We made it to San Pedro de Atacama! It took us over 24 hours of travel and only got a couple of hours of sleep, but any tiredness we felt melted away when we saw this quaint small town. 

The town lies at an altitude of almost 8,000 feet, the houses are built with bare adobe and only a few are painted white, brown, or other earth colors, and the streets are unpaved. No matter where you are in town, you can see the Licancabur volcano. This prominent, snow capped, stratovolcano sits at 19,409 ft and appears to be watching over the town at all times. 

The contrast of the desert rose gold colors next to the snow capped mountains took our breath away. Or maybe it was the altitude? Either way, we are in heaven. 

We ended the day with a delicious dinner at Adobe, where our friends Ken and Doreen (both are volunteers for this race) treated us to celebrate our recent nuptials. The restaurant was booming with other Racing the Planet participants and I got to see some old friends, including Steffan from Switzerland, who had done so many running adventures around the globee. If I ever run out of ideas on what to do, I can simply ask him for tips. 

Our goal of ending the day early was not successful. Oops. Time flies when you are having fun. 

On Saturday morning we had our briefing and gear check. We’re now repacking our bags and then we head to base camp. No more cell phones after that but I’ll try to post on the blog at the end of each day. 

Happy Saturday friends! 

And just like that, it’s time to fly!

The last few days our dining table turned into a packing factory. Our mission was to take the 35 mandatory race items, enough food for all 7 days of the race (minimum 2,000 calories per day required), and a few “voluntary” but truly necessary items such as toothbrush, toothpaste, and sandals to walk around camp at the end of each leg -- while making the backpack as light as possible. 

My bag, without the water, is around 22 pounds. Ed’s is about 33 pounds. Mission semi-accomplished! 

The expected butterflies in our stomachs have arrived. We are thrilled and a bit nervous. But we remind ourselves that we have put in the training. In the last six months, Ed and I have ran, combined, about 1550 miles. This doesn’t mean we’ll be fast, it just means we’ll be determined to traverse the entire 250K course!  

Finally, Ed and I decided to run as a team of two. This means we’ll run together the whole race. We called our team “The Honeymooners” because we eloped about seven months ago and this trip is an extension of our honeymoon.

Fun fact – during the Long March of the Namib Race (50 miler leg on day five - picture below), my friend Doreen and I got to know each other really well. That tends to happen when you traverse miles and miles of desert together. Among other things, I shared with her that I had been single for a few years and was waiting until I found the perfect partner, someone whose idea of fun was also traveling around the world to run. I also told her I had a crush on Ed and that I had a funny feeling he would be a great adventure partner. I was right! 

Finally, I’ll be dedicating this race to all my running friends. Please send happy vibes our way! 

A few years ago, I decided that my 40s was a decade to pursue epic adventures. I curated a cool to-do list, including the Namib Race, a 250-kilometer stage-race across the oldest desert in the world (the Namib desert), which I completed in 2022. The country of Namibia, the race, and the people I met there were pure magic.  

Almost three years later, I get to do a similar race at the driest nonpolar desert on Earth, the Atacama Desert in Chile. This time, I will share the adventure with my amazing husband, Ed.

We’re so excited to embark on this seven-day, self-supported adventure (yes, we get to carry all our stuff, including food, sleeping bags, clothes, and other mandatory equipment) and explore the Arcoiris Valley, salt flats (often described as “frozen broccoli”), sand dunes, and everything else this desert has to offer.

I’m especially excited to reunite with some of the friends I made in Namibia and meet other like-minded individuals from all over the world whose idea of fun is running across a desert, without access to the internet or showers for a whole week.

We will get to update our families and friends through this blog. I can’t wait to share this adventure with anyone who is interested in following us. And, who knows, you might be inspired to join us next time (likely the Gobi March in Mongolia?).  

I'll end this post with pictures of our training: Ed with his backpack and me just enjoying the beautiful Nevada Mojave Desert. 

P.S. One lesson I learned in Namibia is that your 40s is not the last decade when you can do these types of adventures. Many of my fellow runners, who were in their 60s and 70s, were faster than me. Here’s to many more decades of adventures!