Conquering the Atacama Crossing (Chile)

The report out of the Sunbeam Children’s Village is that the contestants are all doing well!

The children are still going strong! 

  Check out our Photo Gallery for more images from todays Stage 3 of the Read-athon!  

Daily Update: Stage 3

Today’s late-arriving competitors were greeted at the finish line by a dust storm and the threat of rain – yes, rain – in the driest desert in the world. Although some parts of the Atacama Desert have not recorded rainfall in 150 years, locals say this part does have a rainy season, and that it rains once or twice each year. As one Racing the Planet driver put it, “Who knows? Here, anything is possible.”

The storm swept in from the western side of the valley, where Campsite Four is perched on a ridge on its eastern edge. Looking west, the competitors saw rain clouds; looking north, they saw a dust storm. The two appeared to converge northwest of the campsite, causing competitors to run for cover and race organizers to pull down the finish line banner and country flags for fear of lightning. But the storm passed slightly to the south, and the camp escaped with just a good dusting.

American Dean Karnazes won Stage Three by 34 minutes over the second-place finisher from Wales, Rob James. The two continue to trade first and second-place slots; Karnazes now leads in the overall standings by six minutes Johan Petersen from New Zealand reeled in third place, finishing just seven minutes after James. Mimi Anderson still leads the women’s field, and is in 10^th place overall. Team Brunton/Gerber/Andesgear of Chile pulled off a 37-minute victory over Team Trifecta for the stage, though they still trail the Aussie/American team by about 40 minutes.

All sixty-seven remaining competitors finished today’s stage. The first two sections were flat and mostly sandy gravel, so the group flew through them relatively quickly. The third stage was the first taste of the infamous Salt Flats, which will dominate the terrain tomorrow in Stage Four. A salty crust covers the sandy dirt below, and runners can punch through the crust as they run, greatly slowing their progress (and slicing through many unlucky pairs of gaiters and running shoes.)

Stage 4: 42.8km Stage 4 starts off similar to that of the previous day with the course taking competitors along the foothills before dropping them into a beautiful slot canyon with a small river. Competitors then make their way through a town to be confronted with endless salt flats. Pushing through the razor sharp salt another stunning campsite greets them situated on the banks of the largest lagoon in the Salar.  

Heartfelt thank you/s to: 

Owen Lee for HKD 100

Evonne Inn for HKD 300

Jean-Philippe Cariou HKD 300

Dot & Buddy Wong HKD 1,000 Stéphane & HKD 1000 for Jocelyn

SJ & May Chan HKD 500 for Stéphane & HKD 500 for Jocelyn

Sharon & Bob Cooper HKD 500

Thank you - Thank you - Every gift makes a difference in the life of a Sunbeam Child! 

Stéphane is now in 12th place; his time for Stage 3 was: 06:40:52 for a 3 Stage total of 19:51:25

Joceyln is more than holding her own coming in 51st (in a field of 67); Stage 3 took her  09:36:38 for a 3 Stage total of 27:55:45

For contrast the  first place competitor finished today in 5:01:20

The 67th placeholder from Singapore has been on his feet for a total of 34:14:21. All have 3 Stages left to go. The ultimate grueling day and night being Stage 5 at 73.6km - with Stage 6 having photofinish possibilites at a mere 10.4k.

The front runners are battling it out Dean Karnazes - USA at 15:15:06
Rob James - of the UK a Hong Kong Resident who took first place in Stage 2 at 15:21:37
Johan Peterson from NZ in 3rd place at 16:08:15 - tho he was in 2nd at Stage 2

…. and so for Stage 3 at least Hong Kong is covering all bases coming in not only 2nd - but last!

Don’t forget that you can email them!

7:10 pm, 1 April, Stage Three Finish Line: Hong Kong’s Wing Lin brought up the rear just after dark to round out Stage Three, which all remaining competitors finished successfully. American Becky Stein finished minutes ahead of him, spurred on by the possibility of more time reading emails if she finished earlier.

 Stéphane gatorless….:

Finish times have not been posted yet - but at least we know they made it!

Tomorrow (remember they’re 12 hours behind HK and so having dinner now!) is Stage 4…. but the worst is ahead Stage 5 is 73.6km!  

Stage 4: 42.8km 

Stage 4 starts off similar to that of the previous day with the course taking competitors along the foothills before dropping them into a beautiful slot canyon with a small river. Competitors then make their way through a town to be confronted with endless salt flats. Pushing through the razor sharp salt another stunning campsite greets them situated on the banks of the largest lagoon in the Salar.

Please remember to Donate!

All donations go 100% to the Sunbeam Children’s Village - We’ve made it easy for you - just click the button - and show Jocelyn and Stéphane that they are really making a difference in so many young lives. 

A great pic of Joce from Stage 2 - Stage 3 photos will go up tomorrow - right now Stage 3 is still happening!  

Stéph and his gators on an uphill climb…

Stage 3 : 40kmStage 3 takes the course in a new direction through a variety of terrain from loose sand to dense bush. Eventually hugging the foothills of the nearby Alma project the course leads to a plateau overlooking the Salar (salt flats), which is home for the night.

The winners are in already in 5-some hours; 2:03 pm, 1 April, Stage Three Finish Line: Rob James has finished second, 34 minutes behind Dean Kaznares. Johan Peterson pulled in seven minutes later to take third place.

Joce & Stéph are still out there fighting the terrain and succeeding! 

Photo of Jocelyn (possibly after Stage 1)  

 Stéphane (mid Stage 1 ?)

…. and just some photos of what the Stage 2 day was like ….. fording streams …. sliding down sand dunes….

…and finally (after 10 hours for the last contestant) the finish line!   

 The Sunbeam Read-athon has begun!

The Children are competing beautifully for the prizes donated by our sponsor Deacons.
The prizes are gift certificates for books! 

We have just created a new Sunbeam Photo Gallery for you to see all of the pictures of this 5 day marathon of a reading event: Click here to view it - in the future it can be found by going to the Sunbeam site and clicking on ‘Events’ and then the Gallery. 

Here are just a few of the images you’ll find there: 

Jocelyn (bib# 17) has moved up to spot #50  with an amazing time of 09:40:21 

Stéphane (bib# 43) has move up to spot # 14 with a more than amazing time of 06:58:20

 This from the site updates:

8:10 pm, 31 March, Finish Line, Stage 2: South African David Ayres and American Scot Munns withdrew from Stage 2. All other competitors have now crossed the finish line. Competitors are now enjoying a warm fire, preparing for sleep. Stage 3 will begin at 8 am tomorrow.

3:12 pm, 31 March, Finish Line: Briton Mimi Anderson has just crossed the finish line of Stage 2 to place first in the women’s division. Briton Tim Hill crossed the finish line at the same time

12:28 pm, 31 March, Stage 2, Camp 3: Hong Kong-resident Rob James takes first place on Stage 2 of the Atacama Crossing followed by American Dean Karnazes in second and New Zealander Jo Peterson in third.

No new photos as yet and we’re lucky to have ours as most of the old ones are down! 

8:41, am, 31 March, San Bartolo: American Dean Karnazes was awarded the yellow jersey this morning for having won the first stage of the Atacama Crossing 2008.

All competitors departed this morning at 8 am for the second stage which will take them through frigid slot canyons and salt flats.

Stage 2  41.8km From the second campsite the course takes competitors through the spectacular gorge and down into the river itself in places before making a slow and painful climb.
The breathtaking views quickly easy the pain as competitors snake their way along a ridge from which one can see the open salt flats on one side and the breathtaking volcanoes in the distance on the other.
A spectacular dune surprise greets competitors as they drop off the ridge and head in the direction of the infamous salt flats.
The finishing point of the day is a simply breathtaking campsite on banks of one of the salt lagoons. 

Photos are working again - altho not the empty albums from yesterday and so - - - here are some images from Stage 1! 

 You may email any competitor, volunteer or staff member at the Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2008. Emails will be distributed daily beginning Sunday, 30 March until Saturday, 5 April 2008. Emails are public so please be sure not to put any private information in the email. Emails are typically distributed about 8 pm each day.

Click here to email Jocelyn & Stéphane now!

Stage 1: 41.4k
(hours:minutes:seconds) 

Jocelyn: 08:38:46
Stéphane:  06:12:13

Stéphane crossed the finish line in 19th place out of 69 listed competitors. Front-runner Jimmi Olsen of Denmark had to pulled out of the race due to injured tendons in his ankle.

Photos still not coming through from the official race site - but all competitors have crossed the finish line and are resting, eating, sleeping until tomorrows Stage 2.

Race FAQs
Twenty one countries will be represented by Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2008 competitors
The youngest competitor is 21 and the eldest is 63 years old
84% of the competitors are male; 16% are female
Approximately one third of the competitors hail from the Asia, one third from North America and one third from Europe
Six continents are represented: Asia, Africa, Australia/New Zealand, North America, South America and Europe
The largest contingent of competitors hails from the United Kingdom, followed by the United States
South Africa is fielding its largest contingent ever with seven.
Three competitors will be attempting to be the first to complete the 4 Deserts in one calendar year: South African Paul H. Liebenberg, Dane Jimmi Olsen, and American Dean N. Karnazes
Joey Kelly, a well know singer from Germany, will be competing in his second 4 Deserts event (a German television crew will follow Joey)
Kyoung Tae Song, a blind competitor from Korea, will be participating in his third 4 Deserts event (he has successfully completed the Sahara Race and the Gobi March; a leading Korean television channel, KBS, will follow Kyoung Tae) - Kyoung Tae will be led by his 21-year-old son
The official team from Chile is Team Brunton/Gerber/Andesgear - the team is sponsored by Fiskars Brands, owner of the highly-respected Brunton and Gerber brands
Intel will be providing special Classmate laptops for the Cybertent
Medical Director, Brandee L. Waite, M.D., of the University of California at Davis will be working at her eight 4 Deserts eventv
The Atacama Desert is 15 million years old and 50 times more arid than California’s Death Valley
Some of the oldest mummies found on earth come from the Atacama, dating as far back as 9000 years
Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2008 competitors, volunteer and staff will consume more than 7,000 liters of water over seven days
The entire race will be held at least one mile (1600m) above sea level and cover the distance required to make a horizontal crossing of the country of Chile (250 kilometers)
The day time temperatures expected are 32 Celsius (90 Fahrenheit) while night time temperatures may drop to 16 Celsius (61 Fahrenheit) or lower
The Atacama Desert has the most lunar-like landscape on Earth and is frequently used by NASA to test its Mars rover vehicles
The Atacama Crossing is the most renowned outdoor event in Chile