Melissa Racouillat Endures the Atacama Crossing

Team Blue member Melissa Racouillat chose one of the most grueling races for her first fundraising challenge in 2010. The Atacama Crossing in Chile is part of the 4 Deserts which was named by TIME magazine as #2 on its list of the Top 10 Endurance Competitions in the world. Not only did Melissa finish the seven day race across 250 km more than a mile above sea level, she came in 4th among women, 42nd overall, winning her age bracket.

"My initial fundraising goal was $1000, but when I quickly met that, I raised it," explained Melissa. We are very pleased that Melissa raised more than $2000 for safe drinking water projects. Her amazing feat is a huge inspiration.

On June 26th, 2011, Melissa ran The Gobi March, a 6-day, 155 mile self-supported race through the Gobi Desert in Western China! Read More

Donate in honor of Melissa     |     Read Our Interview with Melissa

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Endurance Runner Conquers the Desert Ultra Marathon "Atacama Crossing" in Chile for Blue Planet Network and Safe Drinking Water
Interview with Melissa Racouillat 4/6/10

Q: Melissa, from all of us at Blue Planet Network, thank you for sharing your story about completing the Atacama Crossing and raising money for safe drinking water projects. How did you decide to do this in the first place?

A: I am a physical therapist. I love to run and I love to travel. I had already done three ultra marathons and a few marathons before I decided to do Atacama. I had a client who also loved to run, had been a volunteer for the RacingThePlanet series of ultra marathons. When she successfully ran the one in Namibia in Africa herself, I became very interested in doing one of the 4 Deserts races. I chose Chile because it was in March 2010, and I liked the idea of combining my love of running with my love of visiting unique places around the world.

Q: So, tell us what it was like!

A: My biggest impression was how varied the terrain was along the race. Desert, rivers, rocks, salt flats…it all was there. The salt flats probably were the toughest part of the race as they were extremely sharp and jagged, almost like a coral reef. You had to be very careful with your footing on them and just try to step on the peeks. I walked most of the way across them, 8 miles one day. It was 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and it was only one piece of the 27 miles I had to cover that day. I was running with someone at that point and we took turns taking the lead. Across the salt flats, though, all I could do was follow his lead, get my mind focused and think one step at a time…it was so hard!

Q: How many days was the race and how many miles did you cover?

A: These Ultra Marathons test your strength and commitment with day after day of tough running. The first day I ran 22 miles, Days 2-4 were between 26 and 28 miles, Day 5 was 46 miles, and Day 6 was the final 6 miles to the finish line…those were the hardest 6 miles of the entire course!

Q: How many people participated in the Atacama Crossing and who were they?

A: 147 people started the race, and 122 completed it. There were not many Chileans in the race…there were two teams (a man’s and a woman’s) of three Chileans each. The majority of the runners were from the US, UK, Australia and Hong Kong.

Q: The race happened not too long after the Chilean earthquake, right? What was that like?

A: Well, first off, I was shocked by the news of the quake and all the damage it did. The quake occurred 600 miles away from the Atacama Crossing, so there was no impact on the race and they went ahead as planned. The biggest challenge, however, was getting to the race. My flight was delayed out of Los Angeles by one day, but several of the European runners were delayed 4-5 days because of the quake. They had to start the race a day late. The Santiago Airport terminal closed after the quake because many windows broke. So they set up their operations in white tents in the parking lot. They handled everything amazingly well, but it was very eerie to see a major international airport operating like that.

None of us got down to Chile ahead of time to get used to the high elevations. But, then, we were all in the same situation, so we toughed it out together.

Q: So, how was the race different than you expected?

A: I guess the biggest thing was that the terrain was a lot harder than I had expected. I trained in the Bay Area and love trail running, but it didn’t fully prepare me. There were no trails about half the time, and that was really hard on my feet. I got 16 blisters along the way and 4 of my toenails are hanging on by a thread!

Q: Ouch! How did you handle that?

A: With a lot of tape! We would make it into camp each night with blisters and soaking wet shoes. It seemed then like it was all we could do to hobble up to the campfire. But the next morning, by some miracle, we all found it in us to take off on the next leg of the race.

Q: Did anyone go down with you to Chile?

A: Yes, my dad, Rick Racouiallat, did! He was a volunteer for the race, so they kept him very busy at the Aid Stations. I only saw him for a few minutes each day, but it was great to know he was there.

Q: I bet he was thrilled whenever he saw you, too.

A: Yeah, he probably said to himself each time, “Well, thank goodness she’s still alive!”

Q: So you wound up doing extremely well, right?

A: Yes, I won the Women’s 30-39 Division, and I was the #4 woman finisher overall. I didn’t actually find that out until the Race Banquet the last night. We had done the last six miles that afternoon, Saturday, and we all managed to clean up and make it to the Banquet that night. It was such a happy surprise to find out my standings!

Q: So did you tell your client who ran the Nambia Race about your adventures when you got home and thank her for inspiring you?

A: She was British, and had returned to the UK by then. But we kept in close touch via email. She was so worried that I would have a bad experience. So she was excited when I told her how great it was and that I’m thinking about running the Gobi March with RacingThePlanet in June 2011.

Q: So why did you decide to use this race to fundraise for Blue Planet Network and safe drinking water projects?

A: I first read about Blue Planet Network in 2007 in the issue of Runner’s World that talked about the Blue Planet Run 2007 global relay for safe drinking water. I thought that was a pretty cool thing to do. I was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Ivory Coast 2000-2002, so I saw what a tremendous challenge scarce water, and unhealthy water, was for all parts of a community. I did some volunteer work for you guys, but never anything big. When I told my friends and family that I was running Atacama, many asked if I was doing it for a charity and that they’d like to contribute. So I decided to run for Blue Planet Network and your safe drinking water projects.

Fundraising actually was a lot easier than I thought. I set a goal of $1,000, sent out notes to friends and family, and put a note on my Facebook page. Within the first 24 hours, I already exceeded my goal! I wound up raising more than $2,000…thanks to everyone who believed in me, and this cause.

Q: Congratulations! We will make sure every dollar you raised goes directly to bringing sustainable safe drinking water to rural communities so kids can go back to school, communities can stay healthy, women can start small businesses and the entire village can be better off. Melissa, we are so grateful for your support and we hope we get a chance to cheer you on when you run the Gobi March in June 2011.

A: You bet! Just keep up the great work you’re doing and we’ll definitely do it again!