| 4 Deserts Ultramarathon Series and RacingThePlanet Series | |
|---|---|
 The company logo of 4 Deserts Ultramarathon Series and RacingThePlanet Ultramarathon. | |
| Genre | Ultramarathon stage race |
| Begins | March |
| Ends | December |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Location(s) | Chile, Mongolia, Namibia, Antarctica |
| Years active | 22 |
| Attendance | Max 200 competitors |
| Website | www.racingtheplanet.com |
The 4 Deserts Ultramarathon Series is an annual series of four 250-kilometer (155-mile) races across deserts around the globe.[1] The races were recognized as the world's leading endurance footrace series by TIME magazine in 2009 and 2010,[2] as the "Ultimate test of human endurance".[3] The series was founded by American Mary K Gadams who founded RacingThePlanet in 2002.
The Gobi March, the series' inaugural race, was held in the Gobi Desert of western China in 2003. Over the following three years, an additional race was introduced in a new location each year. In 2004, the Atacama Crossing was held in the Atacama Desert of Chile. This was followed by the Sahara Race in the Sahara Desert of Egypt (Eastern Desert) in 2005. In 2006 a fourth race, called The Last Desert, took place in Antarctica and was the first year in which all 4 Deserts races were held in the same calendar year.
Competitors can enter any of the individual multiday races within the 4 Deserts Race Series, but if they wish to take part in The Last Desert (Antarctica) they must successfully finish at least two of the other races in the series.
To date, more than seventy races have been staged with more than 10,000 individuals representing 100+ countries in the races. Many participants return to compete in additional events, and there is a growing list of members in the 4 Deserts Club and 4 Deserts Grand Slam Club.
In 2013, a documentary film about 4 Deserts was released. Desert Runners, directed by Jennifer Steinman, follows four participants as they attempt to complete the series in 2010. The Desert Runners documentary received many film awards.
- ^ "Hercules Wimbledon athletics round-up: Felix Allen finishes third in gruelling Sahara Race" Archived 2017-05-11 at the Wayback Machine London News Online. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
- ^ "Top 10 Endurance Competitions". TIME. Archived from the original on September 22, 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
- ^ "Off Limits" (PDF). Men's Health.