Man on the moon

From March 29 extreme runner Christian Schiester will begin the first of four Desert Cup races in the Atacama Desert, Chile. The 41-year-old Austrian can expect 250 extremely hot and dry kilometers.

Christian Schiester will be following a tough path on four continents and across four deserts in the next few months. The starting gun to what he himself describes as probably the greatest challenge he has ever faced will be fired on March 29. The extreme runner from Mautern will put the first of 250 kilometers of 1000 in six daily stages behind him in Chile – and do so without any outside help. The Austrian’s only loyal companions will be sand, gravel, the glistening sun and extreme variations in temperature – and of course physical and mental pain.

Perfect preparation

But the father of two is confident: ‘In the last few months I’ve prepared myself extremely well. Physical fitness, mental conditioning and my materials are all optimally in tune with one another. My goal is to finish among the first three,’ Schiester says with self-confidence. As early as the end of 2008, Schiester crossed the Sinai Peninsula in 11 days (501 km). In addition are the 12,000 kilometers he ran last year as well as the extreme special training conditions such as intensive deep snow running for building up strength or the treadmill trainings at 70°C he did in the sauna in Bad Radkersburg.

Inhospitable territory

And all this will stand him in very good stead, for the Atacama is one of the driest and highest-altitude deserts in the world. It is 15 million years old and its precipitation represents not even 2 % of the extremely dry Death Valley. Some weather stations in the rain shadow of the Andes have never registered a drop of rain, even to this day. The notable altitude above sea level of an average of over 3,000 meters additionally makes for massive differences in temperatures. During the day, the temperatures of over 30°C and the strong UV rays make the water supply of the athletes well and truly boil. At night the temperatures of up to -10°C also play a part in the sapping of energy reserves. The Desert Cup isn’t known as one of the world’s toughest endurance contests for nothing.

Equipment and fitness

Besides having perfect material, in order to overcome these extreme conditions, Christian Schiester needs one thing above all: to be in excellent physical and mental condition. Right from the beginning, the athletes have to carry their equipment and food themselves. The rucksacks weigh up to 12 kilos at the start of the race, which naturally also takes a lot out of them. The only external provisions are given in the form of tents and water. ‘In the Sinai I put together a perfect setup of material and food. What that exactly consisted of is of course strictly confidential. More important in any case, however, is my physical and mental condition. Suffering begins in the head, not in your legs,’ explains Schiester.

Unique surroundings

Apart from the trials and tribulations of the inhospitable conditions, the extreme runner can expect very unique natural surroundings. Huge salt flats, deep blue salt lakes, majestic sand dunes, picturesque canyons, volcanic mountains of detritus and clear, starry night skies make Atacama a unique natural environment. ‘I’ll hardly have time for the beauty during the strenuous stages of the race,’ Schiester says. ‘But I’ll use the few breathers I’ll be taking to enjoy it as much as I can.’ The area in northern Chile with its moon-like plateaus has been used by NASA in recent years for the testing of machines and space robots. The Styrian takes this with a healthy dose of humor: ‘I always set my goals higher. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll really run a marathon on the moon. And I can start training for that now.’