Category: Atacama

• Pockets of Time – and “Next Time Notes to Self”

  Racing strategies, gear notes, and lessons from the Atacama Crossing 2018. Iris Derke’s pocket time philosophy and what she’d change for next time.

• The “Moment” – Stage 4

  Stage 4 of the Atacama Crossing 2018: the moment Iris hit the wall, broke her own rule and turned on the music and ran to a rainbow. On music, survival,…

• Living dead….happy zombies

  Stage 4 of the Atacama Crossing was 22+ hours. Iris Derke emerged on the other side a happy zombie with a permanent smile. The Long Stage done, the finish line…

• Stage 3

  Stage 3 of the Atacama Crossing 2018. Sand dunes, rock terrain like the surface of the moon, and a butt slide down a cliff that worked. Hump day in the…

• Day 2 in the bag.

  Day 2 of the Atacama Crossing 2018. Slot canyons, river crossings, the Valley of Death, and llamas running past yelling slow poke. Rumor has it the days only get harder…

• Day 1 the Atacama Desert

  Day 1 of the Atacama Crossing 2018 and the desert immediately rewrote the rules. Icy cold start, face plant into a dust cloud, asteroid-hunting, and frozen toes before the heat…

• Penultimate….

  The night before the Atacama Crossing 2018. Iris Derke’s tentmate can’t sleep either. On the buzz of a race start, the 109 runners from 36 countries, and the particular electricity…

• Made it to base camp and it is absolutely stunning.

  Arrival at Atacama base camp: Rainbow Valley, a maypole of sleeping bags, a Chilean band with pan pipes, and 109 runners from 36 countries gathering around the first fire of…

• San Pedro de Atacama: superglued fingers and stray dogs

  Pre-race morning in San Pedro de Atacama: 5am, 45 degrees, superglued fingers, stray dogs, and 80s music from a dusty desert town. The Atacama Crossing 2018 is one day away.

• Pack and Repack and Repack…..

  Two days before the Atacama Crossing 2018 and still repacking. Gear lists, calorie counts, a gaiter strategy, and the moment you realize your pack might actually fit this time.