Jungle Marathon

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A Tough Start

Fredrik Olmqvist / 19.09.2004

The 1st stage of the jungle marathon proved to be tougher than expected. Slippery trails and several long steep climbs and descents forced the runners to face the fact that the Jungle Marathon is indeed a challenge.

It took stage winner Charlie Engle 3 hours 21 mins to complete the 15.7 km and just a few seconds later was the professional runner Kevin Lin from Taiwan.

The hills rear up to the sky, very high, and the trails are tough on the ankles especially when traversing along the hillside. Also the very dense forest is intimidating and gives you a headache.

The winner of the 2003 edition, Karim Mosta, thought it was longer than last year. As usual he started off in a moderate pace and finished 15th approx 40 mins behind the leaders. \"Last weekend I did a 40k race in Italy, maybe it had some influence on my performance today�, He said. The first woman crossing the finish line was German Anke Molenthin in 4 hours and 10 mins, 6 mins before Brazilian Andrea Estevam.

17.30pm ... the sun sets off Dona Irenes beach under a clear blue sky, while runners are relaxing in their hammocks or enjoying the refreshing water of Rio Tapajos. 3 competitors have withdrawn during the first day, 1 Englishman and 2 Brazilians and a further 2 are treated with saline drips.

I hope they have recovered for tomorrow. Dehydration is and will be the main obstacle. By the way I had an OK day. Hilly trails are fine with me and I finished 5th, approx 15 mins behind the leaders.

Stage One Results.
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