Taiwan athlete Tommy Chen won this year’s 4 Deserts Race Series championship, one of the world’s most punishing tests of endurance, after finishing as runner-up Nov. 26 in The Last Desert Antarctica ultramarathon.
Chen’s second place was enough to hand him overall victory in the competition comprised of four 250-km ultramarathons—the Atacama Crossing in Chile, Gobi March in mainland China, Sahara Race in Namibia, and Last Desert in the frozen southern continent. He also became the first Taiwan runner to claim the 4 Deserts Grand Slam title by completing all of the events in a single calendar year.
The ultramarathoner was leading this year’s series going into the final leg in Antarctica, having finished second in the Sahara Race in May, fifth in the Gobi March in June and first in the Atacama contest in October. He captured the championship by battling through gale-force blizzards and minus 20 C temperatures across the weeklong, six-stage contest in one of the world’s most unforgiving environments.
“This Antarctic race is the hardest terrain I have ever run in. It wasn’t just an endurance challenge, but rather, a grueling test of willpower,” Chen wrote in a Facebook post Dec. 1. Aside from painful foot injuries, shortness of breath and concerns about frostbite, the athlete said that he felt extreme pressure over his bid to secure the title, getting little sleep and suffering from paranoia about the state of his equipment.
Chen noted in the post that he roared and sprinted toward the finish line the moment it came into view. Upon completing the race, the athlete said he fell to his knees and let out a victory cry before breaking down in tears.
“This whole year, all of it, all of the stress and suffering, is finally over,” he wrote. “The important thing in life is not triumph but the struggle.”
Named among the top 10 global endurance competitions by Time magazine in 2009 and 2010, the 4 Deserts Race Series is recognized as one of the world’s leading footrace championships. Each of the weeklong, 250-km ultramarathons is held in desolate terrain over six stages, with competitors required to carry specified safety equipment. (KWS-E)
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