Ultra Fiord
Pre-race jitters on the Ultra Fiord
Anne-Marie Dunhill / 16.04.2015
Runners and race ambassadors had been arriving in Punta Arenas from around the world, spending a few days relaxing and getting over jet-lag. Social media was full of restaurant pictures as new friendships were made and messages sent out saying, “Where are you, what hotel are you in, where are you eating today?”
The entire group finally came together for a 07:00 start for the journey to Puerto Natales on the Ultima Esperanza Sound. There was an hour delay in departure as the interns scrambled to find a solution to the prickly problem of one runner who had brought his girlfriend and another friend along and there were not enough places on the vans to transport them. The solution in the end was to drop them off at the bus station and then the two vans headed out to Puerto Natales. It really was a tight squeeze with all the runners and their myriad of bags; so much so that Max the intern was forced to sit on the floor in the aisle for the three hour journey.
Upon arrival in Puerto Natales the group went directly in to a press conference. Although it was just in Spanish, new friends quickly translated for their non-Spanish speaking comrades. After two short films, race director Stjepan Pavicic and two members of the tourism authority spoke. Matias Bull from Trail Chile very kindly translated for this SleepMonsters journalist. Afterwards the majority of the questions from the race ambassadors present were about how the race route is marked and time estimations.
Time is a very interesting concept here, be it on the race or in daily life. If you are given a time, you can be assured that whatever is planned will not happen at that given time which is showing on your watch. It is simply known here as “Chilean time.” So for the race director Stjepan Pavicic to actually acknowledge that it is impossible to estimate times is yet another confirmation that the runners are in for a wild ride.
Distances are changing as well (increasing) as runners were informed yesterday that the 100 km will in fact be 107 km. Over dinner last night the Brazilian ultra runner Harry Thomas Jr. was fretting about the added 7 km and the Chilean runner Mauricio Quintanilla gleefully teased him, making the flapping motions of a chicken and saying, “After 100 km, what’s a few kilometers extra?” It is, however, difficult for runners to project and plan insofar as they are able when they are not sure of the timings and distance.
Other questions were about the mandatory equipment list. The list sent out before the race included a compass and map which is likely why there were so many questions at the briefing about the race route markings. Sofia Cantilo had laughingly told a group of us a few days earlier that she couldn’t read a map to save her life. She is a strong runner from Buenos Aires, Argentina who has competed in many difficult stage races; she is a seven times finisher of the Cruce de los Andes. She is very relaxed about this race, saying that she is not nervous because the level of the runners is so high that she feels no pressure. She will be racing against herself and the terrain, not against other runners and she said she enjoys being in that position.
A more unusual item on the mandatory equipment list that was sent out before the race is an eye patch and several runners were scouring the pharmacies in Puerto Natales to procure one. If Sofia said that she was not nervous, several other runners expressed their apprehension for what lies ahead. It is always interesting to observe how people deal with their emotions and the coping here has taken the form of wild laughter or pensive silence.
This afternoon runners and the public will be gathering at the hotel Remota a few kilometers outside of the town center where Trail Chile in conjunction with Ultra Fiord will be hosting the Trails in Motion film festival. The head of the Trail Chile website, Matias Bull, has been burning the midnight oil to finish translating into Spanish all of the subtitles for the films that will be shown this afternoon and he is running the 70 km race as well. The next 72 hours are going to be intense for all involved in this first edition of the Ultra Fiord race.
SleepMonsters will be covering the race from the start of the 100 miles at midnight and there will be no reception to post updates until we return to the finish line in Puerto Natales.
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