Ultra Trail Torres del Paine
Infinite Possibilities on the Ultra Trail Torres del Paine
Anne-Marie Dunhill / 25.09.2014
Runners have congregated at the end of the world to participate in the Patagonian Ultra Marathon and the Ultra Trail Torres del Paine. Organized by NIGSA, the races have gained increased interest on the international running scene. Thirty-five percent of all entries this year are international.
Athletes arrived in Punto Arenas via Santiago de Chile and were met by the race organizers. Once all had arrived, two buses ferried press and athletes to Puerto Natales where we spent the night in an extraordinary hotel called the “Remota”.Built to blend into its surroundings instead of dominate it, the architecture was a mixture of wood, slate and cement, all in uneven forms, which combined formed a harmonious ensemble.
The press conference took place in Spanish and Max Keith from TrailChile.com very kindly translated for SleepMonsters. The Ultra Trail Torres del Paine (UTTP) will start tonight at 02:00 for the 109km. As the inaugural event is by invitation only, there are 100 racers for all of the distances. On the 109km there will be 13 racers including Yassine Deboun from the United States and Veronica Bravo from Chile. At the press conference Veronica spoke, saying how important organizing such an event is for the region and thanked the organizers. Her words were met with a hearty round of applause.
A new race ambassador this year running the 109km is Willie McBride from the United States. Ginger haired,tall, lanky and ruggedly handsome, Willie finished another inaugural event three weeks ago in the US, the Tahoe 200 (two hundred miles that is). He spoke at length on the bus ride into the Torres del Paine national park about what brought him to ultra running. As former climber he survived a serious accident in which he fell 50 feet face first during an ice climb and once he regained consciousness, had to then make his way out for help. Following this potentially deadly incident he decided to take up ultra running as he felt that the risks were more calculated. He summed up his attraction to the sport by saying that ultra running was like church for him; healing for both mind and body.
The wind have been blowing strongly all day and with snow still on the peaks the temperatures are lower then last year. One cannot help but think that for Willie’s church service on this race it will be more like a gospel revival then a Quaker meeting in terms of intensity!
Having arrived at the Rio Serrano hotel at 18:30, runners on the UTTP are now resting up and trying to sleep despite varying degrees of jet-lag before they meet in the hotel lobby at 23:30 for an hour and a half bus ride to the starting point of the 109km.
The sunrise on the course tomorrow morning promises to make all of the effort worth it. As Moses Jimenez from Chile said, opening his arms wide in the direction of the vast empty spaces in his homeland, “Coming here gives me a thousand reasons to train. There are infinite possibilities.”
Runners on the inaugural UTTP will be exploring a few of those possibilities as they push their physical and mental limits racing at the end of the world.
You can find out more about the race at www.patagonianinternationalmarathon.com and Facebook at www.facebook.com/patagonianinternationalmarathon
SleepMonsters
