Atacama Crossing - Pre-Trip Info

(UPDATED MARCH 23: I FINISHED! READ MY RACE REPORT HERE.)


WHAT I'M GETTING MYSELF INTO

Here are a few interesting details about the Atacama Crossing.

1. The race is 250 kilometers/155 miles across the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile

• Stage 1 (March 6)    35.2 km / 21.9 miles
• Stage 2 (March 7)    41.8 km / 26.0 miles
• Stage 3 (March 8)    40.0 km / 24.9 miles
• Stage 4 (March 9)    42.8 km / 26.6 miles
• Stage 5 (Mar 10-11)   73.6 km / 45.7 miles
• Stage 6 (March 12)   16.0 km / 9.9 miles

2. The highest point on the course is 10,000 ft. And elevation will never drop below a mile.
3. Temperatures will reach over 100 degrees.
4. I'm carrying my own gear (including a week of food). My pack starting weight will be nearly 20 lbs, but it will get lighter - I hope - with each meal I eat.


HOW TO FOLLOW ME WHILE I'M IN CHILE

Pre-race (March 2-5):

• I'll post pre-race updates on my Facebook and Twitter pages when I'm able. I'll be spending a couple days in Santiago before heading up to race headquarters in San Pedro de Atacama.

Race (March 6-12)

• Check out my event-sponsored race blog each day. This will be my only access to the outside world while I'm in the desert.  I'll be posting a short entry after each stage. Organizers will upload entries each evening via a satellite link.  Leave comments for me - I'll be able to read them the following day. :)
• Stage updates can be found here.
• Sign-up for breaking news here.
• Organizers will also post race updates on the RacingThePlanet Twitter page here. 

Packed and ready to go

I've been waiting a long time for this. Let's just hope my Achilles can hold up. :)

Keep running!

-Scott

Pullman Winter 50k #4 (a.k.a. The Achilles)

Saturday was the last of the Pullman Winter Series runs.  We had our biggest group yet, despite temperatures hovering in the low 20's at 8:00am. 

I had the great pleasure of meeting fellow blogger Mike and his family.  He came down from Spokane to do a couple loops as he's preparing for his first 50k in April. 

Last week I was cautiously nursing a tender Achilles. I was thinking of maybe not running any loops at the 50k (7.75 mile loops) - just hang there and cheer people on.  I had a nice 8-mile run Wednesday night with my buddy Joe at a 7-min pace, so it didn't seem like it was too big of an issue, but I wanted to be extra cautious.  I had similar tenderness/discomfort on the same leg last summer about two weeks before my marathon PR; I just took a few days off and gave it some good rest.  Last Saturday, I skipped my 30-mile run just to be on the safe side.  I ended up deciding that I'd do at least one loop of the 50k and see how things felt.  Things didn't seem to be getting any worse, so I ran another loop.  And then a third.  I could have gone on for another lap, but the discomfort was enough that I decided to end my day at 23.25 miles (results).  Two days later, it's still tender. I probably should have not run at all on Saturday.  But I'll give it a few days off completely.  Ice. Rest. Pizza.  I'm not going to start worrying until next Monday if it's still tender.  I think it will be okay.

Low 20's at the start. Photo courtesy of Tales of the Runner.

With Mike from Tales of the Runner.

Beautiful day.

Sadie kept an eye on the bighorn sheep each loop.

Icing my leg.

I'll have a detailed Atacama Crossing informational post up by this weekend.

In the meantime, keep running RESTING!

-Scott

Running off the excitement

I'm off to Chile in two weeks.  I have a few final things to do before all my gear will be ready to go.  I have a quiet excitement.  

I've been pretty busy with the final details of the trip.  And Boston is right on the heels of Chile, so I've been pretty busy making all those arrangements too.  

I hope to have a detailed pre-Chile blog sometime next week.  

In the meantime, some photos:

Above Rock Lake

Ice

Beautiful trail running weather

New Brooks Cascadia 6 = AWESOME

Keep running!

Scott