Patagonian International Marathon
Inside the Patagonian International Marathon
Anne-Marie Dunhill / 27.09.2014
The day after the Ultra Trail Torres del Paine finished, NIGSA put on the Patagonian International Marathon. Racers were able to choose from four distances; 63km, 42km,21km and 10km. As this SleepMonsters journalist had already covered the race last year, in order to give the reporting a different angle I signed up for the 10km so this is the first time that I’ll be writing in the first person (a rather uncomfortable experience!)
The race briefing for the 10km took place last night in the hotel Las Torres at 21:30. The room was packed and questions were fired off in both English and Spanish. Then racers went off to their different hotels to prepare their gear in anticipation of a 9:00 pickup to be transported to the race start.
Jacqueline Windh and I sat on the floor of our shared room and went over my clothing choices. It was great to share the pre-race preparation with a new friend because usually us SleepMonsters journalists are solo on reporting gigs. After much discussion everything was set out neatly and the alarm set. Incredibly strong gusts of wind woke me up several times during the night, shaking the building and rattling the windows. I was dreading running in the wind as I’d seen its effects on the runners of the Ultra trail Torres del Paine and wondered if Goretex was all its cracked up to be.
Loud voices in the hallway woke me up an hour and a half earlier then my alarm time: runners heading to breakfast. Harumpf! The shuttle buses were loaded with racers and their drop bags and headed out according to schedule. We were dropped off at the race start and runners spread out like ants to take pictures with majestic Towers in the background. Stripping down to our race clothes we then handed in our drop bags and joined an impromptu stretching session lead by a man in blue. After lots of giggles we were ready for the race start. It was a hodgepodge of languages, with racers chattering away in German, Portuguese and Spanish.
I spoke briefly to Raquel from New Mexico, USA. She was running the 10km with her father and they both did extensive yoga stretches as warm-up. She’s currently working for a NGO in Nicaragua in their general education program and it was clear that the father and daughter duo were looking forward to sharing the race experience.
After a group countdown from 10 shouted in Spanish our race was off. Runners quickly spread out along the uneven gravel road. The sun was shining and the winds had calmed down considerably apart from an occasional strong gust. I was at the back of the group and turned into an unashamed tourist, whipping out my camera at any and every occasion. As I trotted along at my own pace, my mind began to wander and I thought about those closest to me. Every time I did this a group of birds would fly over head and I imagined that their wings were sending my dearest ones my thoughts from the end of the world.
The 10km race route merged with the race route of the other distances and up ahead in the distance I saw the lead motorcycle escorting in the winner of the 63km ultra marathon. Matt Flaherty has a distinctive ginger mustache that curls up at the ends and as I spotted his signature mustache I knew that he was on his way to meeting one of the two goals he had spoken about in our pre-race interview: to win the race and to beat Ryan Sandes course record. I’d have to make it to the finish line to get the answer to the second goal.
The course profile made the route look relatively easy but the large gravel stones and potholes made it imperative to concentrate on my footing. I started to pick off runners who had headed out quickly and eventually slowed down to a walking pace. I felt a surge of excitement as I passed one I’d had in my sights for a long time and then she asked me to stop and take a picture of her. Drat, this lady was going to be a hard one to pick off! Calculating how much energy it would cost me to pass each person I set my sights on took up mental energy for about 4km and then I just started to enjoy the scenery.
Coming over a steep hill I finally spotted the low red wooden buildings of the hotel Las Torres which signified the finish line. Several bends in the gravel road meant that it was further away then expected so I plodded along. Jacqueline had come out a short way on the course to meet her friends in the press who were running and after spotting me she leapt ahead like a gazelle to get photos. Seeing her kick up her legs and sprint after her fourth place on her trail run yesterday prompted me to call out, “There’s no need to look so sprightly my dear!”
Crossing the finish line for the first time on an international race, at the end of the world, was a feeling I will be savoring for a long time to come and it was all thanks to Yassine Deboun last year and a casual conversation in the press bus when he had encouraged me to come back and run this year. Thank you Yassine, from the bottom of my heart and wind chilled nose!
Full results are available on the race website and have also been uploaded to the race Facebook page.
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