While I was away playing in the snows of Michigan's Upper Peninsula last week, a lot of things went down in the world of outdoor adventure. One of those was the completion of the 2012 Patagonian Expedition Race, which once again proved to be an amazingly challenging start to the adventure racing season.As expected, the team of Adidas TERREX - Prunesco took first place for the fourth year in a row, completing the 375-mile course in 147 hours, 39 minutes. That gave them a comfortable win over second place winners Team EastWind, who finished nearly 12 hours behind at 159 hours, 25 minutes. Third place went to Team GearJunkie/YogaSlackers, who crossed the finish line 162 hours and 31 minutes after starting.
At the closing ceremonies, race organizers announced that they had come up with a new way for endurance athletes to suffer in the beautiful Patagonian landscapes. On September 30th of this year, the first ever Patagonian International Marathon will take place in Torres del Paine National Park, one of the most spectacularly beautiful settings on the planet. More details are sure to follow, but this sounds like a marathon that a lot of outdoor-adventure athletes are going to want to take part in. Stay tuned for more.
Congratulations to all the teams that raced in this year's Patagonian Expedition Race. But especially to the winners, who have now thoroughly dominated this race for the past four years. Considering how challenging the event is, that is one impressive feat.
