A Start Fit for a World Championships

Rob Howard / 09.11.2014

It’s usually the early morning hours and dark when teams leave for the start of a big adventure race, and ARWC2014 was no exception. Buses picked the teams up at 5am and set off for Antisan National Park for the start and as the day dawned a clear sky appeared above, promising a fine first morning for the race.

Half of the journey was spent escaping the extended suburbs of Quito, and the other half took teams up narrowing roads into the hills towards the park. After passing the entrance the road ran alongside a huge lava field and nearby there were tilled fields of rich black volcanic soil.  As the buses climbed the snow cone of Cotopaxi, the second highest active volcano in the world, came into view and the terrain changed to rough open grasslands known locally as ‘Muerte Pungo’ – which means ‘Dead Door’! It was formerly used for grazing but now areas of the National Park are being reinstated to their natural condition. There were flocks of Cara Cara along the roadside and one distant circling Condor, now a rarity in Ecuador.

By the time the teams reached the start the early morning mist and cloud was burning off and the twin peak of Antisan emerged  right over the start line, which was set above the small lake of Mica. Teams arrived to bright sunshine and no wind, with a band playing to find the start set up in rolling grasslands under the snow capped peak - it has to be the most picturesque ARWC start ever.

After teams had collected their YB Trackers everyone gathered on the start line for 08.30, and with a large crowd watching they set off with a cheer on the first trek of the race. They began by climbing steadily to a small pass below Antisan on a route known as the Condor Trek – this is normally a 3 day trek and recognised as one of the hardest in the area, but for the quickest teams it will probably just take up the first morning of the race.

The pass is the highest point of the race at around 4,400m, a breathless altitude and one where running wasn’t going to be easy or possible. A few kilometres in to the trek, close to the pass it was Team France who had opened up a clear lead and they were jogging strongly up the hill, an impressive performance and perhaps a statement of their intent for the early stages of the race.  Behind then teams were walking/jogging, some close together, others more spread out as the back markers caught their breath, and a few racers were on tow. For most it was a slow and steady walk up to the pass.

After crossing they descended past a series of small lakes to PC1 on the Rio Tumiguina  and on down the valley into the first Transition at the ‘Termas Jananco’ hot springs at 3420m to pick up their bikes.

It will be a stunning trek in magnificent scenery and were are told teams are lucky to have this fine weather as 60 to 70% of the time it is wet and humid as it is an area where the cold Andean and warm Amazonian airs meet.

You can follow the race live at http://live.huairasinchi.com

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