The jungle marathon
The jungle marathon is set within the Floresta National de Tapajós, part of the Amazonian state of Pará Brazil. This tropical wet forest is characterised by its warm, humid climate with year-round rainfall. It creates running conditions that are unique and incomparable to anything else. In no other environment do competitors endure soaring temperatures, interminable rain and damp, a claustrophobic and stifling jungle canopy, and the constant company of carnivorous co-habitants. The intensity is unrelenting: the jungle never sleeps, and at night, the rainforest cacophony of noise remains constant as the most deadly predators emerge to hunt their prey.
In the absence of some military background and training, individuals are likely never before to have been exposed to conditions as hostile as those of the jungle. Yet participants in the jungle marathon not only expose themselves to that environment, but compete in an extraordinarily challenging multi-stage endurance event within it. The heat, humidity and unique dangers of the jungle push this event to the boundaries of extreme running.
The race compromises 6 separate stages of varying distances, which take place during both daytime and through the night. The overall distance is 222km. It is a self-sufficient race.
Between stages, competitors are accommodated in impromptu campsites situated on the banks of the Tapajós River. The river is critical to competitor health management for the duration of the race, because thorough bathing and cleansing is necessary to prevent even the most minor of cuts from becoming septic. Race withdrawal for health reasons is alarmingly common in this race and the major cause is skin infection.
The inhabitants of the Amazon jungle are either predators, prey or both. The jaguar may be an obvious candidate for the top of the indigenous food chain, but there is a multitude of other hungry hunters, including about 2.5m species of insects. Those that concern competitors the most are usually biting ants, spiders and scorpions at ground level, and vicious wasps, hornets and other flying beasts in the air. Others, like the massive anaconda, competitors try not even to think about.
All competitors meet in Alter de Chao, a 30-hour drive from Santarem. They then board river boats for the spectacular overnight journey up the Tapajós River. The jungle base is at Itapuama, located 120km south of Santarem, and is the competitors’ first night in the Amazon jungle.
Stage 1 – The warm-up
The first stage is a relatively short jaunt through the rainforest for a distance of 16.3km. Yet the stage cut-off time is 10 hours 30mins. It is during these first stages that on average 10-15% of the participants drop out or are withdrawn.
This warm-up is in fact a rapid introduction (or baptism by fire) to what it is like to run in the jungle environs. Runners must contend with an environment that is literally trying to trip them up at every opportunity. The terrain is tough and the train is a labyrinth of tree branches and roots. Creepers weave their way across the trail, creating a series of obstacles to trip and injure tire feet.
Creek crossings are frequent and shoes and socks are quickly saturated, rubbing against feet to form blisters. The trail climbs harshly and there are difficult traverses along steep slopes, putting pressure on feet as competitors constantly fight to prevent themselves sliding down the slopes.
Competitors must also eat and get ready for sleep before nightfall. Race staff provide hot water, so re-hydrating food is relatively simple. Pitching the hammock can be challenging and time spent familirising oneself with this (and all kit) is time well spent.
The deceptively short first stage has a disproportionate effect on the morale of the field.
Stage 2 - Life in the jungle
24km. The terrain and conditions are similar to stage 1; the day is much longer and includes more swamps. Runners who struggled to complete stage 1 have a hard road ahead.
As the race progresses and blisters worsen and feet become more and more bruised, competitors crave the respite of sandals or bare feet. The jungle floor however is not the place to expose tender skin.
Food and water management are important aspects of any multi-stage event. There is a maximum volume of 2.5l of water provided at each checkpoint along the route. In total, competitors are each allocated 12 litres of water per day. Salt tablets are part of the compulsory kit list and consideration should be given to using them to supplement sports drinks.
Stage 3 – The Wild Card.
At 40km – the longest yet. Conditions in the jungle are extremely unpredictable.
Stage 4 -A rest day
Stage 4 is a reduced distance in preparation for the long stage 5 the following day. The distance is 24km. The trade-off for this easier day is a 200m-wide river crossing right at the start. During the day, runners are likely to encounter sections of very dense jungle with many plants that will either sting or cut them. At the end of Stage 4, competitors would have run approximately 100km through the jungle.
Mental and physical fatigue is starting to take its toll.
Stage 5 – The Big One
The race has been building to the epic adventure that is stage 5 – the 89km non-stop leg with its cut-off time of 36 hours. This stage is a mix of 49km of tough jungle terrain and 40km of open plantation trails.
The area between checkpoint 4 and 5 is relatively heavily populated with jaguar. On occasion, they have been known to wander onto the trail. It is simply not safe to permit runners to be at risk of being caught in this ‘dark zone’ during nightfall. In order to minimise the risk, race organisers impose a cut-off point at 4pm – runners arriving at checkpoint 4 after 4pm must spend the night there and proceed the next day in daylight hours. Those who do proceed past the checkpoint before 4pm are permitted to continue to race through the night. There is no clear straight route and, given the twisting and turning nature of the trail, there are frequent periods when there is not a glowstick in sight.
Stage 6 – To the finish line
In real terms it is still a long day – 33km. The route follows the lovely shoreline. The sweet smell of imminent success and the flow of adrenaline spurred by the nearing end drive competitors the last few kilometres. Battered and bruised from their battle with the jungle, competitors stumble in to Alter de Chao to complete this epic adventure.
At the end of the most extreme running events, the sense of camaraderie at the finish line is palpable. At the end of the jungle marathon, it is different and far more intense. This is not a case of enduring an extremely difficult race. This is survival in the jungle amidst some of the most dangerous predators known to man.