One Lower Lonsdale resident is on his way to Chile, but he won’t have time to play tourist as he moves quickly from stop to stop during his travels.
Jamie Harrison, 43, recently touched down in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. On Sunday, he’ll convene at the starting point in the Atacama Desert as he sets off on the Atacama Crossing, a 250-kilometre, six-stage race that he’ll run during the course of seven days.
“The very last day is not as long but the day before that is 80 kilometres. There’s a larger window so some people will actually run through the night on that one,” Harrison told the North Shore News prior to taking off for Chile. “I’ve never been before so I’m really looking forward to it.”
Approximately 130 runners representing 36 countries are participating in the multi-stage ultramarathon, according to Harrison, which is organized by RacingThePlanet and the 4 Deserts Ultramarathon Series.
Besides the organizers providing base camps for runners to rest their achy joints and muscles at the end of every leg of the race, participants will be almost completely self-supported as they traverse the 250-kilometre stretch of desert while wearing full gear.
“You’re running distances carrying 20 pounds of gear in unforgiving terrain,” said Harrison. “You need the mental capacity to keep running.”
And while the terrain may be unforgiving to the long-distance runner, it’ll also be full of natural wonder, noted Harrison.
“There’s parts of it where there’s these slot canyons where you’re running down creeks and up riverbeds. There’s some sort of tundra-type area. There’s a lot of loose rock running, there’s sand dunes. The hardest obstacle, from what I’ve been reading, is the salt flats,” he said, adding that the Atacama Desert is described as the driest desert on Earth. “It’s a really diverse range for a desert climate. … I’ll be running across salt flats in 30-plus-degree weather. There’s snow-capped volcanos all around. There’s some parts that are archeological sites because there’s paintings on the rock faces and things like that.”
The Atacama Crossing will likely be Harrison’s most challenging physical test to date, but it’s one he’s committed to seeing through – for his own personal sense of accomplishment and for the charitable cause he’s passionate about contributing to. He’s hoping to raise $5,000 for the BC Cancer Foundation by doing the run, he said.
In 2009, Harrison’s mother was diagnosed with cancer, eventually passing away from the disease in 2014. When his mother got sick, Harrison explained, he made the decision to start making changes in his own life to improve his overall health.
He attempted his first Ironman competition in Whistler in 2015, and running and physical fitness have since become a major part of his day-to-day life, with a number of half-marathons, major runs and other Ironman competitions now under his belt.
“I decided I wanted to try another crazy challenge,” he said of the Atacama Crossing. “I’ve never done any long-form trail racing or anything like that, so I thought if I do this then I’d like to try to add a charitable element to spur some of my friends and family … to give them a cause to donate to.”
When the race commences on Sunday Harrison imagines the runners will stick together for a portion of it, before naturally branching off as they find their own way from leg to leg. He anticipates the Atacama Crossing being extremely challenging, but is encouraged by the community of runners he’s confident he’ll encounter.
“The community around this is actually quite open and communicative and they talk a lot about what they do and how they get to things. I think what happens is that you do spread out quite quickly – any race that big you’re going to spread out – but there will be people that’ll clump together to sort of support each other.”
He also noted that living on the North Shore has been a great natural venue for him to train for the upcoming ultramarathon abroad.
At press time, Harrison had raised $3,600 of his $5,000 goal. Visit to find out more about him, the race, or to donate to his BC Cancer Foundation campaign.
He noted that it takes months of planning and “months of training to get to the point to even be able to compete,” but he’s not worried about where he places in the race. For Harrison the race is personal – it’s about doing it for his own health, his own achievement, and for his mother and the others who continue to bravely battle cancer.
“It’s my own personal race to get across the finish line.”
