Posts Tagged ‘RacingThePlanet’

It has been predicted that the 165 RacingThePlanet competitors from 30 countries will experience soaring temperatures and extreme weather during this event, adding to the already challenging nature of the 250 kilometre rough-country footrace.

Five years ago, temperatures reached as high as 50 degrees Celsius and with this year’s race taking place in June instead of April, competitors could be racing in similar if not hotter temperatures.

“The competitors are going to find the heat in the Gobi Desert oppressive. It’s not humid, but below sea-level it can be stifling when there’s no breeze. They will also have to prepare for the worst as the weather is so unpredictable in the Gobi, storms can blow up from nowhere and temperatures can vary wildly between night and day and in different areas along the 250 kilometre course. Couple this with the changing terrains the competitors will face and the race will be a stern test of good preparation and adaptability,” said Founder of RacingThePlanet, Mary Gadams.

On his blog David Casselli from New Zealand (Survived. Hell it’s getting hot here) summed up day 3:  “The last stage (3) was running up and down moonscapes. I have never run across so many sharp rocks in my life. And …. to cap it off, they made us climb a peak and run down the ridge line. Terrifying …. but ‘fast and loose’ was the solution.

It’s 40C and I am roasting.

Day 4 tomorrow – 37km before we take on the 99km longest day. The river was great, but the next 2 days sound terrible.”

Denvy Lo from Hong Kong was, at the end of day 3, thoroughly enjoying herself: “I am enjoying every minute of it here – life should be like this, I reckon, as all I do is run, eat and sleep. Brilliant.”

Results for Day 4 have just come in. 125 runners have completed all 4 stages. David Parr (33) from Great Britain is leading the field with an impressive overall time of 11hrs 34mins 40 secs. Denvy Lo (29) is the leading woman with an overall time of 17hrs 52 mins 59 secs. 25 people have not completed all 4 sections, 3 have withdrawn and 5 did not start at all.

Parr is raising money for Sparks, the children’s medical research charity. Denvy Lo is supporting the Shark Rescue Charity.

Wanda Summers from the UK is one of the amazing people taking place in this race. She ran the Marathon des Sables in 2008, but broke her back when parachuting in 2009. Yet here she is in this most extreme of extreme races with a very admirable overall time of 22 hrs and 47 mins under her belt at the moment. This is her first attempt at a 4 Deserts race. She is supporting the charity Shelter Box Trust – a registered UK charity which provides emergency aid for victims of natural and other disasters anywhere in the world.

An inspiration to us all…

Whilst we sit here in our salubrious surroundings, 154 people (125 men and 35 women) have already completed registration and have been been taken to Camp 1 at Gaoyachun village for the official start tomorrow.

A quick reminder about this RacingThePlanet ultra-marathon:

• The Gobi March (China) is part of the 4 Deserts series.
• The Turpan Basin, where the Gobi March (China) 2010 takes place, is China’s lowest point of land on earth (and the second lowest in the world, first is the Dead Sea) , the hottest place in China and the most distant point from an ocean in the world.
• Temperatures for the Gobi March (China) can vary greatly – in 2010 average temperatures will be about 10°C / 50°F on the early part of the course and 35-40°C / 95-104°F on the later stages. It could rise to 50°C.
• The terrain will be a mixture of dry rocky river-beds, dusty tracks and sand dunes – roughly 20% of competitors will run the entire course, 60% combine running with walking, and 20% will walk the entire course.
• The fastest completion time is expected to around 25 hours and the slowest around 80 hours.
• The average backpack will weigh 8-9 kilograms / 20 pounds.
• Thirty (30) countries are being represented in the Gobi March (China) 2010 with approximately 1/3 from North America, 1/3 from Asia and 1/3 from Europe. Some countries represented include Afghanistan, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Bangladesh, China, France, Hong Kong, India and the State of Alaska in the United States.
• The average age of the competitors for the Gobi March (China) 2010 is 39.
• The youngest competitors in the Gobi March (China) 2010 are Emma Fergusson from United Kingdom and Shuhan He from the United States. Both are 22 years of age.
• The oldest competitor is 61 year-old Kumi Murakami who is a swimming instructor from Japan.Approximately 20% of the competitors are women and 80% men.
• Competitors will be required to pass through up to 30 checkpoints throughout the seven-day event.
• A full medical team will be working at the race. In addition to treating competitors, the medical team will also be conducting medical research on blister prevention.
• During the Gobi March (China) 2010, competitors, volunteers and staff will consume more than 16,000 liters of water over the seven days of the event. Coca Cola will be providing the water for the event.More than forty (40) charities will be supported through the Gobi March (China) 2010.

This is one serious ultra-marathon. It has again been named by TIME magazine in 2010 as the #1 footrace in the world, and as one of the world’s top 10 endurance events.

Stan Lee, a 50 year dentist from Canada, is not content with doing just one of these formidable ultra-marathons, but plans to become the first person ever to do all 5 in just one year. RacingThePlanet have 4 classics each year and one roving marathon – this year it was in Western Australia.

When Lee was nearing his fiftieth birthday, he came up with the idea to attempt all five races. “I woke up one morning thinking that I wanted to do something significant in my life, so I decided to kick it up a notch. I turned 50 about six months ago and thought that doing five races would be appropriate. Running is like a drug and you always want to do more.”

Unfortunately Lee contracted a particularly vicious dose of bronchitis on the last day of the Western Australia event which took 7 weeks, 4 doctors and 2 courses of antibiotics. “I was off running for seven weeks so this is somewhat of a crash course. But I think I should be ready.  I am pretty confident I can do well despite the lack of training,” he said.

Australian Peter Jong, 33, is also going to give it a go… After deciding that he was going to join the 4 Deserts Club, Jong got talking to a representative of RacingThePlanet who had told him that no one had ever completed all five races in a single year.

That was all the incentive the Aussie needed.

“Naturally, if I was going to complete the 4 Deserts Grand Slam, then why not do the roving race as well, especially when it was being held in Australia?” says Jong. “In my mind, it was inevitable that I would compete in all five races in 2010.”

We have talked before about the comradeship that you find in events like this. Sure it’s nice to be first over the finish line, but these ultra-marathons are about a whole lot more than that. And the people who are with you on the trail, the friendships that are made, the hardships that are endured together, the desire they all have to cross the finish line, makes these events into something a lot more than a race you want to win.

Lee and Jong first met during the Atacama Crossing 2010 and hit it off immediately. While there were other competitors who had intended to complete all five races in a single calendar year, only these two have so far managed to stay on track. During the race, the pair ran the final 30 km of The Long March together, motivating one another to keep strong and finish.

Explains Jong: “I first met Stan halfway into The Long March in Atatcama. I was hungry and he had a packet of dried mango. How can you not be friends with a guy that offers you noodles and dried mango? At first, there probably was some competitiveness between us, but as time goes on, we’ve become good friends. Where we place and our times are second to helping a friend cross the line.”

The very best of luck to the pair of them and to everyone else who will be sitting in camp right wondering how the next few days are going to go…

It’s interesting to meet some of the volunteers:

It’s other name is “The Oven”, and who but RacingThePlanet would have thought of staging an ultra-marathon self-supported event here? But this is not the first time that they have held this contest-amongst-contests in the Gobi Desert and I am sure it won’t be the last.

From the 27th June to the 3rd July, the Gobi March 2010 will take place in the Turpan Depression in China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region, the first time RacingThePlanet has hosted the renowned 4 Deserts race in this location since 2005. Five years ago, temperatures reached as high as 50 degrees Celsius (in the shade) and with this year’s race taking place in June instead of April, competitors could be racing in similar if not hotter temperatures.

Mary Gadams, founder of RacingThePlanet, says “The competitors are going to find the heat in the Gobi Desert oppressive. It’s not humid, but below sea-level it can be stifling when there’s no breeze. They will also have to prepare for the worst as the weather is so unpredictable in the Gobi, storms can blow up from nowhere and temperatures can vary wildly between night and day and in different areas along the 250 kilometre course. Couple this with the changing terrains the competitors will face and the race will be a stern test of good preparation and adaptability.”

The race will be run in series taking place over seven days, with six stages totaling 250 kilometres. Competitors are self-supporting and, with the exception of water and a tent, carry all of their required equipment and food for the duration of the race.

This grueling yet rewarding challenge sees competitors of all ages, nationalities and racing abilities compete. In 2010 a record 17 Chinese competitors will take part in their “home” race, with a total of 51 participants who are resident in Greater China.

Top contenders in the race include Peter Osterwalder, 45, from Switzerland who finished second in the Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2009. 57-year old Johan Petersen from New Zealand is also expected to put in a strong showing, after his sixth-placed finish in RacingThePlanet: Namibia 2009, the annual roving race outside of the 4 Deserts series. Josep Maria Romero Parra, 43, from Spain is another athlete to watch, having finished eighth among an extremely strong field in the Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2009.

But ‘ware the newcomers. There’s a strong field there too…

The race I reported on that was recently held in Namibia was enlivened by a light sprinkling of rain – this is unlikely to happen in the Gobi as it is a rain shadow desert formed by the Himalayas blocking rain-carrying clouds from reaching it. Hope is not entirely lost though as the highest rainfall in the Turpan Depression is  June when an average rainfall of 3.3mm might be expected! The climate of the Gobi is one of great extremes, combined with rapid changes of temperature, not only through the year, but even within 24 hours (by as much as 35 °C or 61 °F).

The Turpan Depression within the Gobi is the second lowest exposed point on the Earth’s surface (after the Dead Sea) with dry Lake Ayding (Moonlight Lake) lying at -154m. It is entirely below sea level and by some measures is also the hottest and driest area in China and so is also known as one of the Furnaces of China. It covers an area of 50,000 km².

This is one of the toughest endurance races you will ever encounter. As extreme as they come… Good luck to everyone.

Their roving race next year (November 2011) is going to be in the famed Annapurna valley… famed for its outstanding beauty and famed for its dramatic elevation rises – from 1,000 m to over 7,500 m in just 30 kms.  In no other place do mountains rise so quickly and due to this sharp rise in altitude the area of Pokhara has one of the highest precipitation rates of the country – over 4,000 mm/year.

This will be an  extreme event…

The climate is sub-tropical but due to the elevation the temperatures are moderate: the summer temperatures average between 25–35 °C, in winter around 5–15 °C.

RacingThePlanet’s roving events began in 2008 and are held in diverse countries, climates, terrains and cultures. This year their 2 roving races are in Western Australia and Taklamakan, a desert in central Asia, China.

But it has long been the ambition of  Mary Gadams, founder of RacingThePlanet, to race in Nepal.  “It’s been in the back of mind for many years now. Nepal is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and it combines the key elements of a RacingThePlanet event:  awe inspiring landscapes, a variety of technical terrains, a challenging climate, and a wonderful culture that competitors will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in.” she says.

Although the course isn’t expected to rise above 3500m, competitors will face a great deal of altitude change throughout the event.

Mary continues, “It’s always fascinating to see who is attracted to different locations, and in Nepal we expect a lot of endurance athletes who are excited about the opportunity to get off trail in an area where this is not usually possible, some more accomplished athletes who have challenged themselves on mountain courses before but never in such a remote and exceptional setting, and of course, we hope to welcome back veterans of other RacingThePlanet events who are looking forward to tackling a race in a completely different environment.”

“This race is going to be a totally new experience for us” she concludes, “We’ve never staged a 250km event in such a mountainous region, and doing it for the first time in the Himalayas is just going to be fantastic.”

Many believe Pokhara to be the most beautiful place in the world and it is already well known as an adventure centre. The event is expected to take place in the northwestern corner of the Pokhara Valley, which is a widening of the Seti Gandaki valley. The Seti River and its tributaries have dug impressive canyons into the valley floor, which are only visible from higher viewpoints or from the air.

It will begin just outside Pokhara, the third largest city in Nepal and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. The distance will be approximately 250 kilometers over seven days. The altitude is not expected to go much above 11,000 feet, and the course will venture close to a region called Mustang. Competitors will sleep in both tents and tea houses supported by highly regarded Sherpa along the way.

Registration is open now, so if you’re interested, please go directly to their website.

The charity supported from this event will be the Child Welfare Scheme. It provides education, health care and social opportunities for disadvantaged children in Nepal. Yet another worthy cause…

But that’s all in the future. If you would like to see a little more about their upcoming Sahara Race in October, please follow the link below…

RacingThePlanet is renowned for their 4 Deserts challenge – the Atacama Crossing, just finished; the Gobi March on 27th June; The Sahara Race on 3rd October and finally Antarctica on the 17th November, a once every 2 years event … theoretically impossible you would think for the Antarctic to be included in the 4 Deserts Challenge, but technically it is a desert in that it is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent on earth with annual precipitation of only 200 mm (8 inches) along the coast and far less inland. It also has the highest average elevation of all the continents.

Antarctica

So that’s the 4 Deserts explained. So then, what’s this Australian race all about?

RacingThePlanet actually have two extra-curricular events this year: Australia and Taklamakan. The Australian race begins 25th April (just around the corner) and Taklamakan (China) is on the 20th August. These two events are just there to keep you limbered up for the main events… just kidding of course, they are there as events in their own right.

200 people from more than 30 countries will be competing in this inaugural  Western Australian event. The largest contingent coming from Australia (60) followed by Hong Kong with 35. 45 of the runners are women. The youngest competitor is Christian J. Prendiville, age 20, of Perth, Australia, and the oldest competitor is 69 year old Toshio Ohmori of Japan.

A group of five Australian brothers, The Prendivilles, will be competing, along with
two time RacingThePlanet champion (Vietnam, Namibia), Salvador Calvo Redondo of Spain. Stephanie Case of Canada, the champion of RacingThePlanet: Vietnam, is also competing.

The former overall champion of the 4 Deserts, Francesco Galanzino, of Italy will be competing as will the first person in the world to complete the 4 Deserts Grand Slam, Paul Liebenberg, a South African medical doctor from the Northern Territory.

The host city will be Kununurra – only 3,040 kilometers (1,889 miles) from Perth by road! Competitors will arrive on 22nd April, converge at the Kimberley Grande although they will be posted to hotels around the town. Saturday 24th is check-in and the race is off on Sunday. It finishes 6 days later at El Questro.

El Questro is a million acre wilderness park located on the eastern perimeter of the Kimberley region in far NW Australia. It offers visitors, or, in this case, participants, a diverse landscape of rugged ranges and broad tidal flats, rain forest pockets, gorges and waterfalls that are home to rich animal, fish and bird life. It is about 100 km west of Kununurra.

RacingThePlanet’s events are always extreme, and the Western Australia one is going to be no exception. The Kimberley consists mainly of ancient, steep-sided mountain ranges from which the extreme climate has removed most soil except in the valleys of the Ord and Fitzroy Rivers in the southern part of the region where the soils are either usable cracking clays or lateritic Orthents.  Although none of the mountains reach even 1,000 meters (3,281 feet), there is so much steep land as to make much of the region very difficult to traverse, especially during the wet season when even sealed roads are often flooded.

And the wet season is November to April when the area receives 90% of its rainfall which means that it could be very wet when this race is run!

It is also the hottest part of Australia, with mean maxima almost always above 30 °C (86 °F) even in July and ranging in November before the rains break from 37 °C (99 °F) on the coast to 40 °C (104 °F) in the south around Halls Creek.

This race is going to challenge the most hardy competitor.

As always, RacingThe Planet events aim to raise money for charities within the country that they are eventing in, and in this case all money raised will go to the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation.

There is nothing more extreme than the ultra-marathon I think. Sure there are some other amazing races – races where an athlete pushes his/her body right to the edge and then over it. I’m thinking of adventure racing here, but ultra-marathons still hold a perverse fascination for me. Why would anyone wish to do one?!

The answer is partially in my article of Monday where I wrote about RacingThePlanet and the completion of their Atacama Crossing event. At the end of the article I proffered a link to a page where some ultra-marathon athletes try to explain why they do  these marathons, and having done one, do another, and then another… follow the link above if you want to see it again.

Across the Divide is a similar organisation. They too have stupendous events around the world and their Namibian Adventure Race  24 hour Ultra Marathon, 126km long, begins 24th May and ends on the 31st.

This ultra-marathon is as extreme as they come. You might be fit enough to think that a 126 km run will be a challenge, but nothing more than than. However, it’s the Namib Desert that is going to be the biggest challenge to you and your body. The 126 km (78 miles) must be completed in 24 hours…

The race will take you through vast expanse of desert, across the endless space of gravel plains framed by distant ridges and mountains, past dramatic upheavals of granite inselbergs and all under the clearest of blue skies during the day and a full moon during the night.

Temperatures are expected to be in the region of min 5ºc / max 36 ºc – but could well be more extreme.

Contestants will be completely self reliant from the start of the race until the end, and will need to carry their food and equipment on their backs. However, water stations and medical tents will be provided at 21km intervals along the route.

Across the Divide has organised an impressive schedule over 8 days. Flight in. Acclimatisation. The Race. Rest and Recuperation. One day of nothing and home. However, I strongly recommend that if you are thinking of doing this race in the future, that you take a bit of time off and visit the other wonderful things to see in this beautiful country… Etosha, for example, a wildlife paradise, is not far from Swakopmund where the event ends,  and it would be a pity to be so close and yet so far …