The Final Stretch

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. 

The climb is led by Geneva Liu (winner of stage 4) followed closely by Elaine Nguyen of KMH.

Halfway up the sheer cliffs of the Melas Chasma, Sara Hampton of San Olympus took a DNF after needing multiple rest breaks on the way. As the distance increased between her position and the main group of runners, the exhausted 35 year-old made the decision to tap out.

A broken ledge near the peak caused Arivalagi to lose her footing. and fracture her wrist as she broke her fall. The 23 year old decided to continue racing after being patched up by a medic drone. “The rest of the course is just straight running. I didn’t come this far just to give up now—I just need to pace myself,” said Arivalagi. 

Racers make the ascent up the cliffs of Melas Chasma.

Luisa Murilla, the winner of Stage 2 and 3, is still hurting from her fall in stage 4. She made her way slowly up the side of the Melas Chasma and pulled herself over the peak triumphantly despite being at the very back of the group. 

Stage 5 continues along the along the edge of the Melas Chasma towards Marineris where racers will cross the finish line. The final stretch of the course offers breathtaking panoramas of the terrain the has been covered in the last week.

Murilla can’t catch a break in this stage as a collision with fellow Europa racer, Reyhan Naghiyeva, left cracks in both of their faceplates. The two women were forced to stop running in order for their helmets to be patched and evaluated. Both were deemed safe to continue by race officials.

Three more racers were unable to finish the race and took DNF’s with Marineris in sight. “I can’t believe I was so close to the finish line, but it’s not worth killing yourself over.” said Mahawal, “Oh well, there’s always next year!” she adds hopefully.

Liu maintained her strong lead throughout the entire stage to arrive first in Marineris amongst thunderous applause with the time of 8h 3m. Nguyen followed 46 minutes after to take second place for Stage 5.

Although Liu has taken the stage, it doesn’t mean she’s won the race. Judges will be evaluating the racers and awarding points for each stage based on their finish times. We’ll find out when the judges hand out the prizes at the awards ceremony—it’s been a thrilling week! Stay tuned.

Men's Marathon Finale

Aquarius 27, 2077, m249

Who would have thought a sport like Pathfinder could ever exist, particularly on a planet where the baseline for survial is already off the charts on the difficulty scale.  Yet, in so many ways, it is fitting that the colonists that already live on the edge, continue to push the threshold, to go that one step farther towards precarious existence.

According to the sources within the immigration council, there has been a 25% increase in applications from Earthers looking to immigrate to the colonies. Could Mars' popularity be directly tied to the risky sports we play, the way we live our lives and how we face adversity?   This is the stuff that makes the population of an entire planet collectively feel pride.

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.

Alan Sawyer takes Stage 5 for Columbia Hills.

The climb not be merciful and was quick to claim the first victims.

Pylypovych (KMH) withdrew shortly after passing the 1/2 way mark , "I stopped to rest, thinking I would catch my breath.  After 30 minutes sitting on that ledge, I knew I was finished.  It was no longer safe for me to continue."

Carlos Fernandes of San Olympus and favourite Gunvir Pachehra would both fall at the steepest point.  Fernandes would be finished due to a broken hip.  But for Pachehra, it would seem, two cracked ribs on top of his broken wrist wasn't enough to stop him.  He was a man on a mission.

Fredrick Mallette was forced to drop out just metres from reaching topside.   His equipment, taxed over days of competition, started to fail.  With a system failure warning in his EV suit that he was unable to silence, he was disqualified by officials, leaving a battered Pachehra and Samual Gates as the last representatives of Europa.

Even after the punishing climb, the relatively straightforward course that remained continued to weed out the pack.  One by one they succumbed to exhaustion, literally dropping mid-stride.  Nicholas Buruk of KMH who had held 1st position after the ascent and Jason Zhuan, winner at Calydon Fossa, conceded well before the final stretch.

It would be Alan Sawyer who would enter Marineris first.  Upon crossing the threshold into the airlock, Sawyer took Stage 5 with a time of 7 hours and 29 minutes.

Marshall Shannon (HDX) came in second at 7 hours and 51 minutes, followed by Owen Dubad of Marineris 7 minutes later.  Dubad tore off his helmet and called out, "It's good to be home, Marineris!", to the cheering crowd.

Favorite Raihaan El-Morad finished in 7th position while a broken, but jubilated Pachehra successfully crossed the finish line in 8th position, where he was immediately whisked away by a waiting medical vehicle.

Only 19% of the starting pack made it through all 5 stages; a reminder of how incredibly difficult the challenge is.

Final award ceremonies will be held tomorrow evening after the completion of the Women's Stage 5 run.