In the driest place on Earth, Canadian Mark D. Tamminga wins the Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2006; Norwegian Sissel S. Smaller and Briton Lucy C. Marriott place first in women’s division; and Team GB consisting of Britons Alexander B. Bellingham, Gary Johnson and Chris Livingston capture team title.

(August 11, 2006) – Among a record number of competitors, Canadian Mark D. Tamminga captured the title of Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2006 champion in a time of 32:16:06. The event proved to be a cliffhanger with ties for first in four of the six stages. Former Olympian, American Joseph J. Holland, placed second and Italian Francesco Galanzino placed third. In the women’s division, Sissel S. Smaller and Lucy C. Marriott, who lost a teammate due to the flu, tied for first place in a time of 43:56:10. Team GB (Alexander B. Bellingham, Gary Johnson and Chris Livingston) struggled with a sick teammate, but still managed to beat the next closest team by more three hours in a time of 39:27:38.

The president of the Andean pueblo of Machuca kicked off this year’s event by the ringing of ancient church bells high in the Andes mountains. The course began at an altitude of 14,000 feet and quickly descended to just under 10,000 feet. Competitors passed ancient Inca ruins, narrow slot canyons, many freezing glacial streams and the dreaded salt flats before ending up in the spectacular setting of Moon Valley. Moon Valley is the most lunar-like place on Earth and is used to test Mars rover vehicles sent into space.

Competitors representing 20 countries competed in this year’s Atacama Crossing. One hundred and eleven competitors completed the full six stages with cumulative times ranging from slightly more than 32 hours to some 75 hours. Japanese competitor Yoshiaki Ishihara, 61, again won his age category and is on course to become one of the first in the world to complete the 4 Deserts in one calendar year.

Reflecting on the event, Mary K. Gadams, the founder of the 4 Deserts, said “Due to the tough terrain conditions, we had one of the highest ratios of dropouts, but the spectacular scenery kept individuals in high spirits. The 4 Deserts is said to be the toughest endurance series in the world, so those who managed to finish most of the course, but not all, can still be proud of their accomplishment.”

Many competitors in the Atacama Crossing (Chile) raised money for charities. A seven-person Save the Rhino International team raced in a full Rhino suit in order to gain exposure for the charity and to garner funds to support their cause. RacingThePlanet Limited donated a medical defibrillator to the Town of San Pedro.

Fortune Magazine and Bloomberg Television were the official media partners of the Atacama Crossing (Chile), and will also be the media partners for the entire 4 Deserts series. KBS, Korea’s top television channel, filmed the Atacama Crossing for a one-hour television special. A daily journal of the event was posted by London Business School MBA student, Nicholas Wai, on the Financial Times’ website at http://www.ft.com/businesseducation. The event was covered extensively by the Chilean press with almost daily features in La Tercera and El Mercurio, two of Chile’s top newspapers, as well as leading television channels.

The Coca-Cola Company provided Vital and Dasani water, as well as PowerAde which was consumed by both competitors and staff during the seven day period. ECCO tested trail running shoes in the Atacama Crossing (Chile), and Johns Hopkins Medical Institute again conducted medical research at the Atacama Crossing (Chile).

Website coverage of the Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2006 can be found at www.atacamacrossing.com featuring hundreds of pictures, breaking news texts, daily journals, video clips, field updates and full results.

About RacingThePlanet®

RacingThePlanet Limited is an international outdoor lifestyle brand and global leader in organizing some of the world's most prestigious outdoor events including the 4 Deserts, a series of 7-day footraces across the world's largest and most forbidding deserts. These events include the Gobi March in China, the Atacama Crossing in Chile, the Sahara Race in Egypt and The Last Desert in Antarctica. These locations represent the driest, hottest, coldest and windiest places on Earth. The 4 Deserts attracts individuals from all backgrounds and from all walks of life, the majority being professionals including bankers, lawyers, airline pilots and medical doctors. The 4 Deserts is one of the world’s most prestigious outdoor events. With several ancillary business units including an online merchandise shop, a television and film production unit and an online portal, RacingThePlanet Limited is headquartered in Hong Kong. For further information about RacingThePlanet, please visit the website at www.racingtheplanet.com.

For further information about the Atacama Crossing in Chile please contact Catherine A. Cole at ccole@racingtheplanet.com or visit the website at www.racingtheplanet.com.