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Stage 1 Report

23.11.2007

The RacingThePlanet Team woke at 1 am to board a zodiac to land on Aitcho Island to set the course for Stage 1 of The Last Desert which was expected to be an eight-hour run on hard packed snow. However, several hours into the run it became clear that the newly-fallen snow would not be packed at all even after competitors had been running for hours. Competitors struggled all day through the snow with those with past alpine experience leading the pack.

Competitors arrived on Aitcho Island around 3 am to begin Stage 1. All were completely captivated by the wildlife on Aitcho which included thousands of penguins, Weddell Seals, Petrel birds, Albatross birds and Skuas. Jacob Nielsen felt a sense of sadness that he couldn't afford the time to simply sit and marvel at the penguins which displayed no fear of humans and simply interacted with competitors and staff throughout the day.

Course Director Alasdair Morrison remarked that the leading competitors would experience 2000 meters of uphill and 2000 meters of downhill throughout the day.

Temperatures were cold in the early morning before becoming mild, and then quickly turning blizzard like mandating that the stage be cut short. American Joe Holland finished first completing more than marathon having run 48.6 kilometers. Italian Francesco Galanzino finished second only four minutes behind, while Korean Byeung Sik Ahn finished third about 30 minutes behind.

Unlike the other 4 Deserts events, competitors in The Last Desert are given an amount of time in certain locations and must capture the most kilometers in that amount of the time. The champion will be the individual who first succeeds in running 250 kilometer of the individual that has run the most kilometers at the end of the event.

Many competitors have been experiencing sea sickness and were not in top form for the first stage. Tomorrow's stage will take place in an area called Neko on the Antarctica continent. The seas are currently rough, but everyone is in good spirits and generally healthy.

Check out the official race website at:
www.4deserts.com/thelastdesert/index.php

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