Tarka L'Herpiniere

Tarka L'Herpiniere - Explorer, Endurance Athlete & Filmmaker

Although only in his mid-twenties, Tarka L'Herpiniere has shown the courage and ambition to tackle some awe-inspiring expeditions. Tarka speaks with passion about taking opportunities, facing difficult challenges and staying focused in tough times. He knows what it is to face disappointment and hardship and how vital it is to stay motivated. Tarka seeks to inspire audiences to break free from any self-imposed limitations and achieve their goals. His humour, dramatic photographs and film footage ensure a memorable presentation.

At just 16 years, Tarka L'Herpiniere took a bicycle out of a skip, restored it and set off on a 1,000km journey. Inspired to test his limits two years later, Tarka ran the equivalent of 8 consecutive marathons in 8 days. A promising rugby player, Tarka's first love, however, was the mountains as he grew up in the French Alps. An experienced mountaineer, Tarka reached the summit of Mt Aconcagua in Argentina among many others. In 2006, Tarka attempted to summit Mt Everest with a group of elite climbers without oxygen. Dramatically, at 7km above sea level, Tarka developed a highly dangerous condition and had to be evacuated (just as Civil War was breaking out). Tarka's has experienced the challenge of Arctic winters too with successful expeditions in 2002 & 2003. The following year, Tarka attempted to become the youngest person ever to reach the North and South Poles, unaided and in succession, but regretfully, sponsors had to withdraw and Tarka couldn't complete the project.

In 2007, Tarka L'Herpiniere and his partner Katie-Jane L'Herpiniere became the first to walk the length of the Great Wall of China from West to East, a journey of more than 3,000 miles (4,300km) which took them 167 days. (The full extent of the Wall had been revealed by archeologists.) The expedition took them through rural China and remote, dramatic and inhospitable landscapes but it is their encounters with people and their generosity that will stay with them most. They survived the heat of the Gobi desert and -35C in snowy mountains.

Inspired by Tarka, Katie, an ex-model, underwent the most colossal transformation to prepare for and complete this expedition. Tarka and Katie have developed an inspiring dual talk giving both sides of their unique story.

Speaker Topics

• follow your dreams
• persevere despite difficulties and set-backs
• courage & conquering the fear of failure
• achieve your goals - achieve your potential
• Co-operation in adversity

Rave Reviews - 'I would like to thank you for the absolutely fantastic talk that you gave. Everyone I spoke to after the event found your story captivating and very inspirational. People have been talking about it ever since.' (Admiral Group)

Speaking Style - Fluent in English and French, Tarka is an accomplished, experienced speaker. He has excellent film footage and photographs to draw upon to tailor each talk. Tarka also offers a captivating dual talk with Katie-Jane L'Herpiniere about their Great Walk of China.

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Motivational keynote | After Dinner | Inspirational | Awards Host