As the CEO of 4 Deserts Race Series, 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, a keen squash player and fan of running, 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, the Gobi March, HK100, and Mongolia Sunrise to Sunset.
Sam's involvement with the 4 Deserts Race Series started when she volunteered in 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 4 Deserts races and soon came on board as a staff member.
Sam has been to more than thirty RacingThePlanet / 4 Deserts events, in a management capacity.
Mary GADAMS
Founder
United States, Resident in Hong Kong
Mary Gadams founded RacingThePlanet in 2002. Prior to founding RacingThePlanet, Mary worked in investment banking and strategy, including as a global strategist in the Chairman's Office of the Samsung Group in Seoul, Korea, working on special projects including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, venture capital and global strategy. Prior to that time, she also spent eight years with a large investment bank in the United States.
Mary has lived in six countries and been involved in a significant number of sporting events. She was team captain of three Eco-Challenge teams, with a best finish of sixth in the ESPN X Games, and has completed dozens of marathons and ultramarathons, including the Boston Marathon (three times) and the Marathon des Sables multiple times with a personal best in the women's division of 26:30. Mary's ultramarathon experience spans the Western States Endurance Run (100 miles), the Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race, the London to Brighton Race (55 miles), the Hong Kong Oxfam Trailwalker (100km), the Texas Trail Run (50 miles), the JFK 50-Miler, the Atacama Crossing and the Mongolia Sunrise to Sunset. She has also made it to the summits of Sgurr Alasdair in Scotland, Mt. Toubkal in Morocco, Mt. Kinabalu in Malaysia, Japan's Mt. Fuji (twice), Mt. Fansipan in Vietnam and Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
Mary earned an undergraduate degree in the US and a master's degree in the United Kingdom. She also studied Chinese in Shanghai, China, French in Villefranche-sur-Mer, France, Spanish in Seville, Spain, and Korean in Seoul, Korea.
Hernan GARCIA
Course Director
United States
Argentinean Hernan Garcia works as an engineer in Florida in the United States. An experienced athlete in all things nautical, Hernan has sailed extensively around the world. He also has more than twenty-five marathons under his belt and has completed the Sahara Race (Egypt) 2009, the Gobi March (China) 2011 and the Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2012. At RacingThePlanet Madagascar 2014 Hernan joined as the camp manager. At the Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2014, Hernan was the course director. Hernan joins us this time at the RacingThePlanet: The 20-Year Race as our Course Director.
Tony BRAMMER
Volunteer Manager & CP Captain
United Kingdom
The 4 Deserts Club member Tony Brammer from Manchester, UK, is a man whose sense of humour is seemingly as great as his determination to finish as far back in the field as possible. The father of two and grandfather only set out to complete one race of the 4 Deserts series. He achieved that aim with the Sahara Race (Egypt) 2005 but carried on through the Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2006, the Gobi March (China) 2007 and The Last Desert (Antarctica) 2008. A company owner and consultant for Brammer Dixon, Tony is a man who sees the funny side of most things. The harder it gets, the more he's likely to call on his sense of humour to see him through. Behind the humour and self-effacing exterior is a man dedicated to helping others. As a 4 Deserts competitor Tony raised money for a children's charity called SAFE at Last, which helps young people who run away from home. Tony is a dedicated 4 Deserts management team volunteer having worked on the volunteer team at more than twenty(!) races since his first time at the Sahara Race (Egypt) 2008. He is again an invaluable management volunteer in the role for checkpoint captain and volunteer manager at RacingThePlanet: The 20-Year Race (Jordan) 2024.
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