It’s a test of endurance and also a test of will. If that sounds daunting, it is, Borlinha contends, but the training at times can be gruelling, too. The 52-year-old, a race veteran who’s finished nine ultramarathons and five Ironman competitions to date, will attempt to conquer a mind-boggling 400-kilometre course in the Gobi Desert. This desert run is a niche variation of what’s known as an ultramarathon, a race category that includes any distance beyond 50 kilometres.Ī few days from now Borlinha will do it all over again, but with the bar raised. This is a sample of what you’ll encounter if you dare to sign up for a 250-kilometre, seven-day race through Chile’s Atacama Desert, with little more than a 20-litre backpack carrying only the essentials. As you rest, you’ll reflect on the sand dunes, salt flats and gravel that lie ahead.
And there’s a 40-kilometre stretch ahead of you before you reach the base camp.Īt the end of the day, you’ll be hydrated, you’ll have a tent to protect you while you sleep and you’ll get medical attention, if needed. You’re briskly moving along broccoli-like rock formations. The next day, if you’re like Torontonian Paul Borlinha, your feet are blistered. And, you’ve yet to arrive at the most punishing terrain. Imagine doing it for five kilometres, knowing it’s a mere fraction of the distance you’ll need to cover over the next six days in the driest place in the world. Imagine traversing through a canyon of waist-deep water at an altitude of more than 3,000 metres.
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