Mohamad is legendary in the global running community for his desert running abilities. A five-time winner of the Marathon Des Sables (MDS), and the reigning 2013 champion, he is a mountain guide by profession. Mohamad's older brother, Lahcen Ahansal, won the MDS an amazing ten times. Indeed, the brothers dominated the event from 1997 to 2010 with Lahcen securing ten titles and Mohamad four titles. As a child, Mohamad lived as a desert nomad, often running up to 28km per day.
James finished fourth in the 2012 Antarctic 100k after completing the North Pole Marathon earlier in the year.
Sarah was born and raised in Heidelberg, Germany and after studying in Hamburg and in the U.S. settled in Chicago to practice international law. She was the first woman, based on available data, to complete three rounds of running marathons on all seven continents and continues to travel and run around the world. Sarah was also the first German woman to join the Grand Slam Club after finishing the North Pole Marathon in 2009.
Steve completed 7 marathons on 7 continents in 2012 to join the 7 Continents Marathon Club. In September 2013, he pushed a wheelchair bound person in the Sydney Marathon, raising a decent sum of money for charity along the way. After the Volcano Marathon, he will be looking forward to other big physical challenges in 2014.
Connor is making his marathon debut at the Volcano Marathon. He is the son of Yvonne, also running in the race.
Yvonne won the 2011 Antarctic Ice Marathon in record time. She took part in the Ice Marathon to raise funds for three children needing urgent treatment for a childhood cancer called neuroblastoma. Running helped Yvonne cope with the loss of her own six-year-old son Jack to the disease. She will be joined in the Volcano Marathon by her son Connor.
Uma is a member if the Grand Slam Club having completed a marathon on each of the seven continents and at the North Pole. Along with her husband Krishna, she has run the Los Angeles, Safaricom, Australian Outback, Gobi, Marathon de Buenos Aires, Maratona Do Porto and Antarctic Ice Marathon events. Uma is Managing Director of KRSMA wineries and vineyards and is actively involved in organising a run in Hyderabad, India, in which 20,000 people take part each year. Aside form running, her hobby is Ikebana (japanese flower arrangement).
Krishna is a member of the Grand Slam Club, having completed a marathon on each of the seven continents and at the North Pole. Along with his wife Uma, he has run the Los Angeles, Safaricom, Australian Outback, Gobi, Marathon de Buenos Aires, Maratona Do Porto and Antarctic Ice Marathon events. Krishna is founder and Managing Director of Granules India Ltd, a pharmaceutical company in India that sells products to over 55 countries globally.
Gary is a 53 year old computer programmer living near Los Angeles, California. He finished the North Pole Marathon in April 2013 under tough conditions, followed just six days later by the Boston Marathon. He'll be back in Massachusetts, "Boston Strong", in April 2014, but first needs to experience the Atacama, on his first visit to Chile. Gary has climbed mountain peaks above the elevation of the Volcano Marathon start but has never run a marathon at those elevations. He's looking to add another continent to his CV, and awaits the challenge, the clear starry night skies, and the camaraderie.
Alain won the 2006 Antarctic Ice Marathon and has run numerous marathons and ultramarathons around the world, including on all seven continents and at the North Pole. Included in Alain's marathon CV are New York, London, Rotterdam, Hamilton, Peking, Stockholm, Chicago, Monaco, Maranello Ferrari, La Rochelle, Buenos Aires, Toulouse, Greenland and his native Marseille. He has completed the Badwater Ultramarathon on two occasions and finished second and third in the Antarctic 100k in 2006 and 2010, respectively.
Julio is an enterpreneur from Curico, 200 kilometres south of Santiago. He has been running ultra marathons for several years.
Christopher is a US citizen who has been living in Japan for the past 10 years with his wife and 6 year old twins. He started running about 5 years ago to get in shape. However, he is now trying to complete marathons on all 7 continents. Christopher decided to run the Volcano Marathon for South America because of how much he enjoyed the Antarctic Ice Marathon (same organisers). It will continent #6 with just Africa to go.
Ian is a sports injury therapist who holds a marathon PB of 2:43 hrs. He also holds an 8k PB of 25:11 and a 10k PB of 32:16. Ian completed the North Pole Marathon earlier this year despite suffering from hypothermia during the race.
Paul is a polar running specialist who rarely runs marathons outside of polar circles. After completing the North Pole Marathon in 2004, Paul spent six years preparing for the Antarctic Ice Marathon in 2010. He subsequently ran the North Pole Marathon again in 2012 (accompanying multiple sclerosis sufferer Philipe Laurent along the route). A keen snooker player, Paul was recently only one shot off a maximum 147 break: He missed the first red.
Sebastian comes from a moutaineering and skiing background. During the last 10 years, he has completed numerous speed ascents and ski descents in the Alps and Himalayas: China (Mustagh Ata, 7546m), Pakistan (GasherbrumII, 8035m; Broad Peak, 8051m) and Nepal (Manaslu 8163m, stopped at 8000m because of exhaustion). A veterinarian by training and profession, Basti became product manager for clothing company UVU after working for Dynafit/Salewa as an athlete and in product development. He has been adapting to ultra trail running this year and completed the Trans Atlas Marathon before finishing in a fantastic third position in the UVU Jungle Marathon in Brazil.
Jarlath completed the 2012 Antarctic Ice Marathon. He had previously run a few races up to half-marathon distance as well as undertaking various treks in South America.
Klaus is a Santiago-based engineer who has completed two marathons to date. The UVU Volcano Marathon will be his first off road race.
Taco is an adventure race / sports enthusiast who has completed the Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon (the highest in the world) and the Antarctic Ice Marathon (the southernmost in the world) among many others. A private entrepreneur in the construction industry, Taco has also been a fireman for 17 years and generally enjoys events lasting up to 24 hours.
Philippe is multiple sclerosis sufferer who successfully completed the North Pole Marathon in 2012. MS is a disease of the central nervous system, which changes normal life for the sufferer with irreversible consequences. Everything changes very quickly and Philippe found himself "diminished physically and morally" after being diagnosed in 1996 aged 30 years old. He quickly found himself having to use a cane, with urinary problems and serious imbalances. However, he has found that problems of inaccessibility are an additional handicap in his native France. Philippe has thus written a Mobility Pact, calling for (1) Mobility in the City (2) Mobility in the Population (3) Mobility in the School System (4) Mobility via Financial Support (5) Mobility in Professions and Trade (6) Mobility induced by Research. Philippe believes that accessibilty must become a priority in France and he engages in difficult challenges such as the North Pole Marathon and Volcano Marathon to support the themes of his writing.
Sandra lives in Mexico City and competes regularly in vertical running or 'tower running'. She was the World Cup silver medallist in 2010 and has competed in the Empire State, Petron Towers and other famous tower ascents.
Fiona won the 2013 UVU North Pole Marathon and holds a marathon PB of 2:38 hrs. She has had top 25 places in both the London and Berlin Marathons as well as top 10 finishes in Amsterdam, Moscow, Florence and Nottingham. She also has several marathon victories to her name, four of them in course records. Fiona uses running as the opportunity to raise funds for an animal sanctuary she owns and has almost single-handedly operated in Essex for the past 16 years. Her sanctuary cares for over 400 previously neglected and /or abused animals, many having been rescued from the food chain.
Andy is a sports presenter and correspondent working for Al Jazeera English. He has a wide range of experience as a sports reporter, and has previously worked with Independent Television News (ITN), Sky News, ITV and Five News. He is a regular presenter on the Al Jazeera English Sportsworld programme and has reported on sporting events from across the globe. Andy will participate in the Volcano Marathon as part of a documentary for Al Jazeera English.
Alexander is an Austrian television presenter, entrepreneur, adventurer and speaker. Rudiger is known to a big audience in Austria via the public television show Moneymaker. He is a dedicated amateur athlete who also likes to travel in the mountains. Born in 1969 in Vienna, he finished sixth in this year's North Pole Marathon.
Morocco's Mohamad Ahansal battled the altitude and heat to win the inaugural UVU Volcano Marathon on 14 November 2013. The women's title was won by Great Britain's Yvonne Brown.
The race took place in the Atacama Desert in Chile, beginning at an altitude of 4,400 meters (14,500 feet) in the vicinity of Lascar Volcano. It was a grueling affair for many of the competitors who had to encounter some challenging hills and manage the impact of the heat and oxygen deprivation. The average altitude of the entire race was close to 4,000 meters and temperatures reached the mid 20s Celsius, or almost 80 Degrees Farenheit.
Ahansal, a multiple winner of the Marathon des Sables, led from the outset to take the title in a time of 3:55.15 hrs. Basti Haag (GER) took second place in 4:47.39 hrs, just ahead of Alexander Rudiger (AUT) in 4:47.49 hrs.
The women's race saw former Antarctic Ice Marathon winner Yvonne Brown cross the line in first place in a time of 5:55.16 hrs. She finished just ahead of the reigning North Pole Marathon champion, Fiona Oakes, who finished in a time of 6:00.39 hrs. Germany's Sarah Ames was third.
Mexico's Sandra Nunez, a former world silver medallist at tower running, completed a 50km ultramarathon in 7:04.12 hrs.
The next edition of the Volcano Marathon is set to take place in November 2014 with entries opening next month.
Full results of the 2013 race are posted below, including half marathon finishers.
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