By Foibe N Paavo
Swakopmund, May 1 — THE Namib Race, which is a part of the 4-World Desert Ultra Marathon Series, began under the misty sky early on Sunday morning.
At least 41 athletes are taking part in the 250-kilometre course across the mighty Namib, the oldest desert dunes in the world.
The race was supposed to start at 07h00 but this was delayed because of the fog that covered the coastal areas.
The race eventually started at 08h00 under a misty sky with a temperature of 12 degrees C and nearly 90% humidity.
Equipment and medical checks were done upon arrival of the athletes at the Camp 1 zone on Saturday followed by a briefing from the course director Carlos Garcia and medical director Dr Patrick Burns.
The Namib Race 2022 is the first of the four races making up the 4 Desert Ultra Marathon Series, the others being the Atacama Crossing in Chile, the Gobi March in Mongolia and the Last Desert in Antarctica.
Athletes from different countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Israel, Japan, the United States, Spain, Canada and the United Kingdom seem excited about an experience of a lifetime.
Steffan Steiner from Switzerland said at the start: “It’s an honour to be here. I can’t describe the feeling of being in such a vast country . . . it’s unbelievable!”
Today’s course was nearly 39 kilometres with a combination of some running across some of the harshest yet most beautiful landscapes along the Skeleton Coast, salt pans and a hard-packed riverbed close to Swakopmund.
At 12h44, all runners had gone past the first checkpoint and 40 racers were past the second checkpoint by 01h44, all athletes were through the first checkpoint and seven made it to the finish line.
Reinhold Hugo (Switzerland) took first place, David Dano (Israel) in second, Terumichi Morishita (Japan) third place, Mike Williams (USA) in fourth place, Matthew Cavanaugh (USA) in fifth place, Michele Ufer (Germany) in sixth place and Danny Switzynck (Belgium) in seventh place.
The six-day desert race continues this morning.
Captions: (Pic 2) – Part of the 41 athletes who started the race.
(Pic 1) – The winners at the finishing line.
