John Gluckman: A Life of Adventure, Resilience, and Giving Back
For John Gluckman, life has always been about pushing boundaries—both physical and personal. His journey began in 1968 with a 23-day Outward Bound course at Anakiwa.
For John Gluckman, life has always been about pushing boundaries - both physical and personal. His journey began in 1968 with a 23-day Outward Bound course at Anakiwa.
This was the 57th Outward Bound course ever run – we are now almost at 800 courses completed!
At just 17 years old, John discovered a passion for the outdoors, challenge, and personal growth that would shape the rest of his life.
In John’s words “Highlights of the course included three days of white-water kayaking, a three day sailing expedition in a three tonne cutter and several multi day bush walking expeditions in very hilly terrain. Other highlights included a confidence course over ropes which were high off the ground and rock climbing and abseiling.”
Since then, John has climbed the highest peaks on every continent, completing the famed Seven Summits. He’s run marathons on every continent - from the high-altitude Everest Marathon to Antarctica’s icy King George Island—and even completed a full Ironman in Auckland.
John says: “As far as physical activity goes, I was given a life sentence as soon as I had graduated from Outward Bound in 1968.”
John’s story is not just one of physical feats, but of resilience. In 2002, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. True to form, he made a full recovery and was back climbing just 3 months after surgery, summiting the Penny Icecap in the Canadian Arctic. He hasn’t slowed down since, continuing to compete in World Masters Games and earning a bronze medal in the 4x5km cross-country ski relay in Quebec in 2015.
Over the years, he’s also sailed oceans, skied remote wilderness, and completed ultramarathons—always seeking the next challenge.
In 2009, John returned to where it all began, completing a 5 day Outward Bound course at Anakiwa for Outward Bound Old Boys.
In 2024 John faced a new cancer battle, and had his bladder removed in September, followed by months of chemotherapy.
Now at age 74, John is preparing for his next adventure following his recent cancer treatment: the World Masters Games in Taipei where he will compete in the 10,000m and the half marathon races. In honour of the organisation that helped launch his incredible journey, he has raised $3,000 for Outward Bound New Zealand.
From the mountains to the marathon trail, John Gluckman continues to inspire with his unstoppable spirit, humble determination, and generous heart.
We cannot wait to see how you go in Taipei, John. You are an inspiration to us all at Outward Bound. We can’t thank you enough for your support.
Here is a full list of John’s amazing achievements
Mountain climbing
1978 Kilimanjaro summit
1982 Orizaba & Popocatapetl (the 3rd and 5th highest peask in North America)
1985 6,190 metre Island Peak, Nepal
1989 Aconcagua 6,960m, Argentina (unfortunately he had to turn back 150m before summit)
1991 Mt Cook 3,764m, New Zealand
1992 Mt Tasman 3,498m, New Zealand
1998 Gunnbjorn Fjeld 3,700m, Greenland - the highest peak both in Greenland and the Arctic
1999 Mount Kosciusko 2,228m, Australia – the highest peak on the Australian mainland
Mountain climbing (Seven Summits)
1990 Mt Vinson 4,897m, Antarctica
1992 Cartensz Pyramid 4,884m, Indonesia New Guinea (Oceania)
1993 Mt Everest 8,848m, Nepal (Asia)
1994 Mt McKinley, now named Denali 6,194m, Alaska (North America)
1996 Mt Aconcagua 6,961m, Argentina (South America)
1999 Mt Kilimanjaro 5,895m, Tanzania (Africa)
2000 Mt Elbrus 5,642m, Caucasus, Russia (Europe)
Marathon (Seven Continents)
1997 Everest Marathon, from near base camp to Namche Bazaar (Asia)
2002 The Last Marathon, King George Island, Antarctica, time 5h 20m
2003 (July), Gold Coast Marathon (Oceania), 3h 58m
2003 (November), Frankfurt (Europe) and New York (North America) Marathons, 4h 15m
2004 (March), Kilimanjaro Marathon (Africa), 5h
2004 (April), Santiago Marathon, Chile (South America), 4h 20m
Winter World Masters Games
2010 Bled, Slovenia, competing in the 10km cross country ski event and the 30km ski marathon
2015 Quebec City, bronze medal in 4x5km cross-country ski relay
2020 Innsbruck, Austria, competing in the 15km cross country ski event
2024 Lombardy, Italy, competing in the 15km cross country ski
World Masters Games
2002 Melbourne, Australia, competing in the 5,000m and 10,000m races, and the half marathon
2009 Sydney, Australia, competing in the 1,500m, 5,000m & 10,000m, and reaching the finals for the 1,500m and competing in many other events
2013 Turin, Italy, competing in the 800m, 1,500m and 5,000m races
2017 Auckland, New Zealand, competing in the 800m, 1,500m and 10,000m races
Ski Expeditions
In 2018 John joined an expedition that skied from the west to the east coast of Greenland
In 2019 John joined an expedition skiing the last degree of latitude from 89 degrees south to the South Pole.