STAGE 4 UPDATE

Stage length 42.8km/26.75miles

Salt flats. Sound kind of innocuous, don’t they? After all, salt’s just salt and flat things are usually good for running on. So you’d think a leg combining the two would be a cruise. Dream on. Since the Atacama Crossing began, the salt flats stage has become the stuff of nightmares for potential competitors and the mere mention of the place unlocks painful memories for those who’ve already done the event.

Everyone who signed up for the roller coaster of emotion that is the Atacama Crossing was dreading this day, probably more so than the epic long march stage tomorrow.

The 74 remaining competitors standing on the start line this morning at Camp Volcan Licancabur knew their already fragile feet were likely to take a hammering. And the temperature out on the flats was guaranteed to be scorching and unrelenting.

But like all good dramas, there had to be a gradual build up to the climax. For Stage 4, this meant taking competitors through an oasis and river valley. They then travelled though a village and forest before hitting the all important third leg and those salt flats.

The place to be to gauge the impact of the leg was undoubtedly the last checkpoint before camp. Out in front the battle for a top three place had finally been joined by Austria’s Christian Schiester who went through the checkpoint first, followed by Josep Maria Parra of Spain and the ever strong Mehmet Danis of Canada. Coming through in eighth position overall was Australia’s Fleur Grose, who is now so far ahead in the women’s race she’s just a dot on the salty horizon. The members of Spain’s Aranda Aventura were coping well with the terrain and were the first team to reach the temporary relief of the checkpoint.

Marc Miller of the USA was also moving well. “It was hard but it was fun,” he said, as he trotted along at a brisk pace. “It’s good to be pushed like that. Going across that little salt flat yesterday probably helped a lot in getting prepared for it. It’s definitely hard though. You’ve got to use your head and not wear your feet out. At this point it feels better to run than to walk, and the faster you get to the camp, the faster you get to kick back.”

Slightly more tired by the experience was England’s David Berridge. “I’m 49, I ought to know better than this,” he joked, as he caught his breath and refilled his water bottles.

Six kilometres further on from the checkpoint was Camp 5 and the finish. The men’s race saw a minor change in the top three by stage completion, with Mehmet Danis moving into second behind Christian Schiester and the third spot going to Peter Osterwalder of Switzerland.

Fleur Grose had also moved a place up the field to finish seventh overall in another awe-inspiring performance.

“We do training on some pretty technical terrain in Australia, so I like that better,” she said, when asked what her secret to these continually fast stage victories was. “There’s a lot of rocky and uneven ground. That’s what strengthens up your muscles.”

Second woman home was Mirjana Pellizzer of Croatia, with the USA’s Tracy Simmons in third. Second team home behind Aranda Aventura were Lleidaextrem of Spain, with Team Andesgear Chile in third.

Although his powerful performance secured him his first stage victory of the event so far, Christian Schiester was frank about his chances of winning the Atacama Crossing 2009 after navigation problems earlier in the week lost him vital time.

“To win this event is impossible I think,” he said. “I have four hours or something to make up and the Australian is a very, very strong runner. There will be a big fight tomorrow.”

Darkness had fallen by the time Ireland’s Rob O’Brien made the finish line.

“They were everything they were supposed to be,” he said of the salt flats. “They were very hard and very hot, but I made it.”

Not too far behind him was a weary Mary Gadams, founder and CEO of RacingThePlanet. This is Mary's first ever 4 Deserts event, so it was interesting to find out what she thought of the fabled salt flats.

“To be honest, I thought yesterday was tougher,” she said. “I’m just soldering on, I can’t say much more. I’ve not a lot of energy left here.”

Summing up the day, race director Zac Addorisio said: “Today definitely took its toll on a few competitors. We had five who unfortunately had to withdraw from the event. The mood around camp right now is actually very good. They’re very excited. I think this morning there was a nervous tension at the starting line, with anticipation over what was in store for them after the hard Stage 3. Now they know they can just push on through the long march day."

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fgh

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ok, cool, thanks

Miércoles 26 Agosto 2009, 09:13

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