Dr. Avinash Patil is an emergency medicine doctor at Stanford Medical Center in California who joins a RacingThePlanet Ultramarathon medical team for the 23rd time at the Namib Race 2026.
A graduate of the University of California Davis, Dr. Avi completed his residency at Washington University and undertook a fellowship at Loma Linda University in California. He currently practices at Santa Clara Medical Centre and Stanford Hospital. On more than one occasion Dr. Avi has received awards for his works in emergency medicine at Stanford University.
Dr. Avi has practiced medicine in India, the Solomon Islands, Honduras, Kenya, China and Ecuador. With more stamps in his passport than a travel writer and a side job as a whitewater raft guide, he sometimes seems more adrenalin-junkie nomad than medical doctor. But there is a serious side to this adventure seeker - he loves to share his passion of the outdoors.
He has previously worked on the medical at team, usually as the medical director, at 19 races since 2010: Gobi March (China) 2010, 2015 and 2017, Gobi March (Mongolia) 2018, Sahara Race (Egypt) 2010, Sahara Race (Namibia) 2016, Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2010, 2012 and 2014, The Last Desert (Antarctica) 2012 and roving races in Nepal 2011, Jordan 2012, Iceland 2013, Madagascar 2014, Ecuador 2015, Patagonia 2017, New Zealand 2019, Georgia 2021, Lapland 2022, The 20-Year Race (Jordan 2024) and RacingThePlanet: Greece 2025.
Julie WIDDISON, M.D.
Emergency Physician
United States
Dr. Julie Widdison lives in Salt Lake City, Utah where she works for the University of Utah practicing Emergency Medicine. She attended medical school at the University of Utah and completed a residency in Emergency Medicine at Stanford University.
The Namib Race 2026 is Dr. Julie's 14th race working on the medical team. She was previously on the medical team at the Atacama Crossing (2014, medical director-2018), Gobi March China (2015, medical director-2017), Gobi Race Mongolia 2018, Sahara Race Namibia (2016, medical director-2019), and roving races in Patagonia 2017, New Zealand 2019, Georgia 2021, the Last Desert (Antarctica) 2022, the RacingThePlanet: 20-Year Race (Jordan) and
RacingThePlanet: Greece 2025.
Her husband Adam decided to join the medical team after completing the Sahara Race (Namibia) as a competitor in 2016. Besides trying to keep up with her husband on the trails around the Wasatch Mountains, Dr. Julie enjoys skiing, mountain biking, road trips, and hanging out with their dogs Arlo and Louie.
Adam STILES, M.D.
Emergency Physician
United States
Dr. Adam Stiles is an Emergency Medicine Physician currently living and working in Salt Lake City, Utah. He attended the University of Utah School of Medicine and completed an Emergency Medicine Residency program at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Since finishing residency, Adam has continued to work in Emergency Departments while living in California and Utah over the past 10 years.
The Namib Race 2026 is Dr. Adam's 10th race as a medical team member and he has also completed two races as competitor.
His first exposure to RacingThePlanet was through his wife, Dr. Julie, who has been a medical team member on several past 4 Deserts races. In 2016 Adam competed in the Sahara Race (Namibia) and in his words "I managed to, somehow, cross the finish line". He returned to a number of races on the medical team: Gobi March (China) 2017, the Atacama Crossing 2018, Namib Race 2019, roving races in Patagonia 2018, New Zealand 2019 and Georgia 2021, The Last Desert (Antarctica) 2022, the RacingThePlanet: The 20-Year Race (Jordan) and Greece 2025. He also completed the Atacama Crossing 2025 as a competitor on Team Chelacabur with friends Hernan, Ash and Judy who he met through the races.
In his free time Adam enjoys mountain biking, running with his wife and hanging with their dogs Arlo and Louie.
Allison FRIEDENBERG, M.D.
Pulmonary and critical care physician
United States
Dr. Allison Friedenberg, M.D. is pulmonary and critical care physician at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in San Francisco but is originally from the mid-west. She graduated from medical school at the University of Wisconsin and completed her residency and Brown Fellowship in pulmonary and critical care at New York University. Dr. Allison is passionate about travel and outdoor exploration and has travelled extensively to many remote areas in the world including backpacking on the Isla de Navarino (the southern most trail in the world). She has been to 62 of the 63 National Parks in the United States and is always planning the next trip to the world's most beautiful places, preferably by hiking, backpacking, or biking as a means to explore. The Namib Race 2026 is her second time on the medical team at a RacingThePlanet / 4 Deserts Ultramarathon. She was previously on the medical team at the Atacama Crossing 2025.
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