Thursday 21 August 2008

Jungle Marathon


On October 7th this year, an international field of competitors will once again begin their journey at the picturesque resort of Alter do Chao, and sail down the Tapajos River to the tiny hamlet of Itapuama. Here they will spend two days at the base camp, acclimatising and learning how to handle many of the dangers they may encounter in the Brazilian jungle, in preparation for the start of the 2008 edition of Jungle Marathon.

Jungle Marathon is a 200 km footrace, run in stages. The race is self sufficient, meaning that competitors carry all their own food and equipment for the week and an efficient local and international team provide comprehensive logistic support. Runners pass through check points every 5 km- 7 km where they are re-supplied with bottled water and they can be monitored by the medical team. Nights are spent sleeping in hammocks in pre-determined campsites, generally on the fluvial beaches that lie along the shores of the Tapajos River with the backdrop of the deep jungle behind them. Stages vary in length from 16 km to 85 km; the longest of the stages takes competitors two days to complete so they continue running through the night.

The race itself is held in the spectacular Floresta Nacional de Tapajos, a protected area of the Amazon Rainforest, which lies in the Brazilian State of Para, in North West Brazil. ( Gil here you will need to add some info about he region, the jungle , the communities, flora, animals , birds etc etc etc….not too many words but enough concise info to give a good overall impression of the area.)

This year up to 80 runners will take part in the race, coming from various parts of Brazil ( Para,, Parana, Sao Paolo, Curitiba, etc etc) and from countries as far reaching as Australia, South Africa, USA, Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, England, Scotland, Canada, China and Denmark. Several are runners who failed to make it to the finish on a previous year, but for many, it is the beginning of an incredible experience; combining the challenge of sport with the thrill of an eco adventure.

Jungle marathon 2008 takes place from October 7th-16th. For further info please contact our media Co-ordinator Gil Serique on:
info@junglemarathon.com

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