After 48 hours of travel I am now back in Chiang Mai and happy to be back with Susan and the kids. All that remains to say is that the Atacama Crossing was an incredible event and I feel very privileged to have taken part...especially as it tested me even more than the Gobi March and yet I managed to do even better in both overall and age group standings - 11th and 2nd respectively! Apart from the the jet lag and potentially losing four or five toe-nails in the coming weeks, I am surprised how great I feel!

Hats off to Anders for winning the event overall and to tent-mate Ash Mokhtari, who beat me to the age group award by a convincing 30-40 minutes. On the long day you showed me how incredibly tough you are both physically and mentally. Also congrats to the six grand slammers (completing all four 4Deserts events) - Lucy, Thaddeus, Ali, May, Diego and Devrim. Something to emulate there perhaps...

Thanks also to my tent mates, especially Gary Cambridge for bringing the parmesan cheese and good humour and Eberhard Frixe, an ultramarathon legend, who showed amazing generosity both in terms of enthusiasm and support for our own performances and a constant stream of goodies from his magic backpack! I hope the knee gets better and best of luck in Badwater later this year Eberhard, it is a privilege to have shared a tent with you.

On Friday morning we heard about the tragic events unfolding in Japan. For the eight Japanese competitors and the NHK film crew it was clearly a stressful time to be so far from home at such uncertain times. All the money that I have raised for Shelterbox, over US$8,000 to date, will be immediately directed to Japan to provide disaster relief to some of the thousands of people made homeless by the tsunami. Thank you again to all those who supported me both with emails and via donations to Shelterbox. It is not too late for those who wish to do so now: www.justgiving.com/Mark-Stevenson0

It's 8:30 on Friday morning with most of the competitors now back in camp after the 73km slog through the desert yesterday. To date, I think about 87 out of 111 are still in the race. Though the Gobi March was longer, I think yesterday's long day was harder because of the difficult (yet beautiful) terrain and the heat.
 
The day started off with another spectacular sunrise above Lincancabur just as we set off on a 15km jaunt through yet more salt flats. My blister on my bunion was so painful putting on my shoes but as soon as I started running the mind and adrenaline managed to block it out. These flats started off "flat" and pure white but quickly turned into the nasty brown gnarly stuff that we are now used to, there's nothing "flat" about them and it played murder on my already battered feet. This time there was a small donkey trail to follow and I managed to stick with the front 15 and make reasonable progress. CP1 to CP2 was an easy 10km trail and where I could get my 5 min running / 2 min walking strategy into plan to keep up with Michel, the speedy German. CP2 to CP3 was a short 8km leg over gravelly dunes where we could also make good progress, though it was starting to heat up..
 
From CP3, however, things started to get difficult again capped by a spectacular 50m steep sand dune. My Japanese co-runners went straight up it, it took me significantly longer. At the top, we were rewarded by an unearthly landscape, a massive collection of large salt "plates". I can only describe it as one massive turtles's back as far as the eye could see. Amazing, and why these events are so special as this was completely off the tourist map. A big sand dune down brought us down to CP4 and the 43km mark. 30km to go...
 
From CP4, I caught up with tentmate Ash, who was having a tough time keeping liquids down. It's always great to see Ash as he is always positive as well as being generous with his Jolly Rancher sweets, my new favourite. I pushed on with another 5 run / 2 walk onto CP5 but was starting to really hurt. I had been eating macadamia nuts most of the day and was starting to revolt against them.
 
From CP5 there was another 20km to go and it was just a case of walking and trotting every so often. Ash was about 20 mins ahead of me in my age group but I just couldn't get my legs to move to pick up more time. The final 9km stage took us through the spectacular Valley of the Moon, a collection of canyons and uneathly rock formations. Almost two hours later I crossed the finish line ecstatic in 11:30 hours and 11th place. Ash came in another 15 minutes later. He is such a strong runner given that he seemed  in such difficulty when I passed him.
 
I had no appetite in the evening and woke up around 2am wide awake. Sitting out by the fire chatting, drinking tea and marvelling at the night sky it was fantastic to see both tent-mates Thaddeus and Gary make it in in good spirits. I had been worried about Gary as he had had a very tough day before the long day, necessitating an IV drip. He is back to his jokey self in the camp this morning and we are now planning a big lunch in Santiago for Sunday.
 
Tomorrow we have a final 16km run into San Pedro where we can look forward to the best tasting cold beer and pizza at the finish line...
 
Thanks again for all your supportive emails. Susan, Hadley, Willa, Hugo and Henry, can't wait to see you all on Tuesday. xx

Today was a good day. Painful but good. I am sitting in the cybertent overlooking yet another beautiful salt lake with the ever-present Licancabur volcano in the background while competitors continue to finish.
 
I had my best night’s sleep last night, probably because I was so knackered from yesterday’s exertions but woke up feeling good and the berries with custard at breakfast went down well. I managed to drain my blisters some more this morning which made putting on my socks and shoes a little more bearable. The blister on the bunion on my left foot, however, is super painful, and bothered me most of the day.
 
Today’s leg was 43km. The race briefing @ 7.30 warned us that the first leg was “extremely difficult” with lots of sand and shale and the third leg, 14km across the salt flats, would be “technically difficult”. As it turns out, I didn’t find the first leg too bad as I was feeling fresh and and my feet weren’t bothering me too much. The end of the first 10km leg saw us descend a very steep sandy cliff into an oasis. Lots of fun though my gaiters were hopeless in keeping out the sand! The 14km leg from CP2 to CP3 was a great opportunity to pick up the pace. The sand was hard-packed running out to the salt flats and I got into a good 5min run/1.5min walk rhythm.
 
The challenge of the day, however, lay ahead at CP3 – a 14km slog across the sand flats. I teamed up with RTP veteran and fellow tent-mate Ash Moktari and when possible, we managed to get a steady trot going. It was getting very hot by this time, around 1pm, and we had taken on extra water at CP3, around 2.5 litres. As it turned out, we needed every drop. Two and a half hours later we came out the other side leaving us with a 6km run to camp. Unfortunately I was caught by a couple of runners but still ended up finishing a very pleasing 11th in 6:55.
 
The “long day” lies ahead tomorrow. Unlike the 100+km Gobi long day, this is a more manageable 72km as we have already put in four marathons to date, but given that the terrain has been so much harder than Gobi, I’m under no illusions that it will be a tough day. RTP veterans have been ready with lots of advice of how to cope with the day but I plan on following my 5 run/3 walk strategy (terrain allowing) that worked so well for me in the Gobi. If all goes to plan, hope to be done by around 10pm tomorrow.
 
Thanks again for all the great emails.

The good news is that we are half way through the race. The bad news is that I came into camp today completely buggered and suffering from bad blisters. The doctors have patched my feet up, but tomorrow's stage is supposedly the hardest so it's not going to get any easier.
 
Today I was introduced to Atacama's local speciality, salt flats. They are simply impossible to run on, jagged, sharp, irregular, soft in places, hard in places, throwing your ankles this way and that and beating your feet up as you go along - hence the blisters. Unfortunately we have another serving of them both tomorrow and part of the "long day" on Thursday.
 
Last night was particularly cold but ironically I had a good night's sleep and the race started just as the sun was coming up over Licancabur. Spectacular. The first 10km leg started with some salt flats but then levelled off to a nice cart track that led to CP1. CP1 to CP2 was a dream, a nice 10km stretch on good ground so we could pick up the pace. The second half of the race, however, was murder. CP2 to CP3 was a combination of salt flats and soft sand (did I tell you how much I hate sand) and then CP3 to the finish was a steady 11.5km uphill climb through soft sand and shale. To add insult to injury we had to climb a 50m sand dune to get to the finish line. As I write, competitors are still coming in. 11 hours is a long day in the sun...
 
Today also saw some of the younger legs move up the ranking. I finished 14th for the day in 6:40 but am now 15th overall. Everything can change on the long day but I need to gain 15 minutes to get into the top 10 and 20 minutes to lead my age group, a hard task...
 
Thanks again for all your good wishes and support. Susan & kids, thanks for all your great emails, I love you; Paul, you will always be my go-to person for any advice; Eliot, I wish I had a game plan, just struggling along; Denvy - top 5 might be pushing it a bit but will try my best :); Graham, you're right this is definitely the most spectacular RTP race. The slot canyons and valley of the dead were amazing - not so keen on the salt flats...; David/Joy - shepherd's pie this evening. You'd love it; Sara, Gary just came in a little worse for wear. He sends his love back!
 
This time tomorrow, only the "long day" to do...Until then

Today was a tough race but with spectacular scenery. I had a reasonable night's sleep and was up @ 5.30 to get ready for an 8.00 start. Again, the stars as you get out of your tent just take your breath away. While I was huddling around the fire for warmth having custard with apple (my favourite and tried and tested rocket fuel), the sun came up above Licancabur volcano to create an amazing 180 degree vista.
 
Today's race was a full marathon distance (44km on my GPS). The first 10km took us down the Slot Canyons which saw us cross a glacial river well over 20 times. A good way to start off the run to develop blisters! I came into CP1 around 15th feeling good.
 
The next stage took us through the aplty names Valley of Death up a steep mountain road, through an old mining tunnel out to the other side of the mountain and then up onto a 5km ridge. The view to the North was spectacular with spires upon spires of jagged brown mountains and more volcanoes behind. I heard even the front runners stopped for photos. At the end of the ridge, we then had to run down a steep 200m sand dune. One of the funnest things I have ever done!
 
Unfortunately the fun was over all too soon as after halfway things flattened out but the terrain became very difficult and I started to flag walking more than running in the midday heat. Fortunately there was a good breeze to keep the temperatures manageable. By CP3, 32km, I was pretty buggered, but things started to look up as the track became easier and I started running with Charl de Walt, a charming South African. We started a 4 min run, 2 min walk strategy and started moving along nicely just as my macadamia nuts started to kick in and give me some more energy. We managed to do the last 10km in good time and Charl and I finished together in joint 13th, a fantastic result given how dreadful I had felt around 25km. If I am reading the results right, I am currently 11th. I just hope I'm not peaking too soon as a lot can happen on the long day...
 
Camp 3 is located at Lake Cejar, a salt water lake. It's beautiful.Though we are not allowed to bathe in the lake (because you'd need lots of fresh water to rinse off the salt) lots of us have been dipping our feets in to help our blisters. So far, I've only had a couple of toe blood blisters which have been "drilled" and shouldn't be too much of a problem.
 
Tomorrow we have a 40km leg to look forward with lots of sand. I hate running in the sand!
 
Darling, good luck with the speech and Hugo, have fun with Henry at school this week. How about some emails kids?! Thanks Raymond, Andy, Sally, JB and Joss for your support.

It is so good to be underway, but as I suspected this race is going be a lot harder than the Gobi!
 
Camp 1 was located up a narrow valley about 90 minutes NW of San Pedro. We were at 3,000m and I was pleasantly surprised that the altitude didn't affect me too much. The good news is this is as high as we will have to go. RTP have gone soft and provided us with portaloos but I'm not complaining! After my two frigid nights in the Gobi last year, I was much better prepared with extra liners and a down jacket. While I didn't sleep very well, at least I was warm!! Getting out the tent at 1am for a loo break I was greeted by the most incredible panorama of stars. I will try get Zandy, the official photographer, to do some justice to an amazing part of this race.
 
The first race was 36km and we dropped about 600m to base camp. We started in the cold shadows of the valley at 8am but things started warming up very quickly as we headed out onto the plateau. I made the rookie mistake of getting caught up in the adrenaline of the start and arrived at CP1 in 9th place! I soon came to my senses and toned down the pace which was forced on you anyway having to run down a sandy dry riverbed but I still came into CP2 at 11th.
 
The next leg was a killer that included a long gentle climb to a canyon that forced me to a quick walk with Pete from Switzerland. Once through the canyon we began an incessant climb with a massive cliff face to our left facing North and Licancabur volcano. The cliff face reminded me of the Flaming Mountain in the Gobi March with temperatures to match. It was close to 40 degrees as I finally made it to CP3 in 15th with no more water. From CP3 it was a quick 4km run down to Camp 2 where I finished a pleasing 15th in 4:55. I am in a high achieving tent with George, Youssef and Ash all finishing well ahead of me. The camp is on a plateau with an amazing view of Licancabur volcano
 
Thanks for all your supportive emails. Susan, what is it with you and flat tyres when I am away?? David/Joy, FYI my Chicken Tikka last night was delicious!
 
Tomorrow we have a full marathon to look forward to... I'm sore but no pulls so should be good to go.

T-1 days to go!

After a tortuous 42 hours of five separate flights and layovers I finally arrived in San Pedro on Wednesday evening. I thought I had won the longest trip award but then heard that Thaddeus Lawrence, a fellow tent member this race, took 50 hours from Singapore via Europe! A delayed flight in from Auckland meant there was chaos at the baggage claim in Santiago that saw three of us barge through customs and dash from international to domestic gates not once but twice. I was very pleased with myself that my spanglish from living in Mexico for a couple of years in the late 90s managed to get us back into the customs and baggage claim through the out door when we really needed it! Fortunately for me, my bag came off the carousel first in Calama, our final destination, a real result. Simon and Andy were less lucky, having to wait another four hours to get their bags on the next flight. 

With the bag distraction out of the way, it was great to catch up with Gobi March tent mate Gary Cambridge - as well as getting a big chunk of parmesan cheese from him for the race! Gary and I will also share a tent this time around. The bus ride down to San Pedro, our base, took over an hour. Sand and rock as far as the eye could see in every direction with impressive snow-capped mountains in the distance. Coming down into the valley, however, we saw our first glimpses of some of the extraordinary rock formations that make this part of the world so beautiful and unique. Beyond, there is the impressive and classically shaped Licancabur volcano that dominates the horizon from San Pedro

My concerns about altitude were soon realised as I got a headache as soon as I checked into the Don Tomas Hotel. Fortunately, after lots of water, Diamox, chewing coca leaves (revolting) and drinking coca tea, I seem to be ok 48 hours later. I went for a very light run on Thursday afternoon and really struggled to find some air for the first ten minutes but managed to get into a rhythm to complete a 40 minute run around the outskirts. At least for me, I sense this race is going to be a much bigger challenge than the Gobi March. Altitude is the obvious major factor, but the sun in the thin air is more fierce and the dry atmosphere means you are sweating far more than you realise, requiring greater attention to hydration and electolyte management.

Another Gobi tent mate, Ali Whebi, and Youseff Khater have been cclimatising here for a couple of weeks already and have been running above 4,400m so will clearly find this race a piece of cake! They have been excellent guides to the small town, advising on where to eat great pizza and where to buy this and that. Thanks Ali for the Ininji socks!

This morning I managed to cram pretty much everything into my 25 litre back pack and 3 litre bum bag so all set to go tomorrow. It should weigh in at around 10kg without water. Tomorrow we have a briefing and equipment check in the morning before we head out to Camp 1 around 3pm. The race starts proper at 8am on Sunday. Can't wait!

After losing my iPod shuffle before getting to the start line at the Gobi March last year I’m determined to have some good tunes with me for Atacama. So much so, I asked family and friends to suggest their choices to supplement my well-worn playlist of recent months. Following an enthusiastic response and a couple of weeks of tweaking and experimentation, I now have over five hours of peppy, inspirational and sometimes aggressive music to keep me going. Any late suggestions welcome…

AC/DC                    Highway To Hell
AC/DC                  Touch Too Much
Baha Men            Who Let the Dogs Out
Beck                     Girl
Beck                    Think I'm In Love
Big Country         In a Big Country
Billy Idol               Dancing With Myself
Black Eyed Peas I Gotta Feeling
Black Eyed Peas One Tribe
Black Eyed Peas Shut Up
Blondie               One Way Or Another
Blue Öyster Cult (Don't Fear) The Reaper
Bruno Mars         Grenade
Cee Lo Green      F**k You
Chuck Berry & Martha Berry         Come On
The Clash             Train in Vain
The Clash             Hitsville U.K.
The Clash             Should I Stay or Should I Go
The Clash             Straight To Hell
The Cult               Rain
The Cure              A Forest
Dire Straits          Sultans Of Swing
Eminem               Airplanes (feat. Hayley Williams)
Eminem               Not Afraid
Eminem               Lose Yourself
Fatboy Slim         Acid 8000
Flo-Rida               Right Round (Feat. Kesha)
Flo Rida               Low [Feat T-Pain] [Explicit]
Fort Minor           Remember The Name
Jay-Z                   Empire State Of Mind (Feat. Alicia Keys)
Jay-Z                  Young Forever (Feat. Mr. Hudson)
Justin Bieber      Baby (Fluffy Remix)
Keane                 Somewhere Only We Know
Kings of Leon      Sex On Fire
Lady GaGa           Telephone (Feat. Beyonce)
Lady Gaga           Just Dance (Redone Remix)
Led Zeppelin       Kashmir
Leftfield               Open Up
Midnight Oil        Beds Are Burning
Moby     Extreme Ways
New Order          True Faith-94
New Order          Blue Monday 88
Otis Day & The Knights    Shout
Pete Townshend               Let My Love Open The Door
Pink        Get The Party Started
Placebo Running Up That Hill (Live From Santiago)
Prince                 Little Red Corvette (Dance Mix)
The Proclaimers I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
Queen                We Will Rock You
R.E.M.                Losing My Religion
R.E.M.                I've Been High
Radiohead           I Might Be Wrong
Radiohead           15 Step
Radiohead           Weird Fishes / Arpeggi
Rihanna               Love The Way You Lie (Part II) (Feat. Eminem)
Robert Palmer    Respect Yourself
The Rolling Stones            Start Me Up
Simple Minds      Alive and Kicking
Snap!     The Power
Snow Patrol        Crack The Shutters
Squeeze               Cool For Cats
Stromae               Alors On Danse
T.I. ft Rihanna    Live Your Life
Talking Heads     (Nothing But) Flowers
Technotronic      Pump Up the Jam
Tom Robinson Band         2-4-6-8 Motorway
U2                      Pride (In The Name Of Love)
U2                      Where The Streets Have No Name
U2               Beautiful Day
Underworld        Bigmouth (1992)
Underworld        Rez (1993)
Underworld        8 Ball from "The Beach" (1999)
Violent Femmes Gone Daddy Gone
The Who              Won't Get Fooled Again

 

 

T-9 days to go. Firstly, thanks to Sam, Hamish, Lucy and Diego for their words of advice and reassurance with the altitude issue. I now have my stash of Diamox and ready to suck in all that thin air with greater confidence! 

I felt a bit robbed this morning when I got an email from Ali Wehbi, a keen early arrival in Atacama, that it was not only raining but pouring there! So much for the no rain for 500 years marketing spiel... 

My plans for a final long slow run this week were squashed, somewhat bizarrely, by the mother of all muscle spasms in my left calf early on Thursday morning. Susan, my american wife, calls them a "charley horse" and this was one hell of a painful ride. The calf was still locked up on Thursday and is only just releasing as I write after a couple of painful sessions with Khun Yongyut. I managed a short easy run this morning to experiment with my new Inov-8 gaiters. It remains to be seen if they keep the sand out, very few do, but they are comfortable and, more importantly, look super cool as far as gaiters can... 

I did my final, final equipment check last night and seem all set to go provided I can find my sleeping bag somewhere in the back of the wardrobe. I just received a new Lumix weatherproof point and shoot that Mark Lehmkuhler used to great effect during the Gobi March last year. If I can get close to some of his great shots I will be happy. I'm trying to get my pack down to sub 10kg for the starting line but it's proving tough. I brought about 19,000 calories with me to the Gobi and I'm loathed to go any lower than that as I was starving most of the time, save for Gary Cambridge's melt in your mouth mini blocks of parmesan cheese. Gary will be with me again (viva tienda Miscani, tienda numero diez!!) but his reputation as cheese pusher is now well known so not sure there'll be enough to go around this time... 

Three days to go before my marathon flight to Calama. I will be leaving Chiang Mai early on Tuesday 1st March, spending the day in Bangkok and then flying overnight to Sydney before flying on to Santiago. I failed to read the small print of my itinerary to notice there is a four hour layover in Auckland, NZ so from Bangkok to Calama will be 28 hours. This will be a good test of my Power Monkey to see how many charges it can give to my laptop. Looking forward to catching up with many Gobi March friends next week...

17 days to go... All RTP events are challenging but the general consensus from previous competitors I have spoken to is that the Atacama Crossing is the toughest of the three "hot" RTP races. Having done the Gobi March last year, I feel I know what to expect in terms of heat and the "long day", but coping with the altitude remains my biggest concern. Living here in Chiang Mai, Thailand, I have the benefit of training up in some of the nearby mountains, which peak out around 1,800m, but that's still well short of the 3,000m we will be starting at on 6 March. I last ran at altitude in Yunnan province, SW China, back in 2009, and clearly remember the dreadful feeling of sucking wind as soon as I hit any incline. At least we will be coming down as the week progresses... I am jealous of Ali Whebi who is arriving a week ahead of time to acclimatise. I will have three days to get up to speed... 

I have started my fund-raising efforts a bit late in the day but have been pleasantly surprised by the continued support of friends I have been regularly "tapping" for donations in recent years. We already raised $2,400 in the first week but still looking to reach $7,800. Thank you all. My chosen charity, Shelterbox, had an incredibly busy 2010 trying to provide shelter, warmth and dignity to those who had lost everything following earthquakes or flooding in Chile, Haiti, China, Pakistan and Colombia. Unfortunately, they are already off to a busy 2011 helping victims affected by the mudslides and flooding in Brazil last month. For more information please check out their website, http://shelterbox.org/. I feel very comfortable supporting a charity that provides such tangible and immediate benefits to people in dire need. Anyone who hasn't made a donation, please check out my website at http://www.justgiving.com/Mark-Stevenson0 

As usual, training has been a bit stop and start as I struggle with some pull or ache in some part of my body. The fact that I suffered my first hamstring injury in December is, ironically, a good sign that my attempts to change my running style from heel to mid-sole strike is paying off. The former stresses the lower legs and leads to calf injuries (which I have suffered for many years) while the latter uses the bigger upper leg muscles that are what you should be using for running in the first place. I have been fortunate to come across a wonderful physio here in Chiang Mai, Khun Yongyut. He has been working on my legs for the past few months and has been invaluable in improving my flexibility and hopefully getting me to the start line in reasonable shape. At the time of writing I have another minor pull in my right calf so have been suffering the tedium of "swim running" in the deep end of a local pool. This entails treading water for over an hour trying to use your hands as little as possible. Intensely boring doesn't get close to describing it, but it's totally knackering and keeps the stress off the legs.