January 11th, 2010
1. This will be your second time in Patagonia, first time you had to overcome some serious difficulties, what made you decide to come back?
The trekking in this race is epic; all the events are done at such an extreme level in the
complete wilderness. It is hard to find this type of race in the United States because of
certain land conservation rules. Big ocean paddling, like some of the paddling that has to
be done in the Patagonian Expedition Race, scares a lot of teams off. Our team is not
intimated by this and goes out in the big waves in the United States as part of our training,
it is just another great thing this race has to offer. I enjoyed the race last year and want to
do it again.
2. What type of training are you doing this year to improve on last year’s
performance?
I was also injured leading up to last year’s race and was not able to paddle until I arrived in Patagonia. This made it challenging for me when it came to race time and we had to
kayak. I feel that I am in much better shape this year than I was last year because I have
been able to train for all the events and have had longer to train.
3. What does Patagonian Expedition Race mean to you?
For me the Patagonian Expedition Race is a very sincere event; it is only for those who
truly enjoy adventure racing and appreciate the beauty and the wilderness of Patagonia. It
is a special experience, it does not offer prize money so we are not in it for money, but are
in it for all of the small victories that happen along the way and the sheer sense of
accomplishment that comes with crossing the finish line.
4. How is team-work important for your team in overcoming extreme situations that you might encounter in the wilderness during the race?
Team work is extremely important for us during the race; it is crucial to have team
members that you can trust in dangerous situations such as navigating near cliffs or
paddling through dangerously high waves. Valentin Chapa, one of our team members and
an ex-marine, is dependable and knowledgeable and makes it easy for us to trust him in
these types of situations. Having experience, compassion, and bravery are all critical to
overcoming difficult situations as a team.
5. What has it been like to have your father as a teammate?
It has been great having my father as a teammate; we have a lot of fun together and are
more relaxed on the course than many other teams. My dad and the rest of the team are
quite witty, so we can have a good time while we are racing. We enjoy being in nature
during adventure racing and all the challenges that come along with it, and laugh as much
as possible.
6. What are some of the things that you most appreciate about Wenger
Patagonian Expedition Race?
I appreciate that the organizers go out of the way to host this amazing event so that we
can have this great experience. I have found it to be a very professional event and have
found that it is very well organized. I enjoyed all aspects of the race last year and look
forward to what this year’s race has to offer.
7. What are your goals for the 2010 edition?
Our main goal is to finish this year’s race with the whole team, and to finish in high spirits.
We are all in really good shape, and we have a very strong team so we hope that we will
do very well, though it is hard to predict what will happen on the race course. You only
have control over so much in this type of race.