JM2009 - Course & Stage Descriptions

With less than 3 weeks to go the course organisers are now busy finalising the course route and I've just seen the latest report from the Course Director, Shirley Thompson.

For those of you who think I'm going on one of those little 'guided tours' then get a load of the following. This is the 'exact' report from Shirley from the course. (Hopefully this will give you a great feel for what's in store for the 100 participants this year.)

Course & Stage Description
Just back from marking, modifying and and doing our trial run of the course so a bit of info.

Distance, the total course distance this year is 222km (139 miles). Those of you doing the 100km will do 100.14km.

Due to all the heavy rain during the rainy season water levels have not subsided as much as normal so many parts of the course will be very wet and water crossings will be deeper than normal.
We will of course give a detailed briefing the night before each stage, but below is a short synopsis of each of the stages.

Stage 1 is still the shortest and really probably the toughest, as it has the most concentrated elevation. I am now acclimatized but even so my water intake was about 3 litres on the first stage. I started to feel really quite headachy and so tipped the contents of one suceed tablet under my tongue and instantly felt re-energised and much better. You really have to take it very easy this first day, if you don’t, you will never recover enough to complete the course.
Throughout the stage you are either going up or down, there is very little flat. The climbs and descents are very steep, you will need to use your hands on many of the climbs and also grab onto trees on the way down on the fast descents to steady yourself.

Stage 2 still has some climbs and descents but a lot more flat parts of the course and also three main areas of swamp crossings. Those of you wishing to increase your speed will be able to do so on this stage, but always be on the lookout for roots of trees and other natural obstacles in your path.
It is impossible to avoid going into the swamps, and you are likely to get lots of ticks. I removed about 30 after this stage. To remove them, you can either pull them out with tweezers if you do it early enough or smear some Vaseline onto the tick as it will then come up to the surface to breathe and you can pull it out then. They go for moist damp areas such as under arms, behind knees, top of legs, behind the ears…well basically anywhere….

Stage 3 is fast and brutal. And my favourite stage as it has a mixture of everything- plenty of flatter parts where you can increase your speed, some insane elevation, some water parts to it and it goes into one of the villages so you get a chance to see some local life. This I a very long stage, its nearly 38km. don’t hang around at the checkpoints for too long, you need to keep a steady pace to get out of the jungle before dark.

Stage 4 is mainly flat and a good stage to recharge your batteries before the long stage. There is only one climb, towards the end of it.
You do start it will a 250m water crossing………

Stage 5 is a combination of everything. You begin with a water crossing of around 220m. There are plenty of fast parts to make up time and also the steepest climbs and steepest descents in the entire course. There are a huge amount of natural obstacles on the fastest parts, you will be frequently climbing over fallen trees. Always check what is on the other side before you put your foot down or grab onto a fallen trees trunk- this is a favourite place for snakes to doze.
It is possible to make it out of the jungle before dark, but if you don’t you will have to stay at CP4 during the dark zone- this area of the jugnel has a huge population of jaguar and we cannot have competitors wandering round here in the dark. The jungle campsite is well protected. There is a campfire, guides with guns and full medical support.
Once you pass this CP, the next CP is out of the jungle onto paths and trails through several little villages. it is mainly flat ( though there is a steep climb after CP6) and a few more hills between CP7 and 8. Some of it takes you down onto the waters edge along the shores of the Tapajos. If you do this in daytime there is very little shade, make sure you have something to cover your head.
The last few kms of this seem endless. The total distance for the long stage this year is 89.39km (55.6miles). There is one part still with a huge amount of water along the shoreline, so we will make a decision the week before the race whether to amend this and bring you onto the road if it is still deep as it would not be prudent for those of you doing it in thr dark. ( we did it in the daylight).

Stage 6 (Final stage) is along the stunning beaches of the Tapajos river and through several little villages. It is over 30km so still a long stage,with little shade. But there are several creek crossings to cool you down.

A few bits of info:
Pack: I used my raidlight pack, but it was not as full as your packs will be. My pack was about 7-8kg per day as we had to carry all our water for the day as there were no check points in place.

Water I drank an average of 4 litres a day, but I have been here for a couple of weeks so am acclimitised. I did run out of water on stage 3 and drank water from a fast running stream….and have lived to tell the tale……!

Snacks Was ravenous the entire time I was on the trail, ate crisps, nut,toffees,fruit .took one emergen c powder mixed with water per day.

Salt/electrolytes took an average of 2 suceed tablets per day.

Feet on stages 1-5 used 2 coats of new skin liquid bandage on my feet daily with thorlo socks and sealskinz. No blisters.
On stage 6 I changed footwear, dropped the new skin and the sealskinz and hobbled into alter do chao with three enormous blisters. I cannot recommend new skin highly enough.

Nighttime a couple of nights it got really chilly, bring something warm to sleep in.


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