Arriving in Ushuaia, Argentina was a bit surreal. A full year of utra-marathons, a dream, a mission culminate here in this gray town arcing around a gorgeous blue bay and sitting at the base of snow capped mountains. "The End of The World" it's called primarily because it lies more south than any other town in the world, but I imagine also because for several explorers on their way to Antarctica it was to be the end of their world. Amundsen, Scott, Ross, De Gerlache, Hansen, Peary, never stopped here but with it's main street of expedition gear shops, pharmacies, and grocery stores I'm sure they would've loved to. While some of the greats never made it to Ushuaia, it still has a certain mystique to it. Perhaps it's the sharply pointed mountains hovering over it, or perhaps because as I looked out into the harbor I could see our expedition ship, The Antarctic Dream, docked in waiting, knowing that I would be on her, sailing through the Beagle Channel and into the daunting waters of the Drake Passage en route to the coldest and windiest place on the planet. Either way, this place feels weird.
After checking into the Lennox, a boutique hotel on La Avenida San Martin, I hooked up with Tremaine 'Trig' Kent for lunch at a local cafe and then promptly almost found myself in an Argentine prison cell. Apparently I passed a counterfeit 100 peso bill when I paid for lunch. I don't know how they noticed...I knew I should've let the ink dry. Everything was sorted but I'm still stuck with a bogus bill in my pocket that has zero value, hmmm, almost like the American Dollars I had when I moved to London. Soon thereafter Trig and I pretty much ran into 'everyone': Ryan Sandes, his filmmaker Dean Leslie, Ken Perry, Mark Jaget, Ash Moktari, filmmakers Jen Steinman and Sevan Matossian, Dave O'Brien, and the list goes on.
The biggest question in everyone's mind is 'what gear are you running in?' With temperatures forecasted to range anywhere this week from -20F to 40F and anything in between, staying warm, dry, and cool are all important. Here's what I will be wearing from head to toe:
-Shoes: Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra Trail Running Shoes with Gore-Tex membrane. Normal trainers but with waterproof liner
-Socks: two pair. A Nike Compression sock as a liner and a wool knee high sock by SmartWool
-Legs: a pair of Salomon cold weather thermal tights with a pair of RAB waterproof/windproof shell trousers
-Torso: UnderArmour heat gear compression top as a baselayer, then an UnderArmour cold gear thermal expedition shirt, followed by a waterproof/windproof Gore-Tex running top, followed by Marmot fleece top and all under an Arcteryx shell that is basically bulletproof.
-Head: Julbo Glacier Sun Glasses with arctic lenses, SealSkins fleece waterproof hat, and a winter buff.
If none of this works you may find pictures of me in a seal fur jacket, a walrus hat, and carrying Penguin jerky like the real boys used to do. When did we turn into such wimps ;)
After a pre-race briefing at the Albatross Hotel last night we boarded our ship and pulled out of the Beagle Channel. The water was calm through the channel, albeit cold and windy, but the boat glided along just fine. Sam Gash and I were dismayed to find our quarters on the bottom floor of the boat, consisting of a very small port hole which doesn't open, a bathroom which literally contains a toilet and sink IN the shower, and zero storage space. Walking up to the second floor of the boat we found the spacious and airy rooms, one of which belonged to Diego Carvajal and Eric Chang, however they hadn't yet found their way to their room. Seeing our opportunity, we snatched their name placard from the door, sprinted downstairs and replaced it with ours. Then dragging our bags of gear through narrow galleys and up steep stairwells we placed everything we had in the middle of their room as though our gear were a country flag and we were claiming the territory for said mysterious newly formed country. At 26 years old, Diego is a very 'busy' guy and quite a serious guy who knew weeks in advance which room he would have through several well placed phone calls to the race organizers making sure that he would have a room worthy of his status, so as you might imagine, our little hoax went over like a lead balloon. Diego took the entire year off of work just to focus on the 4Deserts so this is very important to him. Tails between our legs, but still laughing about our little gag, we retired back to our shoe box and got back to work shoveling coal into the engine...
I'm writing this from somewhere in the middle of the Drake Passage, almost 24 hours into our voyage with still another 24 hours to go and dare I jinx our good fortune by saying that it's been pretty easy thus far. Don't get me wrong, I've never seen swells like this before and the boat is listing up and down and side to side pretty intensely. Racers walking through the lounge and galleyways look dangerously similar to bar patrons leaving at 2am after an all-night drinking session. The Drake Passage shuffle, as I call it, also tends to be accompanied by laughter which is one part nervous anxiety and one part embarrassment. Throw in the sounds of shattering plates and glasses from the kitchen and it's pretty comical actually.
It's been a long year so I'm excited about getting to the big piece of ice and completing this mission, however reading about true heroes like Shackelton, Amundsen, Scott and others I can't help my mind from drifting to 'what next' after the 4Deserts....
All my best to everyone at home. All my best to The Corporate Executive Board fighting hard through Q4. I'm pulling for you guys from out here. All my best to everyone at Juice Plus as well. While the food on the boat is pretty decent, I wouldn't be able to get the complete nutrition in advance of this race. The Orchard Blend, Fruit Blend, and Garden Blend have made a huge difference!
Ok guys, be well and good running,
Rp
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