Samantha Fanshawe has something of a natural flair for being a citizen of the planet. She was born to British parents in Peru, and went to school in Pakistan for a few years before the age of 11.
After graduating from the University of Leeds with a joint honors degree in Maths and Biology she took some time out to see the word, including working in Sydney, Australia, before returning to the United Kingdom for two years in business development of corporate clients in the recruitment industry. She was then transferred to Singapore with the same company for a regional management role before moving to Penang in Malaysia and then Hong Kong.
Along the way she mastered the art of dragon boat racing, competing in Dragon Boat World Championships. Sam is an all-around sportswoman, being a runner herself and also enjoys hiking, horse riding and mountain biking. It was while in Asia that she took up running a bit more seriously, starting with more than a dozen half-marathons, and then completing the Singapore Marathon, sprint triathlons, adventure races and ultramarathons such as the Hong Kong Oxfam Trailwalker, Hong Kong 100, the Gobi March and Mongolia Sunrise to Sunset.
Sam's involvement with RacingThePlanet started when she volunteered at the Gobi March 2005 in the Turpan Basin of Xinjiang Autonomous Region of far western China. Despite it being the hottest event on record, she fell in love with the spirit of the RacingThePlanet Ultramarathons and soon came on board as a staff member a few years later.
Sam has been to more than forty RacingThePlanet / 4 Deserts events, in a management capacity during her nearly 15 years with the company. Sam will be the co-race director at RacingThePlanet: Greece 2025.
Andrea ANDREWS
Operations Manager
Chile, Resident in Australia
Chilean Andrea Andrews is a clinical dietitian and a mum-of-two who lives in Australia. Her first RacingThePlanet event was in 2010 when she volunteered for the Atacama Crossing which she says is "the most spectacular race I have ever been a part of and most importantly in my home country". She came to that race with her husband who was competing. She never expected to have such an amazing time, and was hooked. She went on to volunteer in 2011 for the roving race in Nepal and in 2015 she decided to see what it was like from the competitor side and competed in the roving race in Ecuador which she describes as "an epic challenge and a humbling experience to get to complete this kind of race". In 2017, 11 months after having her beautiful baby girl, she completed the Patagonia roving race, wanting to break the stereotype that new mothers were not able to be adventurous. "It was an amazing challenge and my best race so far". She put her volunteering on hold when she had a second baby but avidly followed the races from her couch with massive FOMO and decided that she would definitely be joining the team again.
Andrea loved competing but is coming back this time as a member of the management team. Her favourite part of the race is the checkpoint and camp life, and the camaraderie formed by the volunteer team. We welcome her back to her fifth RacingThePlanet event - having volunteered twice, once at the Atacama Crossing, and twice as a racer. She is most looking forward to getting to know everyone and findimg out why they are here.
Hernan GARCIA
Course Director
United States
Hernan Garcia brings brings a wealth of experience and passion from twenty-eight(!) RacingThePlanet / 4 Deserts events, including completing five races as a competitor: the Atacama Crossing three times—most recently in 2025—as well as the Sahara Race (Egypt) and Gobi March (China).
He has also been the Course Director at eight races, Camp Manager at twelve and a Course Team member at three. His involvement spans destinations from Mongolia, Chile and Namibia to Iceland, New Zealand, Jordan, Greece and Antarctica. This breadth of experience gives him an understanding of RacingThePlanet events from both sides of the start line—as a competitor taking on the challenge and as a team member helping deliver the races and support those taking part.
Originally from Argentina and now based in Tennessee, Hernan graduated from the University of Michigan in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. He has lived in Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and the United States, bringing an international outlook to RacingThePlanet’s global community. His connection to the races is also a family affair: all three of his daughters have experienced RacingThePlanet events.
Beyond RacingThePlanet, Hernan is an experienced sailor who has sailed extensively around the world, and an accomplished endurance runner with numerous races over 100 kilometers and up to 250 miles to his name – as well as more than 25 marathons. His adventures also include a 10-day expedition across the Patagonian continental ice shelf. His engineering background, endurance experience and enthusiasm for remote environments complement the practical knowledge he brings to the RacingThePlanet team.
Hernan takes on the position of Course Director for the Atacama Crossing 2027 where his dedication and expertise continue to inspire.
Bev BRAMMER
Volunteer Manager & CP Captain
United Kingdom
Bev Brammer is a retired nutritionist from Manchester, UK who got bored being retired so now works part time in Customer Services for a large retail company. She followed the exploits of her husband Tony through his 4 Deserts Ultras as a competitor and then experienced life in the desert for herself as a volunteer in the Atacama Crossing (Chile) back in 2010. That was the start of a love for early morning starts & roughing it! Since then she has volunteered at more than 20 RacingThePlanet and 4 Deserts events. Bev is not a novice to sporting achievements herself having climbed Ben Nevis, trekked 60 miles along the Great Wall of China and completed half and full marathons. She enjoys the gym, spin classes & hiking in the great outdoors. We welcome Bev back to the Atacama Crossing 2027.
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