We are officially done the race and resting in Bariloche! What an incredible adventure! I can’t say enough about what a spectacular week the race organizers put on, the professionalism of the local camp team and the spirit of the volunteers and fellow competitors.

When we started the week, what success looked like to us as a team was:

1) Start as a team, finish as a team
2) Finish in the top 3/5 teams
3) Finish in the top 1/3 of all competitors
4) Have many laughs along the way and enjoy the journey

We delivered on all those goals and made memories to last a lifetime.

We almost blew up as a team on day 2 and found a way to hold it together to finish out strong!

We ran through hot climates, alpine forest, the Andes mountain range, national parks, private lands, saw the most incredible stars and finished at one of the most recognizable extinct volcanoes in the world, Tronador.  Spanish for Thunder, Tronador is located on the border between Argentina and Chile and is named for the falling seracs, which we heard while sleeping!

Quick Stats:

• 300+ Runners from 50 Countries entered the race
• We finished number 90, 91, 92
• 3^rd Place team
• We went through 43 water crossings on the last day alone!

Sacrifices made

Jesse

We came close to redlining his motor on the 2^nd day and putting him out of the race. He pushed through very uncomfortable circumstances to finish the day. He went to bed at 6 pm two nights in a row to recuperate. Jesse would rebound to be our strongest runner on the last day.

Colin

After running well and faster than I had gone before in the first four days, the body started to break down. In the last long stage, I pushed the body to the brink and beyond in order to help get our team in before sunset and our goal. I pushed through 10/10 pain in many areas of the body to not let the team down.

Ash

He lead the pace for us almost every day.  He had to put personal pride on the back burner and his normal ranking aside to help get our team in at the end of each day. He was out on the course longer than he was comfortable with to make sure we could finish as a team. With this race, he now becomes the all-time leader in races finished in the Racing the Planet series, with 22!

To paraphrase Ash’s advice throughout the week:

“If you are going to run 10 flags and walk one flag, then do it.  Stick to the system and be disciplined. Run through the corners, fight for that extra step. If you do that every hour, over a 250KM week-long race, it adds up significantly.”

Nothing comes easy.  You need to work for everything you get.

Colin

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Fundraising Update – With your generous donations, including the Salesforce match we are at $5,000. My contribution will take us over $10,000! Thank you!

I am running to raise money for the Kilimanjaro Education Foundation to support building classrooms in Tanzania, Africa. You still have time to make your donation count!

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