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Success
from Juan A. Alegre in the ANTARCTICA MARATHON
2009 |
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Juan Antonio, left, 2nd in the Antarctica
Marathon 2009 |
Our sponsored athlete Mr Juan Antonio
Alegre has achieved his dream of running
the Antarctica Marathon 2009 with great success, getting
the silver medal, and also completing
his last remaining race to finish the Grand
Slam Marathon: running 42km195m in each continent
plus both Earth Poles (a total of 8 marathons).
Getting there has not been an easy task at all,
though: in the first week of March 149 runners
from 20 different countries met in the Argentinian
city of Ushuaia in direction to Antarctica. They boarded
two Russian icebreakers to cross Cape Horn. According
to his own words, "I just got to
Drake Passage and started vomiting, both
going and coming back. Nourishment before running
a marathon is important... but as I puked everything,
I decided to stay in my cabin and rest, barely moving
or eating for a couple of days; the injection is not
worth it: you just lay in bed and that´s it".
Once they arrived, the athletes run the 26 miles joining
the scientific stations from Russia, Uruguay, Chile
and China on King George Island.
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In
spite of the -10ºC of past editions, this
time the temperatures were abnormally high, about
0ºC, which made the muddy, icy and snowy
course a bit easier. The steep slopes and rugged
terrain, including a glacier, were no obstacle
for a fast race from the start, although it was
not until the end when Dutchman K. Brienne
sprinted to finish in 3h04m50s.
Just 1m45s after him came the Spaniard, crossing
the finish line in second position. The podium
was completed by the American Guzik, slightly
more delayed. The first woman to complete the
race was his compatriot Lisa DeYoung in just over
4h.
You can see the detaild results here.
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Satisfied with silver in Antarctica
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Juan Antonio was satisfied but
said: "I would have liked to finish the Grand
Slam with a victory, but the icebreaker days emptied
me as I vomited all I ate. Now it no longer matters,
it is my absolute satisfaction to have
completed such a difficult challenge
where so few have succeeded". In fact, he
becomes the 2nd Spaniard and the 31st
athlete in the world to achieve this
prestigious Marathon circuit.
To crown it all, he adds: "If
Antarctica was a painting it would be by Dali,
if music, by Falla, and if architecture, Gaudi's.
But it is the only place on Earth as it should
be: nature in its purest form". From OSSO
we can only congratulate him and wish him luck
in his next goal.
[See the
full interview]
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