Imagine running 250km (about 155) miles in 6 stages across the most inhospitable deserts in the world while carrying everything you need for the entire race on your back. Whether you think that sounds incredible or miserable, you’ll probably agree the idea is fascinating.
Samantha Fanshawe, president of the 4 Deserts Race Series at RacingThePlanet, manages ultra stage races all over the world in some of the harshest conditions from the Atacama Desert in Chile to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia to the Namib Desert in Africa to the coldest desert in the world, Antarctica.
Sam tells Coach Claire what it’s like to race these events, what you need to do to train and prepare, and who should (and should not) sign up for an event like this. It’s a fascinating dive into the world of some of the toughest races on the planet, and you can enjoy it from the comfort of home!
Sam has always been a citizen of the planet. She is a Brit, born in Peru and schooled in Pakistan for a few of her early years. She graduated from the University of Leeds with a joint honors degree in Maths and Biology, then went off to explore parts of the world such as Sydney, Australia, before returning to the United Kingdom to work in business development of corporate clients in the recruitment industry. After a couple of years, her company transferred her to Singapore, followed by stints in Penang, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Sam has mastered the art of dragon boat racing, competing in the Dragon Boat World Championships. She also plays squash, hikes, rides horses, and mountain bikes. She fell in love with running while living in Asia, starting with half marathons before running the Singapore Marathon, sprint triathlons, adventure races, and ultimately ultramarathons including the Hong Kong Oxfam Trailwalker, the Gobi March, Vibram HK 100, and Mongolia Sunrise to Sunset.
In 2005, Sam volunteered at the hottest race on record, the Gobi March, a seven-day, 250km footrace. She fell in love with the spirit of RacingThePlanet and became a staff member, and has since worked over 20 RacingThePlanet/4 Desert events.
Questions Samantha is asked:
5:18 You have a very interesting background, living all over the world. How did you first get involved with RacingThePlanet?
6:23 Can you describe what these events are like? I’d love to hear what they are and what kind of people sign up for them?
9:12 How many people actually really run every single day and how many people do more of a walk/hiking?
9:46 The participants pretty much have to bring everything as far as food. They don’t have to bring a tent I understand, but pretty much everything else?
11:02 How has the pandemic affected RacingThePlanet?
12:47 Let’s talk about training for the race. Let’s fast forward to 2021 when everything is perfectly healthy. How would you recommend training for something like this? Is it similar to marathon training?
14:05 Training for the race with a backpack is super important, right?
15:01 I imagine you have a lot of repeat athletes who do this over and over again, but I would love to hear about the first timers. What challenges do the first-time racers tend to face?
16:44 What kind of food do people eat on something like this? I imagine it would be different if you’re running or walking because you can chew a lot better when you are walking, but what kind of foods are most people bringing in their backpack every day?
19:23 You’ve got all of your food for all six stages in your backpack the whole time. Is that what you’re saying? No one takes it for you to the next stage.
19:43 I imagine not everybody makes it to the finish line. What are the reasons that you see that most people have to stop the race?
21:52 What kind of people should NOT sign up for a race like this?
23:03 I bet you have a whole collection of amazing stories from races as epic as this. Can you share a few of the more memorable stories of things that have happened in some of these races?
25:19 I noticed that registration for Antarctica is by invite only. Can you explain?
26:57 I imagine you’re not dealing with heat in Antarctica, but there’s probably some other challenges like dealing with the cold and maybe frostbite. What are the other challenges in Antarctica?
27:56 How many times have you gone to Antarctica now?
28:29 What is the future for RacingThePlanet? Is there anything new in the works?
Questions I ask everyone:
30:09 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you first started running, what advice would you give yourself?
31:11 What is the greatest gift that running has given you?
32:35 Where can listeners connect with you?
Quotes by Samantha:
“The whole ethos of the race was not only to take people to amazing places and to achieve things that maybe they didn’t think was possible like covering 250km on foot across a desert, but also to make people realize that you can survive for seven days in a desert without the internet, without your phone, without a comfortable bed, without a shower, and just with everything you can carry on your back.”
“Our goal is to encourage people to finish, but within the cutoff times and safely and when they’re in the right position to do so.”
“When you think you’re done, you think what you’re going through is nothing compared to what some other people are going through, not just in the race, but in life as well.”
Take a Listen on Your Next Run
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