,” he says. “I had a lot of sports gels, drink powder and snacks. But meals? At base camp they had a cafeteria, and they made nice meals, but I had no appetite.”
When the weather finally afforded an opening, Fumich and his team began their ascent to the summit, a trip that would take just over five days. It was not without its surreal moments.
While waiting near the summit for one-way traffic to clear, Fumich found himself standing a few inches from the body of a climber who’d died while coming back down.
“I stayed there like five minutes waiting for people, maybe 2 inches from a dead body,” he says. “I learned later that it was a guy who had also finished six of seven summits, summited Everest, then died on the way back down. His story was a lot like mine, and that blew me away.”
The morning they summited, Fumich’s group also passed a climber who had clipped himself in near the ledge of a dropoff. He was sitting on the ground, mumbling and humming to himself.
“I was like, ‘Well, this is crazy,’” he says. “And the sun hadn’t even come up yet. It was super sketchy. We came back down an hour later and he was dead.”
Fumich survived and made it to the top, but like everyone who climbs Everest he also pushed the limits of human endurance. On the trek back down, Fumich ran out of oxygen, though he’s still unclear on why.
“It was a super steep section coming down, and I don’t know if I sucked down more oxygen faster than they thought, or maybe they didn’t give me a full bottle. But I basically ran out of oxygen and they had to change it,” he says. “At that moment I’m like, wow, you could do this and die here and what is the point of all this?
“When you’re in that situation and you realize how close you are to the edge, you think about your loved ones. If you don’t make it back home, what’s the point. You have to make it home or it was all just pointless.
“So my new perspective is that things like family are way more important than accomplishing the goal. You can sometimes be blinded by personal ambition, or maybe in my case you just don’t think it’s going to happen to you. But I can guarantee that every dead body up on Everest never thought they’d be the ones to end up there. And if I hadn’t summited, I’d be done. I would not be going back.
“Now it stands as the biggest physical accomplishment of my life, but it could have easily been the biggest tragedy of my life...and more importantly of my wife and kids’ lives.”
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What Mount Everest Changed for Frank Fumich
A month after his climb, Fumich seemed more or less back to normal, save for some frostbitten toes and the “Khumbu Cough”—a common affliction of people exposed to Everest’s extreme elements. He’d been suffering with it for a month, coughing so hard he thought he’d cracked a rib. The cough was a small price to pay for finally climbing out from under Everest’s shadow.
“After 15, 20 years, this massive self-imposed weight is off my back,” he says. “So, I’m feeling fantastic. I haven’t even hit the usual post-race adventure doldrums where you get back after a massive goal and you’re like, geez, what am I going to do now? I’m totally content.”
If you’re inspired by Fumich’s accomplishments, he’s honored, but hardly considers himself a hero.
“If you set a goal and work hard enough, I think anybody is capable of doing any of the stuff I’ve done,” he says. “If they train hard enough and they just refuse to give up, that’s the key to it all. It is 90% mental.’
Well, it is if you’re Frank Fumich.
