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Matthew Chapman Nears Completion of Training for the Namibia Ultra-Marathon in May 2009

Posted: 21.04.09

Back in February we first publicised information about Matthew Chapman's quest to complete his fifth ultra-marathon, to be held in Namibia this May. Matthew is now just four weeks away from taking part in this epic event, and his training is nearing a close.

The 267km Namibia Ultra-marathon will be the fifth in RacingThePlanet's series which has previously involved races in the driest, windiest, hottest and coldest deserts in the world: the Atacama Desert (Chile), Gobi Desert (China), Sahara Desert (Egypt) and Antarctica. Matthew is one of just 15 people in the world who has completed the earlier races in the first ‘4Deserts’ series. He will be part of a field of 220 competitors from 42 countries around the world, 90% of who have taken part in one of Racing the Planet's desert ultra-marathons previously.

The Namibia ultra-marathon will set off from Fish River Canyon in southern Namibia on 17 May 2009 and conclude 6 days and 267km later on 23 May 2009. The race will follow a format of four back-to-back 42km marathons in the first four days, followed by an 80km stage which could last two days. The course will traverse the 550m Fish River Canyon, the second deepest canyon in the world and continue through the Wegdraai Valley, over the Hunsberg Mountain Range and into the Arimas Valley. Competitors will cross the Rekvlakte sand flats ending in the coastal town of Lüderitz, but not before facing the Skeleton Coast and its 30 metre high sand dunes. Day temperatures will rise to close to 40 degrees Celsius but the mercury could fall below 0 degrees Celsius at night.

This is an excerpt. For the full press release, please download the PDF version below.