Ultramaratón Fuego y Agua 2009
Not for the fainthearted Ultramaratón Fuego y Agua is an extremely challenging foot race on Isla Ometepe in Nicaragua. The race is composed of four different event options, the 25k, 50k, 100k and a 2/3-person 4-stage 100k relay…
Event press release:
Beginning at 4:00 a.m. Saturday, December 12th in the Port of Moyogalpa, professional international and Nicaraguan ultrarunners will engage in an extremely challenging competition in races of three different distances.
• 25 kilometers (course climbs Volcan Concepcion, race begins and finishes in Moyogalpa)
• 50 kilometers (course climbs Volcan Maderas, race begins in Moyogalpa and finishes in Hacienda
Merida)
• 100 kilometers (course climbs both Volcan Maderas and Concepcion, race begins and finishes in
Moyogalpa)
• 100 kilometer Relay (same course as 100k ultra) in 4 stages (2/3 persons per team, race begins
and finishes in Moyogalpa)
The 100k and Relay course is a single loop encompassing most of the island and involves the ascent and descent of both volcanoes. The 25k and 50k courses cover part of the 100k course. Because of the volcanoes, the island holds several micro-climates of jungle, dry tropics, tropical beach, and cloud forest.
The race course winds through singletrack, dirt road and sand as it passes towns, villages, coffee, cacao and banana plantations, cloud forest, volcanic trail and white sand beaches. The race begins with a pre-race meal the night before and ends with a post-race awards banquet.
(And apparently the beer is cheap too! – Ed.)
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2008 winner, Scot Richard Cunningham’s, report from last year paints the picture of an ultimate endurance running event:
“The course can be summarised as a 30k ish undulating trail, then a 1500 metre climb and descent, another 30k on trails then a 1000 metre climb and 10k or so to the finish. Add to this the temperatures and humidity of a tropical climate, some snakes and frogs armed with lethal venom, no such thing as an OS map and a volcano which has erupted with quite some regularity every 50 years, last time 1957…..! “
…and a captivating race organisers report, courtesy of Josue Stephens, can be found here.
Register now for the the trip/race of a lifetime!
