7 Cerros Medellin Adventure Race

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Oh, those hills!

Jacqueline Windh / 13.10.2006

Friday October 13, 2006
The hills definitely have everyone worried: both for total elevation gain and for steepness. We all had to drive over the pass between the airport and town, and that was pretty scary – coming down, the signs on the road instruct drivers to gear all the way down to first!

Local running champion Diego Colorado's long list of accomplishments include a bronze medal in the Panamerican Games, and fourth in the Central American Games marathon, both just this year. Yet even he is worried about the hills. "It's really tough... the ascents are very challenging. You have to train a lot to prepare yourself well enough physically to face them. I've been training on hills for the last while just for this race."

Adventure racers will face all seven hills over the three-day race – which means several ascents and descents, generally in the range of 200 to 600 m. Many are also a bit concerned about the go-kart event. The carts have small metal wheels and no brakes! But organizers promise that the carts will be used only on flat and slightly inclined parts of the route.

The Prologue race is set to start in about an hour – a short relay, including all of the race disciplines except for biking (i.e. running, skating, go-karting, ropes) that will be clocked. The fastest team will win $2000 worth of prizes. This will be their first chance to try out the carts, so stay tuned for reports and photos later today.See All Event Posts