Posts Tagged ‘RacingThePlanet’

From one extreme to another – yesterday we talked about the up-coming Yak-Attack in Nepal: mountains, snow, freezing waters, etc. And today RacingThePlanet’s first annual event of the year, the Atacama Crossing, begins – desert: the hottest, driest, windiest and coldest place on earth. This race is no walk in the park. It is about as extreme as an event of this kind could possibly be (racingtheplanet)..

RacingThePlanet and Extreme World Challenges have one thing in common. They both seek extreme locations for their very extreme events. And these are not self-congratulatory events… they both raise money for charities of their choice, charities that benefit the country that they are eventing in.

“As anyone who has run to raise money will tell you, a charitable cause is a powerful motivator and can often mean the difference between failing and finishing. And, in a world bursting with special fund-raising events and charitable challenges, the 4 Deserts still ranks as one of the hardest but most rewarding ways in which to make a positive contribution to your community,” says Dave Flanagan.

And this year Chile has suffered a catastrophic earthquake – so big that it has knocked the earth of its habitual axis. That’s quite something to contemplate isn’t it? RacingThePlanet considered the appropriateness of running a race after a cataclysmic event like this and decided that they could hopefully do more good than harm. Raise money for charities that desperately needed the help, and show the bereaved country that it was not bereft of friends.

“The Atacama Crossing 2010 represents an opportunity to support a wonderful country that is currently in mourning. The event will be a tribute to everything that is great about Chile – its people, its astonishing landscapes and its indomitable spirit. And now there’s also the prospect of raising funds to help the disaster relief effort through the link RacingThePlanet has established with the international charity Habitat for Humanity.”

The event  is part of the 4 Deserts races which were named by TIME magazine as #2 on its list of the Top 10 Endurance Competitions in the world. This is the sixth time this particular race has been run. Thirty four countries will be represented with competitors coming from six continents. The youngest competitor  is Sam Sharrock of the United Kingdom who is 18 years old – he will be taking part with his father.  The eldest competitor is Laurence (Laurie) J. Brophy of Wales who will be 78 years old on the start line.

Not only that, but Laurie will, if he completes,  set a new record of being the oldest person to have completed a 4 Deserts event. He currently holds this title from his completion of the Sahara Race (Egypt) 2005 at the age of 72 — this title was then equaled by Jack Denness of the United Kingdom in the Sahara Race (Egypt) 2008.

That’s quite something to be able to boast about…

77% of the competitors are male and 23% are female in this Atacama Crossing  – this is a 4% increase in the number of women compared to the same event in 2009. A record nine competitors from Chile will take part. There are 14 competitors from South America in total, also a record. The largest contingent of competitors are from the United Kingdom (39), followed by the United States (34). Five teams will be competing this year, Team Help for Heroes includes Rob James from Wales who finished second in the Atacama Crossing 2008. There is also an all female team from Chile — Team Andesgear.

Some facts about the Atacama Desert:

• The Atacama Desert is 15 million years old and 50 times more arid than California’s Death Valley.
• Some of the oldest mummies found on earth come from the Atacama, dating as far back as 9000 years.
• The entire race will be held at least 1.6 kilometers / 1 mile above sea level and cover the distance required to make a horizontal crossing of the country of Chile (250 kilometers).
• The day time temperatures expected are 32 Celsius / 90 Fahrenheit, while nighttime temperatures may drop to 10 degrees Celsius / 50 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.
• The Atacama Desert has the most lunar-like landscape on Earth and is frequently used by NASA to test its Mars rover vehicles.

A word from RacingThePlanet:

RacingThePlanet – The Official Page We are dedicating the Atacama Crossing 2010 the victims of the earthquake in Chile and are raising money for Habitat for Humanity. If you would like to donate, please click the link below and be part of the race as well. 100% of your donation will go to Habitat for Humanity.

Competitors are checking in in La Casa de Don Tomas, San Pedro de Atacama, right this moment,  including administrative, medical and equipment review. They will be departing for Camp 1 this afternoon. The race begins tomorrow – good luck to all, and although I don’t want to sound partisan, very very good luck to Laurie Brophy.

The race ends on 13th March.

There’s no such thing as “too old” – or not in Poul Rasmussen’s case. At 85 years old his passion is kitesurfing (AdvanceCopenhagen).

There are many much better and much longer videos, but unfortunately all with a lot of interviews included – and the language is Danish. Now, I have nothing against the Danish language, but I’m not sure how many of our readers are fluent in it! So I apologise to Poul, but the quick snip I’ve shown of a man to emanate will, I hope, whet your appetite to keep reading!

So that’s kitesurfing out the way, what about some of our other favourite sports?

Donna Vano is the oldest pro-snowboarder in the world. At 56 she is a legend in the snowboard and skateboard industry- an action sports veteran in every sense of the word. For 16 years she  has competed in Superpipe, Slopestyle, Boardercross, Slalom and Giant Slalom. She currently holds three Guinness World Records as the Oldest Inline Vert Skater in the World, the Most Gold Medals in the USASA in all 5 disciplines, and the Oldest Female Amateur Snowboarder Competing in Pro Tours in the Superpipe. She also runs the South Tahoe Snowboard Series USASA Nationals, which was the top for 8 years in a row and has been top in the series for 12 years. “I’m not getting older, I’m getting better,” she says.

The oldest person to have climbed Mount Everest is a Nepalese Sherpa called Min Bahadur Sherchan. He was 76 years and 340 days old. The second oldest is 75-year-old Japanese Yuichiro Miura, who reached the top two days after him, and the third is another Japanese, 71 year old  Katsusuke Yanagisawa, a teacher by profession.

In 2009,  Amanda Richmond, 54, a PE teacher from Ipswich, England, battled electrical storms, giant snow plumes and freezing temperatures to scale the 8,850m mountain, the highest on earth and so became the oldest woman to have climbed Everest.  She said: “It was incredible. I feel privileged to have been in that situation – to stand on top of the world.”

I’m trying to find the oldest wingsuit flyer, but in the meantime I have come across the oldest skydiver. Frank Moody, aged 101, made a tandem jump in 2004. Now that’s quite something isn’t – anybody who ‘doesn’t dare’ should be ashamed of themselves!!!

Still struggling to find the oldest wingsuit flyer, I have to allude to Yves Rossy – or ‘jet’ or ‘fusion’ man as he is also known. At 50, he has to be the oldest and most successful person to have achieved sustained human flight with the aid of a jet-powered fixed wing strapped to his back. His next project is to fly across the Grand Canyon. Rossy is both a highly experienced skydiver and a veteran aircraft pilot.

“My biggest concern is what happens when I get bored with this (wingsuit flying),” says veteran BASEjumper Phil Smith on the risks of wingsuit jumping from buildings, bridges and cliffs, and that’s about the last word I have on the oldest wingsuit flyer. I know Dwain Weston was 30 when he died practicing the sport he loved, but as for the oldest wingsuit flyer?  Mum’s the word.

Since 2006, Russell Allen, an American cyclist has been the oldest living American Olympian Cyclist – he got his medal in 1932. But cycling has a venerable reputation for more aged participants. The oldest participant for the ‘Les 24 Heures Velo’ – a team-endurance cycle event to be held in August this year at the Le Mans Bugatti Circuit – will be 82 years old. Whereas, In 2007 in Ladysmith, South Africa, Mkhulu Mkhize, was given a brand new set of wheels at the venerable age of 112. Ok, fair enough, he’s not about to be competing at that age – but to still be cycling yourself around the countryside is quite something.

And as for the Olympics, it seems like our sportsmen are going on for ever and ever. The 2008 event was a real eye-opener. Japanese horseman Hiroshi Hoketsu lead the pack at Beijing, returning to the Games after a 44-year break, aged 67. Laurie Lever turned 60 in October 2007, the last thing on his mind was retirement with the Australian show jumper focused on riding in his first Olympics. The title of oldest Olympian is held by Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn, who collected his sixth medal at the 1920 Antwerp Games aged 72 years and 280 days. “We are a fitter generation,” said Lever, whose appearance on Ashleigh Drossel Dan in the show jumping in Hong Kong is believed to make him the oldest debutant at the 2008 Games.

Laurence J. Brophy of Wales at 77 years old took part in last years’ RacingThePlanet Atacama Crossing – surely one of the most testing of the ultramarathon/endurance races. He didn’t complete all stages, but he did most of it. An extraodinary undertaking for any human being let alone one on the other side of 70 and at 74, Jack Denness of the UK, took part in  the Sahara Race. He said: “It is fantastic to be here. I love it. It is great for my ego as even the front runners give me lots of respect because of my age.”

Sports academics are not surprised by the ability of athletes to remain competitive longer and expect increasing numbers of over 40s to stay competing at top level sport as training techniques and technology continue to improve.

“Ageing is inevitable for humans. But if you have goals in life, you should go through the physical and mental training, forget about age and embark on the challenges,” said Yuichiro Miura.

Something to think about, isn’t it…

Have you ever heard of the Taklamakan Desert in China? AKA: The Sea of Death?

Beautiful, I admit, stunning even and I’m sure photo opportunities for wanna-be photographers will be more than a digital camera can handle. But an ultramarathon? Here? Only if you’re a camel you might think…

And hold on a second… why aka ‘The Sea of Death’? This is the name the desert has earned thanks to its notorious shifting sands and extreme weather.  As if that’s not bad enough, the fear factor isn’t lessened when you read various translations of its name from the local Uyghur language. Some say it means “place of no return”, others “unreturnable” and there’s also “you can get into it, but can never get out”. Enough said. Do you really want to do this race?

Yes of course! What is life if not a challenge.

After all, it’s probably no worse than the Atacama Desert, or the Sahara Desert, the Gobi Desert or the Namib for that matter. It should be warmer than the Antartic Desert though. And with that little list of names, whom else could I possibly be talking about but extreme event organisers RacingThePlanet?

Yes, they have a new venue. Taklamakan. And this, the inaugural race, is to be  held in August 2010.

“We wanted to return to China where it all began,” says Mary Gadams, explaining RacingThePlanet’s decision to launch its new series of 100k races in the Taklamakan Desert. “Our vision, which became a reality with the first Gobi March back in 2003, is to bring people from all walks of life to remote and spectacular areas and the Sea of Death is the perfect location for this latest stage in our evolution.”

Why am I talking about it already?

Because registration has just opened and places will be very limited for this inaugural event.

The 100 km non-stop race gives competitors 48 hours to complete it. It’s self supported as usual, but with it technically being non-stop, the load they’ll carry will be much lighter than in the 4 Deserts series. The generous time allowance also means it can be tackled at whatever pace suits, from flat out blast to something gentler. The usual professional medical backup and support is all going to be there too.

The Taklamakan area is something else. Surrounded on three sides by snow covered mountains, it lies within the Tarim Basin in the Uyghur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, north west China. Covering an area of over 300,000 square km, it extends some 900km west to east and varies in altitude from around 500m to just under 2000m.

But a RacingThePlanet event wouldn’t be proper RacingThePlanet event if it didn’t make your heart beat a little faster, long before the running starts, and I think they have achieved that again with this venue.

The race is to be held on 21st August, 2010 and the cost will be US$1,600. Obviously you will have to get yourself there. Remember that entries are going to be limited so if you are interested you had best jump around and complete this online application.

I’d just like to remind you that RacingThePlanet organisers do not do all this merely for the enjoyment of organising a race in some spectacularly beautiful and out-of-the way spot. They also raise money for charities in the area that they are eventing in. I think you should look at the following video as you will then realise how much happiness they are bringing to people who had no chance of surgery without the help of organisations like RacingThePlanet…

So popular is this extreme sport becoming that it’s getting tough for endurance athletes to find a race.  The Marathon des Sables, for example, is fully booked until 2011.

Enter Across the Divide. They organise 4 ultra-marathons a year, kicking off  with The Namib on 19-21 February, 2010 – this race is rapidly making its name as the ultimate endurance race for long distance runners.

It is a race that will test each athletes physical and mental strength to the limit.

“Across the Divide have captured the spirit of adventure racing in this event for me!“ Andy McMenemy, Namibia ultra marathon participant 2008.

This race, along with the Iceland Laugavegur Ultra Marathon, the Spanish 24hour Ultra Marathon and the Grand Canyon Ultra are all events organised and run by the founding directors of  ‘Across the Divide’ , Mark and Karen Hannaford and their team.

Mark has been involved with charity challenges and expeditions for over 22 years and has led expeditions all over the world as well as taking part in extreme endurance events. Karen, a keen runner, has been involved for over 17 years in expeditions, event management and charity work.

The extreme series for Across the Divide has actually been developed by Steve Clark who, having completed both the London and Edinburgh marathons, was looking for a new challenge. In April 2005 he completed the Marathon des Sables in Morocco and was  well and truly smitten by the ultra distance race bug.

Tony Ford completes the team with a broad range of event organisational skills. He himself has completed some of the worlds strangest races, from Tough Guy to Lions Head, and The Beast to Bibbulmun Trail. After 15 years of marathons and trail races, Tony still has the bug…

Which brings me back to the Namibia 24 Hour Ultra Marathon (charityatd).

This race was first run in 2008 and in the words of competitor Peter Holdgate, “It was hot!  It was hard! It was awesome! – A true adventure.     This race is a must for individuals who wish to test their limits of physical and mental endurance.”

The route has increased in length slightly for 2010 – it will be 126kms in total which is the same as 3 full marathons. Each of the 6 stages of the route will be 21kms in length.

the route is mainly flat or undulating, firm under foot, but stony with occasional patches of sand and short grass cover. The most difficult part of the route will be traversed at night and it will be important to take care as  rough tracks and loose stones will be difficult to navigate in the dark – even with a full moon.

When dawn breaks and you begin to think that the worst must be behind you, the race finishes with a punishing up-hill section before turning off down to the beach, the infamous Skeleton Coast, and the finish line. Jayne Freer, also an original competitor, says of this final section: “The last leg is truly horrific – punishing on the mind, body and soul. Eighteen kilometres down a road that never ends, followed by a further two down to the sea at the Mile 72 campsite. Each and every step is punishing, painstaking and pure hell.”

Runners have to be self-sufficient throughout, carrying all their food, water, energy bars and change of clothing in backpacks – everything they will need for temperatures topping 40 degrees Celsius (46 C was clocked one day) and plummeting to two degrees at night.

Steve Tidball, a competent runner regularly doing 30-40 miles with no problem, was defeated by heatstroke within the first 2 hours of the 2009 race – it is worth noting that he came to this race fully prepared having even done heat training in preparation for the desert temperatures. However, he was allowed to complete the race, and had this to say about it: “Of course once I’d started to recover the magnitude of what we’d been through began to kick in. We met people out there who’ll undoubtedly be friends for life. I learnt that the desert is not to be underestimated; it is an awesomely intimidating place capable of destroying you. I loved every minute of the camp, and the opportunity of being surrounded by people who are just like you and like a bit of pain with their running. And finally I feel unbelievably grateful to the doctors at Across the Divide, first for saving me from doing anything reckless with my health, then secondly for letting me rejoin the race. It allowed me to take away invaluable experiences that will last with me forever.”

As with all the ultra-marathon endurance races we talk about on this site, whether it be AdventureCORPS’ Death Valley Badwater Marathon, or RacingThePlanet’s 4 Deserts (the Sahara Race is underway as we speak), or Across the Divide’s, what strikes me most about the event is the amazing depth of camaraderie and alliance amongst the competitors and organisers – one and the same in some cases. And the friendships that are born out of adversity… There seems to be a unique bond which is tangible but hard to explain.

Well worth witnessing first hand I think.

A normal length marathon is run in the Namib at the same time and will finish after stage 2.

There are still 98 places available for the extreme  Namibia 24 Hour Ultra Marathon and if you wish to enter please click here

I know this is a 9-minute video that I am asking you to watch (racingtheplanet), but please do, or at least give it a brief viewing. The scenery is spectacular, the camaraderie amazing and the sense of fun – exhilarating.

The Sahara Race, part of the 4 Desert series, will be held from the 25th to 31st October, 2008 in Egypt’s Sahara Desert (the world’s largest subtropical desert) for a seven day, six stage race. This is the third leg in the series with those already run being the Atacama Desert and the Gobi Desert. The last leg will be Antarctica – and yes, the Antarctica is a desert as it has a negligible annual rainfall.

There is a 5th event – but it’s in a different location each year. In 2010 it will be held in the Outback in  Western Australia’s Kimberley region.

The Sahara Race is a 250km (155 miles) race beginning at the Farafra Oasis, seven hours from Cairo. The six stage race takes place over seven days, and will see competitors going through a strange and forbidding landscape of sand and rock whilst camping in some of the most remote oases of the Sahara Desert. The finish line at the Pyramids of Giza will be on the  31st October.

The heat in the Sahara can be fierce, but due to very low humidity, it is bearable. Temperatures can rise to 120 F (49 C) during the day and fall to around 50F (10 C) which means the evenings can be quite cold. Strong winds and sandstorms are not uncommon.

If you’ve watched the above video you might be wondering why on earth they carry such enormous packs when the conditions are certainly going to be difficult. The reason? The competitors must carry all their own gear, food and clothing. The average backpack weighs about 20 pounds (9 kilos). The only “luxuries” they are provided with each day are a place in a tent in which to sleep, a campfire at night and drinking water. Each competitor will be allocated 10 litres of water per day to keep hydrated in the relentless heat.

Mary Gadams, Founder and CEO of RacingThePlanet, the organizer of the race says, “The 4 Deserts has established itself as the leading endurance series out there. The 4 Deserts is something that people feel the need to conquer, like the Seven Summits or the Five Oceans.”

130 people will be taking part in the Sahara Race. The typical competitor in a race of this quality is a working professional, a high achiever – someone who believes in maximizing every opportunity in life.

“It’s fantastic that we’ve managed to establish a race series that is attracting such a diverse group of truly inspiring people,” says  Gadams.   “Everybody has to deal with the same trials in the 4 Deserts, whether they are a veteran competitor or a complete novice. By limiting the number of participants everyone becomes a source of support for each other and a great camaraderie develops over the 7 days, even amongst the most
competitive of athletes.”

There are also some professional endurance athletes taking part such as Austrian Christian Schiester, 41, and Kenneth ‘Tintin’ Johansson, 44, from Sweden and a number of record-setters including Briton Annabelle Bond, 38, who is the fastest woman to ever complete the Seven Summits; helicopter pilot Jennifer Murray, 68, again from the UK who amongst other aviation firsts, has most recently completed a circumnavigation of the globe via both poles; Ron Hackett who was Canada’s first blind triathlete and is a two-time World Cup Triathlon Champion; and Jack Denness, a school caretaker from England who is the only 70-year-old to have ever completed the Badwater Ultramarathon.

The man everyone will have to beat though is Mehmet Danis, 34, from Canada. The Canadian Forces officer won the Atacama Crossing earlier this year, and is currently training under the guidance of his celebrated compatriot ultramarathon runner Ray Zahab.

As with a lot of the organisations or extroadinary events that we talk about and discuss with admiration, RacingThePlanet, too, support chosen charities in the countries they visit. Last year they raised $45,000 to support Operation Smile in Cairo, a group that provides free surgery to children born with facial deformities. The organisation encourages its participants to run for any charity of their choice. Many of their competitors have raised significant amounts of money for charities all over the world.

As a matter of interest, the entry fee for the Gobi March, Atacama Crossing, Sahara Race, and RacingThePlanet: Namibia in 2009 is US$3100 per race. The Antarctica Race, The Last Desert, is significantly more – $10,000, estimated price. It is only held once every other year. Registration for all the races is on a first-come, first-serve basis and entries are limited based on government and environmental concerns. You can only apply for the Antarctica race  if you have already complete two of the other deserts.

Philipp Mosimann began running marathons when he was 21. Having completed marathons in Switzerland, Singapore, Kuala-Lumpar and Paris he turned his attention to ultra-marathons and has since competed in, and completed, the Gobi Desert in China, the Atacama in Chili, the Sahara and through Vietnam.

The Namib was his fifth desert run.

2 years ago he convinced his brother, Mark, to take up the sport with him. “On runs that involve such longs stretches as this one does, it is a great mental comfort to have a familiar person nearby” he says. “Both of you know that the other is doing ok.”

Why does he do it?

“Running boosts my self-confidence. In day-to-day life I feel much calmer. Through running, you get the maximum out of yourself but still always want more. But nature is stronger and always shows me where my limits are. That’s the whole appeal – nothing more nothing less.”

Pretty well says it all doesn’t it?

In addition, he gets to go to seriously exotic places. Places few others get to see and well beyone the capability of a  travel agency.

However, it comes at a pretty stiff price this ultra-running. I’m talking about the pocket here, not the body… though that too of course!

The starter’s fee alone is US$3,100. Flights, meals and equipment are all extras. You can count on spending Euro 5,000 for the privilege of nearly killing yourself during the run! For that sum you could chill on an exotic island in extreme comfort!

However, it takes all sorts and thank goodness for the Philipp and Mark Mosimann’s of this world.

I wrote about the Namib Desert run fairly extensively when it was happening (RacingThePlanet – Namibia), but just to tweak your memory and make you shift uneasily on your comfortable leather sofa in your air-conditioned sitting-room, the Namib Desert Ultra-Marathon ranks as one of the most gruelling of them all: an ultra-marathon over 250 kms, temperatures that fluctuate between 5 and 45 degrees celsius, and not just sand dunes – the terrain is diverse, difficult, rocky and mountainous.

Runners have to complete 6 stages ranging from 40 to 100 kms a day. This requires plenty of advance training and Philipp and Mark began theirs a full year before. It is necessary to learn to cope with long, demanding training sessions involving distances of up to 50kms and in all sorts of weather conditions. “You have to set some very tough priorities,”  he said. “By entering such a run, you have defined a very clear goal for yourself. In the process, you teach yourself to become good at organising.”

Even with all this preparation, the course will challenge you to your very limits. By the end of the first day, the Fish River Canyon – Africa’s answer to the Grand Canyon – Mosimann had to battle his way over every sort of terrain from stony surfaces to sandy ones, from cliffs to river crossings. “After 30kms I was down on all fours. The combination of sand and water in my shoes did the rest.” By the end of the day he could barely feel his feet.

However, and this is where it is difficult for us more sedentary types to understand, although pushing his body to the absolute limit, he still has time to appreciate the awesome beauty of the country he is running through.

We have waxed verbally before on what a marathon runner should munch of to keep his energy levels up (nutrition). Philipp has his own recipe and it doesn’t include energy bars. He prefers nuts, raisins and jelly babies, along with diced salami in regular portions. To him, this is as good as a 5-course meal on a marathon.

All ultra-marathons are physically and mentally challenging, the Namib perhaps more so and every stage becomes a battle between yourself and exhaustion. “At times you feel mentally completely drained. In order to cope with the seemingly unimaginable distances, you have to constantly set small interim goals for yourself along the way: to the next replenishment place, the next, already visible climb, or even just the next hour.”

And no matter how tough the race is, your mind is already planning the next one… Philipp wants to take part in the 2010 run across the Australian desert.

What is it all for you might ask yourself? When, as Philipp himself admits, even he asks himself  from time to time “what madness, when will it end? “ and finds it necessary “to really have to dig down deep to keep going”. Why do this to yourself?

The answer is simple: for the only victory that matters … the victory over one’s self.

And what do they do when they are not pushing their bodies to the very limits of endurance?  They co-manage the well-known restaurant Mosimann’s in Belgravia, London. So well known and so well thought of that admission is granted to member’s only. The Royal Family dines here as do the Sugar Babes and Sienna Miller. Regular customers include Elton John, Cliff Richard and Bono… in itself a challenging daily routine!