<i>Will Gray starts off the exclusive SleepMonsters blog on the race with a personal perspective on the journey to the start.<i><br />
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There is a reason this is known as the ‘Last Wild Race’. For teams and journalists alike, being a part of this incredible event is inspiring, nerve wracking and mind blowing, all in equal measure. And the first challenge is simply getting there. <br />
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Chilean Patagonia is a long way from anywhere. To reach the race headquarters in the town of Punta Arenas (which, by the way, once I get there all being well late this evening should have taken me an unusually long 38 hours, or thereabouts) I will have covered more than a third of the Earth’s circumference and bounced forwards and backwards over numerous different time zones.<br />
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Fortunately, from London to this character-filled Patagonian capital, via Atlanta, Santiago and Puerto Montt, my journey has also been a scenic one, and one displaying the incredible contrasts this world provides. <br />
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Across Greenland and Northern Canada, the crystal clear peak-penetrated ice field and cracking water-born sea ice, were the perfect demonstration of nature in the raw. Over the United States, meanwhile, the urban sprawl and associated smog took over, with New York City and Washington DC offering equally compelling views, but of a very different, far more grimey kind. <br />
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Patagonia, of course, is a fine example of the former, a region where just two million people live in an area covering around 400,000 square miles. I think it has more sheep than it has people. But where we’re going, I don’t think even the sheep can reach.<br />
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That in this remote location the organisers, Nomadas Outdoor Services, even manage to put the event on is a miracle. <br />
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This year’s race is planned to be one of the most remote yet, and with it probably one of the most spectacular. Having seen a sneak preview of the exploration that Race Director Stjepan Pavicic undertook to devise the route, I know the racers are in for a treat. <br />
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At one point, they should be passing icebergs the size of cars or even buses. At another they should be getting a 360-degree view of some of the most beautiful lake and mountain scenery you can probably get on the planet. <br />
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Oh yes, this is one race that is worth the toil.<br />
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A total of 14 international teams will take it on, with four teams that raced last year returning – although the actual team sheet will remain a secret until it is revealed on the race website either today or tomorrow. The course, as usual, will not be revealed until 24 hours before the race begins.<br />
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A few have given their identities away through the constantly changing facebook statuses and excited twitter feeds that have been flooding the internet over the last week or so, as everyone gets ready for the eagerly anticipated start of the ninth edition of the race on Tuesday.<br />
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During my long journey here, I happened to watch ‘The Social Network’, the movie about Facebook’s creation. This race couldn’t be further from the everyday reality that is the ‘social status’. There is not even cell phone coverage along most of the route, and without the satellite communications provided by Inmarsat nobody would know a thing about this race until it finished.<br />
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In the past, it has even been hard to speak to the satellites in this region at the ‘end of the earth’. Hopefully, this time, they will be up and running right away – but whether the ambitious plans to regularly tweet and facebook the latest news on the race’s official feeds and pages is achievable remains to be seen.<br />
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Before that, though, we have another long journey from Punta Arenas just to get to the start of the show. I can’t wait to get started, but right now I just need some sleep...
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