RACINGTHEPLANET: THE 20-YEAR RACE
250km / 155 mile, 6-Stage Ultramarathon

22 - 28 September 2024

DAYS TO GO

Race Coverage

RACE Coverage

20-Year Race Home

Art MCNEILL

Paramdeic

United States

Bev BRAMMER

CP Captain

United Kingdom

Raymond ALDERDICE

Retired

United Kingdom

Sandy KONDO

Japan

Jen ZONAR

Finance and Controller

United States

Enrique CASTRO

Camp Manager

Chile

Jacqueline "Jackie" LYONS

Nurse -practice education practitioner

United Kingdom

Janka DOLEžAL

Life Coach

Germany

Ahmed "Dolfen" ISMAIL

Eco Tourism Founder & CEO

Egypt

Beth BARR

Epidemiologist

United Kingdom, Resident in Kenya

Kuna RAJANDRAN

Project Manager

Malaysia, Resident in Australia

Abigail TOBIN

Lawyer

United Kingdom, Resident in Singapore

Brian KRZYZANIAK

Paramedic

United States

Lena SASSE

Doctoral Student (Psychology)

Germany

Bernadett (Detti) KELéNé MAJZIK

Guide (Water Tours)

Hungary

Samantha JACKSON

Executive Assistant

United Kingdom

Charlie LATHAM

Writer

England

Jaime BUE

Product Manager

United States

Christopher BALSIROW

Caregiver

United States

Fiona (Fi) BOLAND

Teacher

Australia

Linda CLARK

Risk Manager

United States

Art MCNEILL

Paramdeic

United States

Art McNeill brings great leadership and practical skills to the volunteer team. He is a dedicated paramedic and fire fighter in the City of Chicago Fire Department and has more than ten years of experience working in fire departments, hospital emergency departments, emergency air transportation vehicles, and industrial and offshore oil rigs as well as spending some time working in Shanghai. He dedicates much of his professional time to leading continuing education courses and mentoring others in his field. Art joins The 20-Year Race (Jordan) 2024 team for his fifth time at a RacingThePlanet event having previously been a volunteer at the Gobi March (China) 2014, the Atacama Crossing 2016 and 2022 and the Namib Race 2019. Art describes hims as "a guy who likes wide open places and watching the crazies who run there".

Bev BRAMMER

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 in 17 Racing the Planet or 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 her 18th RacingThePlanet Event at The 20-Year Race (Jordan) 2024.

Raymond ALDERDICE

Retired

United Kingdom

Raymond (Ken) Alderdice is a former insurance broker from Ireland. In 1974, at the age of 16, he started working and after 44+ years, he retired in 2018. Ken was looking for adventure during his retirement days and came across the Atacama Crossing (Chile) on TV, and he thought that RacingThePlanet would be a really good place to start. He made his debut as a volunteer at the Gobi March (Mongolia) in 2019 where he was inspired to race himself. He set his sights on RacingThePlanet: Georgia 2020 and lost 10 kg as part of his preparation. After six thwarted attempts due to COVID restrictions and injury, he at last made it to the start of the Gobi March (Mongolia) 2024 for his first time as a competitor at a RacingThePlanet / 4 Deserts Race. He has, however, volunteered on three more occassions, at the Namib Race 2021 and 2024, and the Atacama Crossing 2023. Ken is a keen traveller who loves the outdoors. He has been skiing every year since 1987 and plays golf all year round. You can also spot Ken sailing or doing volunteer work with disabled people. Ken says: "I want to see places that I wouldn't normally travel to and RacingThePlanet allows me to do that!"

Sandy KONDO

Japan

Sandy Kondo from Japan has volunteered sixteen RacingThePlanet / 4 Deserts Races - she also raced in RacingThePlanet: Jordan 2012 and Madagascar 2014. Sandy worked for the South African Embassy in Tokyo before retiring in 2023 and has managed the RacingThePlanet office in Japan for more than ten years. She is a natural organizer with a flair for multi-tasking.

Kind and generous, Sandy is one of our best known cheer-leaders and has assisted dozens of 4 Deserts and RacingThePlanet competitors in preparing for the races. She also works and volunteers at the Comrades Marathon in South Africa, Tokyo Marathon in Japan and, most importantly, multiple 4 Deserts / RacingThePlanet events.

Jen ZONAR

Finance and Controller

United States

Jen Zonar grew up in Virginia Beach but has considered Knoxville her home since 2002. She has always worked very hard but now she is realizing the importance of playing hard as well, and as a result she'll be taking a "sabbatical" from work starting in September to travel, relax, and enjoy time with family and friends. Prior to the break she was a finance professional and has worked in the boating industry her entire career. Before 2010 she was always healthy but not consistently active. A few friends suggested a couch to 5k program that culminated in a "color me rad" run and she has been active ever since. Her longest distance is a half marathon but she enjoys meet the folks that push themselves far beyond that and "working my butt off on vacation with really cool folks!". Jen previously been an excellent volunteer with us at the Atacama Crossing 2019, RacingThePlanet: Georgia 2021, Lapland 2022 and The Last Desert (Antarctica). We are delighted to have her back on the team this year in Jordan where she will be part of the course team.

Enrique CASTRO

Camp Manager

Chile

Enrique Castro from San Pedro de Atacama in Chile has worked with RacingThePlanet for more than ten years on the Atacama Crossing. He has also been to the Gobi March in Mongolia as the Camp Manager. He joins his second race outside of Chile at RacingThePlanet: The 20-Year Race (Jordan) 2024 where he will manage the Camp Site.

Jacqueline "Jackie" LYONS

Nurse -practice education practitioner

United Kingdom

Jackie Lyons is a nurse and practice education practitioner, supporting and educating student nurses, midwife’s and allied health care professional in the United Kingdom. The 20-Year Race (Jordan) 2024 is Jackie’s fourth time on a RacingThePlanet volunteer team after supporting competitors and the team at the Atacama Crossing 2015, Namibia Race 2017 and Gobi March (Mongolia) 2018. Jackie has completed several triathlons and races in the past and more importantly supported her husband and friends on Ironman races. She is excited to be returning to a RacingThePlanet Ultramarathon.

Janka DOLEžAL

Life Coach

Germany

Janka Dolezal from Cologne, Germany is a life coach who helps people to heal their childhood trauma and live a prosperous life. The 20-Year Race (Jordan) 2024 is her eighth experience at a RacingThePlanet Ultramarathon having been on the volunteer team at the Namib Race 2022 and 2024, RacingThePlanet: Georgia, the Atacama Crossing 2022 and 2023 and the Gobi March (Mongolia) 2023 and 2024. She has also supported her parnter, Ivan, who raced at the RacingThePlanet races she has been to so far as well as Transgrancanaria, Bluetrail, Vulcano, Ultracostarica and Island ultramarathons. She is full of energy, funny, positive, strong, supportive and not afraid of really hard work.

Ahmed "Dolfen" ISMAIL

Eco Tourism Founder & CEO

Egypt

Ahmed Yehia Ismail "Dolfen" is a passionate traveler who also happens to own and run his own Ecotourism investment business named: “Eco Group”, a company specializing in sustainable tourism development.
Before starting his current business, Dolfen had a diverse career, including architecture, computer science, facilitation, training, and marketing in a multinational telecom company. He later pursued a Master's degree in Cultural Heritage Management. In 2014, Yehia founded Eco Group with the goal of promoting sustainable practices in tourism. In 2017, he opened Eco Nubia Ecolodge, a sustainable eco-lodge in southern Egypt, aiming to demonstrate how tourism can be a tool for conservation and community empowerment. His contributions to sustainable tourism and environmental conservation have been recognized through numerous awards, including the UNWTO's Tourism Tech Adventure Middle East Award. He is a prominent voice in the sustainability community, advocating for policies and practices that promote sustainability and protect the planet.
Dolfen joins his twelth RacingThePlanet Ultramarathon having been a great volunteer at the Sahara Races in Egypt in 2010, 2011 and 2012, and then RacingThePlanet Jordan 2012, Atacama Crossing 2013, Sahara Race (Jordan) 2014, Madagascar 2014, Ecuador 2015, Namib Race 2016 and 2017, the Atacama Crossing 2015 and the Gobi March (Mongolia) 2018.

Beth BARR

Epidemiologist

United Kingdom, Resident in Kenya

Beth Barr's interest in RacingThePlanet began with her successful completion of RacingThePlanet: Madagascar in 2014, followed by Patagonia 2017 and the Gobi March (Mongolia) in 2019. She volunteered at the Namib Race in 2017 and the Atacama Crossing 2022 and found the volunteering experience to be immensely rewarding and fun. When she's not dreaming of ultras around the world, Beth lives in Kenya and Malawi and has recently founded Nyanja Health Research Institute, an organization focusing on improving the health of people living in rural Malawi - she previously worked for the CDC in various countries in Africa.

Kuna RAJANDRAN

Project Manager

Malaysia, Resident in Australia

Abigail TOBIN

Lawyer

United Kingdom, Resident in Singapore

Abigail (Abbey) Tobin, from the United Kingdom, is a lawyer who has lived in Singapore for the past ten years with her family. She ran her first ultra (and marathon!) in February 2020 at Tarawera in New Zealand and promised herself she would run a multistage race. She completed Atacama Crossing 2023 as part of the unofficial Team Breaking 250. RacingThePlanet: The 20-Year Race (Jordan) is her first time as a volunteer but second time at RacingThePlanet Ultramarathon.

Brian KRZYZANIAK

Paramedic

United States

Brian Krzyzaniak is a Paramedic from Redwood City in California who is also a mid-distance trail runner and has provided both logistical, course, and medical support for ultramarathons in remote locations (High Lonesome 100mi, 2021, 2022). As a paramedic, he is a problem-solver and is familiar with resource-limited environments. Brian joins a RacingThePlanet / 4 Deserts Ultramarathon for the first time at The 20-Year Race (Jordan) where his wife is on the medical team.

Lena SASSE

Doctoral Student (Psychology)

Germany

Lena Sasse of Germany is a young doctoral student in psychology from Germany. Lena joins her third RacingThePlanet / 4 Deserts Ultramarathon after volunteering at the Gobi March (Mongolia) 2023 and the Namib Race (Namibia) 2024. She loves to travel and see different landscapes and cultures. During her time at university, she met people from all over the world, which was an experience she really enjoyed. She enjoys volunteering at the races to combine her passions of travel and to give something to other people while also growing as a person.

Bernadett (Detti) KELéNé MAJZIK

Guide (Water Tours)

Hungary

Detti Keléné Majzik from Hungary works in her family business where she is a water tours guide - organizing and leading both wild and flat water tours as well as teaching children to swim during school hours. She is a mother herself and considers herself very fortunate to be able to do things in life that she loves. Her hobbies are also related to nature and sports - she loves trail running, ultrarunning, cycling and hiking in addition to water sports. Detti says "running adds a lot to my life", she not only runs, but also organizes races, and enjoys participating in the volunteer team. She has supported her husband on several occasions on a bicycle in long running races (over 200 km). The 20-Year Race (Jordan) 2024 is her first experience of a RacingThePlanet / 4 Deserts ultramarathon but she brings with her lots of experience and enthusiam to support racers on the course.

Samantha JACKSON

Executive Assistant

United Kingdom

Samantha (Sam) Jackson from the United Kingdom joins The 20-Year Race (Jordan) volunteer team for her second RacingThePlanet / 4 Deserts race. She was inspired to join after her son, Charlie, volunteered at the Gobi March 2023 and joined herself at the Gobi March (Mongolia) 2024 and is already excited to get back to the desert. Sam has over 30 years experience as an Executive Assistant. Sam is a keen athlete and enjoys meeting people from across the world.

Charlie LATHAM

Writer

England

Charlie Latham from the UK is passionate about writing, running, and events. He has worked at 60-80 events as both a volunteer and in paid positions over the last decade. Most of these events were music festivals but he has also worked on Ironman events, a couple of marathons, sports events, dog shows, and other events. He has experience in almost every aspect of events and loves every part of putting on an event and making the best experience possible for everyone attending. He is also a qualified counsellor and has worked in a residential mental health house for six months with people who had been in hospital for multiyear periods and were unable to care for themselves. Before the pandemic he was on a mission to go around the world without flying, and after 2.5 years he had made it from London to Panama but unfortunately had to end the trip due to the pandemic. He has extensive travel experience and this has helped him to be adaptive to different experiences and he gets along with almost everyone. Charlies is a runner, but nothing as crazy as a RacingThePlanet Ultramarathon and he looks forward to bringing smiles and positive energy throughout the seven-day race. The 20-Year Race (Jordan) is Charlie's second time volunteering at a RacingThePlanet Ultramarathon having been on the course team at the Gobi March 2023.

Jaime BUE

Product Manager

United States

Christopher BALSIROW

Caregiver

United States

Fiona (Fi) BOLAND

Teacher

Australia

Fiona Boland from Brisbane in Australia is a casual teacher, mainly working in special education and english as a second language areas. She also volunteers, supporting victims of crime, assisting them to navigate the criminal justice system in Brisbane. She has always been a very active person, completing many 1/2 marathons and 10km events (not very quickly) and loves playing tennis. Fi had her first experience with trail running in 2023 at UTMB Kosciuszko and she absolutely loved it. She joins a RacingThePlanet event for the first time as a volunteer at The 20-Year Race (Jordan) 2024 where her friend is vying to complete the 4 Deserts Grand Slam Plus. She also loves to travel and explore new cultures and is a mother of four grown up children.

Linda CLARK

Risk Manager

United States

Linda Clark from California in the United States joins her first RacingThePlanet event as a volunteer at The 20-Year Race (Jordan) 2024. She is a risk manager in transportation in Los Angeles, but her background is in engineering and business operations and she was an Air Force reservist in civil engineering where she was the training and logistics officer helping to plan construction activities and training events in tropical and desert climates. Linda is also active herself having walked the Camino Francés from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela (about 770 km/478 mi) in about 30 days.

RACINGTHEPLANET: THE 20-YEAR RACE 250km / 155 mile, 6-Stage Ultramarathon

DAYS TO GO

Race Coverage

RACE Coverage

Art MCNEILL

Paramdeic

Bev BRAMMER

CP Captain

Raymond ALDERDICE

Retired

Sandy KONDO

Jen ZONAR

Finance and Controller

Enrique CASTRO

Camp Manager

Jacqueline "Jackie" LYONS

Nurse -practice education practitioner

Janka DOLEžAL

Life Coach

Ahmed "Dolfen" ISMAIL

Eco Tourism Founder & CEO

Beth BARR

Epidemiologist

Kuna RAJANDRAN

Project Manager

Abigail TOBIN

Lawyer

Brian KRZYZANIAK

Paramedic

Lena SASSE

Doctoral Student (Psychology)

Bernadett (Detti) KELéNé MAJZIK

Guide (Water Tours)

Samantha JACKSON

Executive Assistant

Charlie LATHAM

Writer

Jaime BUE

Product Manager

Christopher BALSIROW

Caregiver

Fiona (Fi) BOLAND

Teacher

Linda CLARK

Risk Manager

Art MCNEILL

Paramdeic

Bev BRAMMER

CP Captain

Raymond ALDERDICE

Retired

Sandy KONDO

Jen ZONAR

Finance and Controller

Enrique CASTRO

Camp Manager

Jacqueline "Jackie" LYONS

Nurse -practice education practitioner

Janka DOLEžAL

Life Coach

Ahmed "Dolfen" ISMAIL

Eco Tourism Founder & CEO

Beth BARR

Epidemiologist

Kuna RAJANDRAN

Project Manager

Abigail TOBIN

Lawyer

Brian KRZYZANIAK

Paramedic

Lena SASSE

Doctoral Student (Psychology)

Bernadett (Detti) KELéNé MAJZIK

Guide (Water Tours)

Samantha JACKSON

Executive Assistant

Charlie LATHAM

Writer

Jaime BUE

Product Manager

RACINGTHEPLANET: THE 20-YEAR RACE
250km / 155 mile, 6-Stage Ultramarathon