sábado, 24 de noviembre de 2012

THE CHALLENGE 21X24 REACHES ITS GOAL!
















On the morning of Saturday September 8, 2012, 28 runners ran the last route of the Challenge 21x24. The location: Yasuní National Park.

The route started in the kilometer 21 of the Maxxus road through Pompeya, Orellana. This road has 180 km and cuts the Green Forest, cuts Nature...

Lourdes Hernandez, organizer of the Challenge said: "Running here could be seen as an approval of the construction of this road and others that are in process. Conversely, it is the place to say: the only footprints left in the Amazon should be the ones of our running shoes"

Orellana was the last province

After a 45-minute flight to Coca, an hour by boat and 2 hours by bus, athletes from Quito, Imbabura, Esmeraldas, Tungurahua and other parts of Ecuador, reached ECY, the Ecological Cientific Yasuni Station of the Catholic University, and spent the night there.

They left at 5:30am to the starting point. The route was drizzly and full of the sounds of thousands of crickets, frogs, birds and perhaps some mammal. Four Ecuadorian Army soldiers, 2 officers and 2 guides of the Repsol Station joined the group of runners. They arrived to the Pompeya Coliseum with the lead squad in less than 2 hours. The rest of athletes, self-named "Help-us-God-Group", got to the finish line exhausted, but happy.

Officer Valdiviezo, Andres Castillo from Banco Solidario and another soldier arrived first. 

The Challenge 21x24 overall podium consisted of: Lourdes Hernandez with 24 routes, Patricio Chavez with 15 and Andrés Castillo with 9.

The closing event took place along the banks of the Napo River, with the presence of some Kichwa community residents. Ironically, at the same point converged settlers, environmentalists, oil company employees, military members and urban citizens, all parties to the conflict, interested in their slice of the cake: Yasuní.

THE JUNGLE
It's 4am now and it is raining heavily in this part of the Amazon. The runners are thinking of Quito and its multiple and devastating fires. May these clouds download water on the dryness of the Sierra...

The jungle is quite aggressive to humans who are not aware of it. Lots of plants and animals can go against a person just by getting close to a tree. One of the runners got into the path of the “military” ants in sandals. They invaded her feet quickly and tried to bite her skin. The good news were that their formic acid helped ease muscle pain from the morning jog.

504KMS IN 2 YEARS FOR A CAUSE: LIFE
At the starting line, Lourdes Hernandez said to the runners:
"Before you say any word, I ask you to listen to silence. Feel the strength of life in the forest and with that energy, begin to run. Here is God and the origin of creation.

This challenge is profound, it is a mission to enforce our rights: the right to a virgin territory, to breath pure air, for our children and their children. We run for the right to see, hear, touch, smell, this unique wonder.

We could have stayed quietly in our homes, in our jungle of cement, back in Quito, and see from there the destruction of the Park. But we came. We came to see our Yasuní. To ask for what belongs to us. And now that we know the sacred forest, now that we have slept with the singing of birds, crickets, water ... we love it. We all need oil, but primarily we need air. A Japanese philosopher said that the flight of a butterfly affects the whole world. How much affects a drill into the ground after cutting the trees?

When you come to the forest, your life changes forever. Today we will fulfill the dream of completing a challenge that began two years ago: to run 21 kilometers in each province of Ecuador to raise awareness for the conservation of Yasuni. Our life has changed forever. We're happy but not satisfied. We will not rest until this area can rest intact."

CHALLENGE 21X24 RESULTS:

·  504 kilometers (504,000 meters of unique landscapes)
·  634 participants (634 friends in every corner of the country)
·  150 newspaper, radio, internet, tv publications and reports. Thousands of people have heard about Yasuní and now want it conservation.

The Challenge organizers sent a letter to President Rafael Correa reporting the achievement and a shared mission: to look after life in the Yasuni.

Thanks to: Banco Solidario, main sponsor of the Challenge 21x24. Water Vivant, Alamo, Podium, Cuersu graphic design and Fundación Amazonia por la Vida.  Ecuadorian personalities: Iván Vallejo, Franklin Tenorio, Diana Landi, and Maria Teresa Guerrero. Yasuni- ITT Initiative for its hats and bracelets, photos of the Amazon species and the permission to enter the Park. In each of the 24 provinces we have worked with one or more generous and passionate volunteers.

MORE INFORMATION:

domingo, 2 de septiembre de 2012

LAST ROUTE: Yasuni ORELLANA - 5 DAYS LEFT!









Photos of Mario Burzio loan from the Yasuní ITT: Barizo mono payaso; colibrí Triquilidae; orquidea Huntleva lucida.

Photo: Patricio Terán, El Comercio: 

The 21x24 Challenge achieves its goal after two years.

This Saturday, September 8 we will mark the last 21 kilometers of a challenge that was born in 2010, with a Cause: to protect the Yasuní.
We were unable to open registrations for this route because the National Park admission is limited. 

22 runners will be present after following a process which includes: vaccinations, some documents, authorization from the Ministry of Environment and Repsol, and confirmation of their interest and ability to run the required distance.
The runners of the 21x24Challenge hope their efforts permeate the minds of hundreds of Ecuadorians. They will start to be concerned about oil exploitation into a unique and wonderful park, which is their property. This concern will spread like a virus and will awaken the conscience of public opinion towards Yasuní conservation.
The 21x24Challenge was born to change ignorance and indifference, towards knowledge and defense of this invaluable territory.

Have they succeeded?

The effort was worth it. Running 21 kilometers in every province of Ecuador has been risky, difficult, courageous, but also satisfactory, thanks to fellow runners in each place, its landscapes and trails suitable for athletic sport.

Fighting for a Cause like the conservation of a globally recognized ecological treasure, that guards the balance of life for future generations, is an important goal. This is just the beginning. There will be more challenges, more jogging, more lectures and activism efforts.

Resistance is a lot stronger now!

INFORMATION:
MEETING POINT: Yasuni Research Station, PUCE
TIME: 6:00 am
Race Start - TIME: 7:00 am: km 21 Maxxus road, Yasuni National Park
Arrival: Pompeya, Orellana

About the route:
1. Yasuní or "Holy Land", is a world biosphere reserve and has the highest biodiversity on the planet.
2. It is a tropical rainforest, a jungle of 982,000 hectares. It is located 250km southeast of Quito.
3. This last route of 21x24 Challenge is going to be run at the Maxxus road, within the Yasuní National Park.
4. The route is mostly flat. The km 21, where the challenge starts, is located in Kichwa territory. Runners are directed from there to Pompeya where the race ends.
5. Height: 300 to 500 meters. Temperature: 22 to 26 °C in the morning.
6. Climate zone: humid tropical forest

TRIPLE BORDER LINE, FULL OF CONFLICT
 Oil exploitation is among other problems in this conflicted area:  large-scale river transportation, mining, deforestation, species trafficking, overfishing, pollution by garbage, political conflicts, drug trafficking, colonization, rights of indigenous non being respected, countless complaints and deceptions towards and from the communities, lack of interest from state institutions...  and in the middle of this situation, innocent and confused people: Kichwa, Waorani, Tagaeri, Taromenanis, and hundreds of thousands of endangered species that support the global ecosystem.

SPONSORS:
Banco Solidario www.banco-solidario.com
Amazonia por la vida www.amazoniaporlavida.org

WE RUN FOR A CAUSE:
TO PROTECT LIFE IN THE YASUNI NATIONAL PARK
ONE OF THE LAST ECOLOGICAL RESERVES IN THE WORLD AND THE MOST BIODIVERSE

ROUTE TUNGURAHUA STARTS WITH A VOLCANO ERUPTION

















Fotos: Christoph Hirtz

The volcano erupts during the 21x24Challenge in TUNGURAHUA

This tour had the largest group of the previous ones, with the participation of over 150 runners, most of them from Ambato. 

The eruption of Tungurahua volcano at the right time of the start, welcomed a day of sports and nature.

The 23rd route of the 21x24 Challenge was traced from Patate to Baños going through Puñapi and Lligua.

Lourdes Hernandez, coordinator of the challenge, said: “when we started with the first route Urcuquí, Imbabura, we didn’t know what was coming and we felt fresh to face the next routes. Today we're exhausted but happy, because we have experienced many good moments: to meet the Ecuadorian athlete, dedicated and generous, who lives in every corner of this country with a different way of acting, respectful of the planet and his/her community. We now know dozens of new routes that we have never imagined existed, and finally we have left our footprints on the roads hoping to prevent the destructive footprint of oil exploitation in Yasuni.”

The goal of the Challenge is to raise awareness of Ecuadorians to one of the last spot of high biodiversity, and to achieve a change of mind about the danger that Yasuni is facing cause of the oil exploitation and other 'invasions' (timber, mining, settler).

The organizers of the route were: Lenin Altuna and Grace Borja, Ambato amateur athletes, who invited many friends like the 'Cathedral runners' and the Cachañanta Puricuna’s from Riobamba.

The Challenge is made possible by the support of Banco Solidario who believed in the initiative and now wants to continue promoting the cause through athletics, with a great Rece in favor of Yasuni.

Other supporters: Vivant, Alamo and Amazonia por la vida. Also: Iván Vallejo, Franklin Tenorio and Maria Teresa Guerrero. The office of the Yasuní-ITT Initiative gave us hats and bracelets, pictures and information.

Results to August 6, 2012:
483 kilometers
612 Participants
148 Publications

We heard while jogging...
“The bad ‘vibes’ are left on the pavement.”
“I've stopped aging though running.”
“I've already down 38 pounds of weight because I went out jogging one day and my wife did not believe me. I was challenged and since then, I have not stopped.”








domingo, 29 de julio de 2012

ROUTE #22 SANTO DOMINGO DE LOS TSACHILAS, ACCOMPLISHED!






Only 42 more kilometers to go until we reach the finish line!

In order to raise the awareness of Ecuadorians about how wonderful, unique and valuable our Yasuni National Park is, and the danger that it is going through, we ran the route#22 which was one of our last challenges.

THE RESULTS OBTAINED UNTIL TODAY ARE THE FOLLOWING:
22 Routes ran
Athletes: 415
People helping: 140
Total: 555
Kilometers ran: 441
Publications about the Challenge: 101

Awakening the awareness of the people is a long process. We are a few, but we are strong. We are willing and decided to expand this challenge, fulfill the objectives and accomplish our goals. After running through the Yasuni National Park, we are still determined to keep fighting for the protection of this National Park.






FRANKLIN TENORIO was present during this route
In the talk prior to the start, Franklin Tenorio, with his usual simplicity towards the rest of the athletes said that he felt moved by this initiative from the beginning and has been following with transmitting messages of support the cause that moves the Challenge. This time, things were facilitated, and he could arrive to Santo Domingo to run. He ran with his  13th year old daughter who feels enthusiastic on following her father’s footsteps and example.
This athlete had never lived a path of adventure as this one was drawn, and despite the hard way, he managed to remain next to the leading group, except for the last 2 kilometers where he took the lead and arrived in the first place.







Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas GREENER THAN EVER
This beautiful route has been the most extreme one to run after Cotopaxi, since it had a 13k rise to 3800 meters high due to the rugged area of loose rocks, hills and a mud path of 3k through a forest with a river crossing and with no help or supplies in that part since it was not a car way.
This 21k race passed through: Rio Verde, San Gabriel de Baba, the ecolodges and reserves Primavera and Buena Tierra, and farms in the area of La Lorena and La Pampa.

Manuel Cobo, fotographer and volunteer ran 12k with the group. Carlos Pullas was accompanied by a cow for a few seconds which caused him a little bit of fear. During the awards ceremony, Eddy Venegas gave Lourdes Hernandez a jar with Yasuni pictures to show her that the Challenge 21x24 has been an inspiration in his life.  A few years ago, Eddy traveled from north to south in Ecuador, and went from Carchi to Macará in 22 days nonstop.










SANTO DOMINGO EXTREME- JULY 8 2012
We were 26 runners, “agents of change.” We seek to achieve that change in mentality for those who live in ignorance and indifference, and for them to expand their knowledge about this territory which is not being valued completely.
We want to show the Government, the local authorities, oil companies, loggers, miners, residents of the Amazon and other stakeholders related to the Yasuni, we are not ignorant or indifferent to their decisions about our homeland, but we are aware and vigilant.

Franklin Jara, one of the runners that has participated in several routes in this Challenge wrote:  “You have 2 more steps to complete your challenge, how admiring. You are leaving footprints for everyone to follow and imitate. With God’s help I hope to join you on the next route.”

There was the valuable support of two national police patrols led by Lieutenant Andres Grijalva. We also have the support of our sponsors: Banco Solidario, Vivant, Alamo, Podium and Amazon for Life Foundation.

The two routes that we are still missing are:
22. Patate- Baños, Tungurahua: Sunday August 5.
23. Yasuní, Orellana: Sunday September 9 (end of the challenge!)

WE RUN FOR A CAUSE:
PROTECT THE LIVE OF THE YASUNI
ONE OF THE LAST ECOLOGICAL RESERVES IN THE WORLD, AND THE ONE WITH THE MOST BIODIVERSITY