Jungle Marathon 2008

On October the 7th I will be taking part in the 2008 Jungle Marathon which is a 130 mile race through the Amazon Jungle.  It is a self sufficient race which means I will have to race with all of my food and bedding for the week.  Being a bit greedy this means my rucksack is currently weighing in at about 13kg. In preparation I have run about 1000 miles round herefordshire, mostly very slowly and in a bad mood, had 140 cold baths, 60 saunas and bought an unfeasible amount of kit.

I am running the race for three reasons -

1) it will be good fun
2) zinnia agreed I could do this instead of selling the house
3) to raise money for Breast Cancer Haven.  I know so many friends and family who have been affected by this odious disease that I am keen to raise funds to support this charity.

I have included some more details about the race below and my slow bad tempered progress can be tracked on www.junglemarathon.com or on my blog which Zinnia will keep updated during the race http://thestrawhouse.weebly.com/jungle-marathon-blog.html.

If you make a donation please leave your email address so I can send my thanks and some photos after the race.

Thank you for visting my page
regards
Kes

Jungle Marathon 2008

On October 7th this year, an international field of competitors will once again begin their journey at the picturesque resort of Alter-do-Chão, and sail up the Tapajos River, the most beautiful tributary of the Amazon River, to the tiny hamlet of Itapuama. Here they will spend two days at JM base camp, acclimatising and learning how to handle many of the obstacles they may encounter in the Amazon Jungle, in preparation for the start of the 2008 edition of Jungle Marathon..

Jungle Marathon is a 200 km footrace, run in stages. The race is sufficient meaning that competitors carry all their own food and equipment for the week and an efficient local and international team provide comprehensive logistic support.

Runners pass by check points every 5km- 7km where they are re-supplied with bottled water and they can be monitored by the medical team.

Nights are spent sleeping in hammocks in pre-determined campsites, generally on the crystalline-sand beaches along the Tapajos River with the backdrop of the deep jungle behind them. Stages vary in length from 16km to 85km.

The longest of the stages takes competitors two days to complete so they continue running through the night.

The race itself is held in the spectacular Floresta Nacional do Tapajos, a 600 thousand protected area in the Amazon Rainforest, which lies in the Brazilian state of Pará, in North West Brazil. Here the competitors will interact with the natives hospitably and an outstanding Rainforest biodiversity.

This year, up to 80 runners will take part in the race coming from various parts of Brazil and from countries as far reaching as Australia, South Africa, USA, Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, England, Scotland, Canada, China and Denmark.

Several are runners who failed to make it to the finish on the previous year, but for many, it is the beginning of an incredible experience, combining the challenge of sport with the thrill of an eco adventure.

Jungle Marathon 2008 takes place from October 7th-16th.