Stage 3 The Namib Race
The racers were true desert warriors today conquering temperatures that went well above 50C (122F) before the stage was shortened, just 12 completed the full stage.
Racers braved the expansive Namib Desert coming off the previous difficult day in the dunes. The temperatures and wind did not let up and was relentless with winds feeling like a hot hair dryer on the face.
The leaders in the field continue to be Reinhold Hugo of Switzerland and Victoria Connelly of the United Kingdom. However, we now have a close battle for first place with Terumichi Morishita (Mori Mori) of Japan just one minute behind Reinhold Hugo. In fact, Mori Mori won his second consecutive stage today finishing 10 minutes ahead of Reinhold Hugo. The top three overall and women’s leaders are listed below.
Please note that the race was shortened by about 4.5 kilometers so a finishing time was taken at the shortened finish and an additional time of 1 hour and 30 minutes was added to each person’s overall time, except for the 12 who completed the full stage.
2. Terumichi Morishita (Mori Mori) (Japan), 12:33:33
3. David Dano (Israel), 12:52:10
2. Carole Kops (Luxembourg), 18:37:29
3. Anim Swart (United States/Canada), 19:01:56
2. Reinold Hugo, 1:06
3. Terumichi Morishita (Mori Mori), 1:08
4. Matthew Cavanaugh, 1:20
5. Michele Ufer, 1:20
6. Victoria Connelly, 1:26 (women’s leader)
Stage 4 has concluded with no withdrawals during the stage. Communications have been limited resulting in delayed results, photos, videos and blogs for Stage 4.
The racers are in relatively good spirits as they prepare for tomorrow’s Long March (Stage 5) which will be nearly 82 kilometers (54 miles). Tomorrow’s Stage 5 will involve a mandatory break from noon until 3pm as temperatures continue to be unseasonably hot.
See the additional videos uploaded for yesterday’s Stage 3.
Read about those remarkable indivdiuals going for the 4 Deserts Grand Slam or 4 Deserts Grand Slam Plus. To achieve the 4 Deserts Grand Slam, individuals will need to complete the entire 4 Deserts Ultramarathon Series typically over the next 12 months. To acheive the 4 Deserts Grand Slam Plus, individuals will need to complete the 4 Deserts Ultramarathon Series plus the “Roving Race” which this year takes place in Lapland in August. The races are each six stages over seven days and some 250 kilometers (155 miles) for a total of 1000 kilometers (620 miles): Namib Race (Namibia), RacingThePlanet: Georgia (Special Edition), Atacama Crossing (Chile), The Last Desert (Antarctica) and RacingThePlanet: Lapland.
Stage 5 The Namib Race, the Long March began at 8am with a very tight race at the top, there is only a five minute difference between the top two racers: Reinhold Hugo (Switzerland) and Termumichi Morishita of Japan (Mori Mori). Victoria Connelly (UK) is in the lead for the women with an approximate 35 minute time advantage over Carole Kops (Luxembourg), however anything can happen on The Long March and lots of time can be gained or loss.
Today’s course has been modified and should total around 70 kilometers or 44 miles. Temperatures are cooler today.
After 73.5 kilometers of intense heat and high winds, Reinhold Hugo (Switzerland) and (Japan) (Mori Mori) came in to the finish line holding hands in 8:53:50 resulting in a tie for The Long March stage. David Dano (Israel) finished in 9:25:23.
Victoria Connelly (United Kingdom) arrived at the finish of Stage 5 at 8:39 pm finishing this difficult 72.5 kilometer stage in 12 hours and 39 minutes for first place among women and sixth overall. In addition, Michele Ufer of Germany finished in 4th place while Jens Klinkhammer also of Germany came in 5th place, both just ahead of Victoria.
Check out the results, photos,videos and blogs from the middle of the Namib Desert.
Be the first to comment