A marathon challenge

Taking place on October 2-8 this year, the 4deserts Atacama Crossing Challenge is a 250km race which crosses Atacama Desert, around San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. Riz will face six stages in seven days with almost four marathons in four days, then 74km and a final stage of 11km.

As one of the few deserts on Earth that doesn’t receive any rain, Atacama is a plateau in South America, covering a 1,000km strip of land on the Pacific coast of South America, west of the beautiful Andes Mountains. Whilst the desert has an awe inspiring and unique landscape of salt lakes, volcanoes, lava flows and sand dunes, it is fifty times dryer than Death Valley. He will have to endure unpredictable terrain, a harsh climate and an altitude that averages at 2,500m.

The one week challenge is self supported, which means he will have to carry his clothes, sleeping bag, mandatory equipment, medical/safety kit and seven days’ worth of food in his backpack whilst journeying across the desert.