Racing through the Andes

On Saturday, October 17, I ran a 10km race with two of my friends, Grace and Meghan. I don´t know what I was thinking beforehand. I guess having run the 5km race in my comuma of Ñuñoa, I was feeling pretty good about running. This race in the Andes was race sponsored by the North Face and was called Ultra Marathon de Los Andes. (http://www.ultramaratondelosandes.cl/select_languaje.html) Though nervous at the beginning, the race turned out to be incredible and one of my favorite things I have done so far in Chile, though at the same time one of the hardest. We gained, and then lost, 1600 feet of elevation and started out at about 3,000 feet above sea level. The views of Santiago and of the mountains we were running through made the work easier. There was one point though in which we were going up a 45 degree angle and everyone was climbing/hiking it because it was almost impossible to run it. At 6.5km the climb up ended and the climb down began. I was laughing as I ran because gravity was just pulling me down. It was the sensation of not being able your body as you run down a huge sand dune, however, I did have to be careful as there were rocks and mountain bikers and other runners all around me. It was also funny because at a few points in the run there would be a giant, fat cow or a group of horses grazing. The last 2 km were back on solid ground, out of the mountains, and were by far the hardest. I finished in 1:17:27, 6th in the women my age and 9th in the women overall. We received massages and spaghetti lunch afterward not to mention tons of water and Gatorade! The only downfall of this experience is the full body soreness I have been feeling since the race….

Race Gear!