Do you have what it takes?
Forged in the remote territories by explorer companies and their nomadic settlements, Pathfinder is the ultimate endurance challenge. It is a 5 stage, 10 day contest that pits individual racers against a gruelling 1200KM mixed terrain course that starts at Noctis Labyrinthus and finishes in Marineris Colony.
From 446 hopefuls for the 2077 contest, only 93 qualify after the rigorous screening, trials and bootcamps. Find out here, who survives and who wins the marathon.
Pre-race Articles:
- Makara 12, 2077 - Ultra Marathon
- Makara 23, 2077 – Pathfinder Bootcamp
- Aquarius 14, 2077 – Race Date Moves
5 Stages. 93 Challengers.
Stage Results
Women's Stage 1 concludes with an exciting final stretch race between KMH and Europa runners. The course claims 3 runners, leaving 37 runners to face the remaining 4 stages of Pathfinder Marathon.
Sara Hampton (San Olympus) took an early lead straight out of the gate, but 40 minutes into the race, she took a terrible spill. She lost the lead, but after calling in her drone for supplies and taping up her left ankle, she pressed on.
Unlike the Men’s race, where the pack broke apart very early, the Women stayed together far longer. It wasn’t until after the 3rd checkpoint when the terrain forced the group to split.
9 hours after Europa’s Pachehra cross the finish line, the final runners completed Stage 1.
It was a gruelling finish that took a toll, claiming 6 of the 53 runners.
From 5th position this morning, more than 3 km behind HDX’s Marshall Shannon, Pachehra was able to make his move over the ascension leg of the course. His strength in climbing helped him closed the gap, passing Jarmal Carter (Columbia Hills), Marshall Shannon (HDX), and Owen Dubad (Marineris). When he emerged from the valley, he was 6 minutes behind the leader, Raihaan El-Morad (Al’amal).
The sun has only begun to rise, but in the valleys of Noctis Labryinthus, it is dark. It is still hours away from the race resuming for Day 2 competition, but most of the runners are already awake.
For most of these athletes, last night was the first time they had experienced sleeping in the great and dangerous outdoors. After an intensive first day of navigating through and over the punishing terrain , we wanted to get a snapshot of what was going through some of their minds.
53 men representing the top contenders from the 278 original hopefuls that sought the opportunity to pit themselves against Mars. Having undergone 4 intensive rounds of screening and performance evaluations, today was when all the preparation suddenly became real. It was time to run!
Stage 2 of the Women’s Pathfinder Marathon wrapped up today at 18:42—runners have been out on the field for over 11 hours and will be taking a well-deserved break before the Marathon continues.
Stage 2 of the Women’s Marathon started out strong on a clear Solis morning. The route takes runners in a seemingly straightforward path through the Calydon Fossa. But as evidenced but the men’s race two days prior, injuries await the careless in this rubble-filled terrain
Heavy winds delayed yesterday's start for the men's Stage 2 race. Runners waited impatiently in a staging vehicle before the winds died down and officials were able to give the all-clear to race at Calydon Fossa.
24 year old Luisa Murilla holds onto her lead as she leads the pack towards the finish line through the Chaos!
But today is a beautiful day on Mars—with low winds and great visibility. Geneva Liu took advantage of that and powered through the Melas Chasma to dominate Stage 4. The 35 year old had done moderately well thus far and run consistently in the middle of the pack. But today she blazed past all other racers to finish the stage with a whopping 2 hour lead! This has got to be a new record for the Pathfinder Marathon.
The fifth and final stage of the Pathfinder Marathon starts with a vertical climb out of the Marineris Valley—that’s 13,610 m of pure elevation for our racers. Today, 14 of the original 40 women are left to take on the final stretch. The ascent is treacherous and gruelling for the racers that have spent the last 8 days pushing themselves to the absolute limits physically, mentally and emotionally.
Today, the final stage in the Men's Pathfinder Marathon concluded in epic fashion. From the pool of 53 men that started 8 days ago, only 18 remained to face Melas Chasma, the deadly vertical ascent and the race along the rim of the canyon toward Marineris.