Today, Stéfan Danis is taking on the first stage of the Atacama Crossing, his second extreme desert race. A year ago, he placed exceptionally well in his first desert race, the Gobi March, finishing:
- 14th overall in a field of 130 competitors
- first in the men’s 40-49 age category
- first Canadian to cross the finish line
What’s amazing about Stéfan’s accomplishment in the Gobi March last year was that he had never even run a marathon before. The Gobi March is 250 km in total: racers complete a full marathon distance each day, except on day 5 they run a double. They carry all of their own food and supplies as they run in adverse conditions like scorching heat, uneven rocky terrain, salt flats and riverbeds. Stéfan achieved his excellent results last year in spite of training injuries, shin splints, swollen ankles and sheer exhaustion.
Why is he running? Stéfan is raising money for the National Advertising Benevolent Society (NABS), the only charity in Canada providing support to professionals in the communications industry. Stéfan raised $41,000 for NABS last year with his Gobi challenge and hopes to raise more in this year’s race. Stéfan is CEO and Chief Talent Officer of Mandrake and NexCareer, Canadian firms which provide executive search and career counseling services.
RacingThePlanet decided to continue with this year’s race in light of the recent tragic earthquake in Chile. The race offers significant benefits to the communities that participate in the race execution. RacingThePlanet has also established a disaster relief effort together with Habitat for Humanity. Stéfan blogged that he plans to stay in Chile after the race to participate in the relief effort.
To see what the race is like, have a look at this video clip from day 5 of the 2009 Atacama Crossing. The racer at about 3:05 says it best,
“Try to always go forward no matter how slow it is.”
