High Altitude Trekking on the "Paramos"

Anne-Marie Dunhill / 09.11.2014

Teams were picked up by buses and transported from their various hotels in the city of Quito to the race start which was a two hours drive away. Buses for the racers left at 05:00 and the journalists left at 04:30. Quito is such a sprawling city that it took at least and hour before we were on the outskirts.

Afterwards the road was a continuous climb to the race start in the Antisana Ecological Reserve in the Andes highlands. Six volcanos are visible and the scenery is breathtaking (not only due to the altitude!) The terrain is called “paramos” here or moors, and it is like walking on a vast cushion as the plants conserve their water and when you step, you sink a bit.

The altitude at the race start is about 3,900 m, and the trek would take the racers to over 4,500m before it descended.  Chatting to racers as they picked up their tracking systems, most said they felt the difference from Quito. Although many teams have been here for several days to acclimatize, those who haven’t were really feeling it. Fanny Frechinet from the French team LSN-EndorphinMag said that she had already vomited at the race start. She put it down to altitude as her team had only arrived two nights ago.

Wendy from the UK team Peaklife Sport said that she was struggling with the altitude as well, even though she arrived a week ago. She spoke about her team as she was brushing her teeth at the starting line. Peaklife Sport is composed of two couples, Jo Inge Fjellstad, Wendy Fjellstad and Karl Webster and Christine Howard. Today is Christine’s 40^th birthday, what a unique way to celebrate! When asked about racing with two women on the team, Christine answered that she and Wendy had decided to bring their husbands along.  She added, “We survived last year’s World Champs, at least when we shout they’re used to it.”

The team was very cheerful and continued joking, saying that looking around at the scenery made them want to go out and run forever in the wilds, then they would take two steps and the altitude would reign them in. They are concerned about the first time cut-off and their goal is to finish the full course.

After the race director made a brief speech, the race start was given at 08:30 and teams barreled off into the paramos. Most teams in the back of the pack slowed down to a walk once they were out of sight of the media. The altitude really was something else. Further out on the trek one racer commented to his teammate, “You know why we get headaches? It’s these visors we’re wearing, try loosening them!” Those headaches he was referring to were much more likely due to altitude.

Talking to teams before the race start, many had expected the terrain to be relatively easy with few navigational difficulties, dry and easily runnable.  However the second part of the trek proved to be wetter then they expected and teams at the first transition had calf high mud. The woman on the Polish team, number 43, took a heavy fall in the wet jungle part of this trek and came down hard on her back, hitting a nerve. She was attended to at the transition.

At this first TA, team USA Team Bones called out to their neighbors in the transition area that they entire team had the runs. It is obvious that the racers bodies are struggling to adapt, even though their mental attitude is tough.

 After the 29km high altitude trek most teams have now transitioned to their mountain bikes for a 67km stage. 

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