Life is a Dream as a Challenge to Conquer
I
love challenges and I have a passion for running Ultra Marathons ...
Yes, I say and I repeat.. I love to challenge myself, I love seeing how far I can go with my dreams, my goals, my objectives to see them finished and then enjoy my own achievements.
Yes,
that it is what I dreamed, planned and worked hard for. I did it and
it was a successful 7days 250km (155miles) Atacama Crossing running in the
driest Desert in the world, Wouu!!
The
Atacama Desert is a plateau in South America, covering a
1,000-kilometer (600 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of
the Andes Mountains. It is, According to NASA, National Geographic
and other sources, the driest desert in the world. The Atacama
Occupies 105,000 square kilometers (41,000 sq mi) composed mostly of
salt lakes (salt flats), sand, and folic Lava flows towards the
Andes.
Competitors
will tackle sand-dunes, river crossings, gravel, loose rocks, hard
packed earth and even waist high grass during the event. This is in
Addition to the infamous salt flats that even the most dexterous of
runners find nearly impossible to cross at full-speed. (Racing the
Planet)
The
course of the Atacama Crossing Takes competitors across a wide
variety of terrains and includes approximately 3,500 meters (11,500
feet) of ascents and descents over the 7-day race. (Racing the
Planet)
Atacama
Crossing, Chile it was a lovely experience, unforgettable, rugged,
difficult, funny, but mostly filled with much happiness. The love
that I have for running ultra marathons is my passion and it is my
personal commitment to decide at the beginning to compete, race,
complete and finish the challenge.
Yes,
the unforgettable challenge in crossing The Salt Atacama Desert,
Chile 250 km (155miles) in 7 days. The beginning was on my arrival in
Santiago de Chile, where I could not locate my running/sports gear
that I needed for the race. After several hours I found out that it
was "lost, somewhere".
Yes
my reaction was frustration; I was going to start a race in only 8
hours with no gear. In 8 hours I went to reorganize my plans and
started looking to get new running gear in town where the main center
for all the competitors was in (San Pedro de Atacama, Chile). All
this process took me at least 8 hours to have everything ready. I was
blessed that some of my running friends helped me with some of their
equipment that I needed and the Directors of the race provided me
with some items to complete my backpack so that I could compete in
the race. Yes, the real time to have ready my gear in Illinois took
me 8 weeks .. Wouuu !!!
One
of the things that I can admire about myself is the ability to solve
problems. Yes, it is ability to plan, organize and negotiate new
strategies.
It
is true… over time I’ve learned to develop more and more this
ability that has helped me to make my life easier, simple and fun
which provides benefits, peace in my personal life and also as an
athlete.
I
believe that the most important thing in life is to have the ability
to analyze, propose solutions, to be a risk taker, work hard and to
be persistent until we get our own achievements done. Yes, those
elements are my formula in last few years of my life which works for
me and I see the results as in the success that I have had in my
projects, goals, dreams, challenges and in my personal life.
The
crossing began on Sunday March 3th with 21.9 miles. Yes it was a fun
day. I enjoyed the scenery, analyzing the conditions of the territory
and adapting to the highest extent and the back pack weight in day
number 1.
In
day number two, yes, I felt the physical work in my legs and back.
I felt different and I got a lot of energy and enthusiasm beginning
this chapter of my life. This day was a route crossing of lakes, cold
water, very cold water as my feet were freezing but, there was no
alternative so just run, run and run in the rivers to keep moving to
complete the stage, after the beautiful elevations with real stones
in the ground, more rocks, more rocks I burned my feet with the
difficult conditions of the ground. The beautiful sun injected in me
more energy, the scenery was great, and yes the place was a wonderful
and amazing place that I will talk about this experience to my
futures generations.
The
third day, we were starting with a part of the Salares zone wouuuuu !!!
Yes, we began running with sand dunes where my feet do not have any
idea how to run, but I learned to walk.. haha and then run again…
After this adventure I just was just continuing to run, walk, run,
walk to cross the first part of the salt desert, I had a sensation to
run by those areas like when you bite a salt cookie .. I remember I
felt like that hahaha… or I believe it was my sensation.
The
fourth day it was very interactive up and down mountains yes… rocky
mountain, flat stages increasingly into the desert where conditions
nobody had seen before, very difficult to be able to run and walk,
the weather was up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, dry yes very dry as I
began with some hallucinations and accompanied with fatigue ooooo….
Brother…!!
The
Sixth day was the most interesting day of this adventure. There was
two days to complete this stage, Yes I had 24 hours to the finish
line, now can you image the degree of difficulty,
wouuuuu .. Yes, those conditions were the most difficult journey that
I've experienced in recent years as an athlete of ultra marathons. I
only can say that I developed an extraordinary strength,
intelligence, compassion, persistence, courage, funny times, hunger,
thirst, fatigue, sleep, fear, and to not take a shower for almost 6
days, but the most humbling thing was humility and simplicity to
connect the spiritual aspect with God, just in my internal meditation
with him. Only my faith, my hope, my love, my family, my parents, my
sisters, myself and God were the pushers and motivation to get out of
the most extreme levels of fatigue that any human being can
experience …
Yes,
I saw and I felt the most extreme conditions that any human being can
face like hunger, thirst, fatigue and oooooo.... brother my menstrual period on the top
everything, it was completed Yess.. oooo…boy too much nooo.. hahha!! to push to the highest levels of competition in surviving. "Yes, the
most wonderful achievement that I have had in my life. !!! "
The
5th and 6th day the total miles reached were 143 miles and in 6
days. Day 7 was the last stage and I closed with 9.9 miles.
On
last day before I went to complete the last stage, I wanted cry so
much.. I felt a lot of happiness for myself, I wanted to see my
parents and my sisters and I just closed my eyes and I could see a
big smile on their faces. So by this time I felt another goal and
dream had come true…
Life is very short and fast I enjoy my
achievements every second and I love to share my experiences with
others just to express that everything that we dream of in life,
everything comes true, everything is possible in life, if we want to
get it. Let your fears push your objectives, goals, dreams,
achievements and everything that you pursue.
If
you do not take risks you will never know how far you can go, be
focused in a vision, work on it until you get what you want then
enjoy it and share your achievements with others as the best jewelry
of your life.
Edna, Yes..Mexican by birth, proud to be from Monterrey, Nuevo León and to
be loyal to the United States of America.
