After two years with no race because of the pandemic, Patagonman in Chile is returning in 2022 for more athletes to test themselves on one of the world’s most challenging triathlon courses.
This year’s event is scheduled for December 4th, 2022 in the Aysén Region of southern Chile. The sparsely populated area has an imposing backdrop with glaciers, fjords and snow-capped mountains.
After the triathlon prodigy, Mauricio Mendez from Mexico, became the champion of the first edition of Patagonman in 2018, the point-to-point ‘iron-distance’ race in Patagonia built momentum prior to the pandemic. In 2019 Tim Don became the champion of the second edition. The event has also seen high profile athletes such as James ‘Ironcowboy’ Lawrence, Lucy Gossage and Allan Hovda take on the challenge.
Patagonman has opened its ballot in order to receive applications for its third edition. The organising team notes that… ‘Anyone from any place in the world will be able to buy a lottery ticket to participate for a slot in this unique adventure.’
The registration lottery for the 2022 edition is open until February 28th.
‘All the money collected from the lottery goes directly to charity in Patagonia and only 300 lucky winners will be selected to take part in the event. They will be notified by email in March and will have a week to complete their registration by paying the entry fee (US$790).’
The 3.8km swim leg of the race starts with the jump from a ferry into the icy-cold waters of the Aysen Fjord (10-12ºC), from where the athletes must swim back to Puerto Chacabuco.
The bike leg rolls on the only paved 180km of the Carretera Austral. Then from Villa Cerro Castillo, the race finishes with the marathon (42.2km) through dirt trails and rubble roads following the Ibañez River through forest, lakes and waterfalls all the way to the General Carrera Lake.
Each competitor is required to show up with a support person whose role is to assist the athlete throughout the race with food, hydration, clothing, mechanics and motivation. This support person is allowed to take more people in their car (family and friends) so they can witness the race.
Finally, from the 30km point of the run, support crews and athletes can run together all the way to the finish line.
In past editions athletes from more than 50 different countries have raced and most of them travelled around Patagonia after the event.
For 2022, the organizing team is expecting close to a thousand athletes to participate in the lottery for a registration slot. Andy Potts, Mau Mendez, Flora Colledge, Aaron Kolk and other elite athletes are already confirmed for this third edition.
