- American ultra trail runner Krissy Moehl joins the Patagonian International Marathon Ambassador Program.
- oins group of world-wide ambassadors supporting the race and conservation of Patagonia
Punta Arenas, Chile. June 4, 2013. 35-year-old Krissy Moehl, from Boulder, Colorado, USA, has joined the ambassador program for the Patagonian International Marathon.
Following the success of last year’s event that attracted nearly 400 runners to Chile’s most-loved National park, NIGSA has further enhanced the event by including a 63k ultramarathon in the program. This will be the most southerly single-day ultra distance event in the world and is already attracting interest and entries from the international distance-running community.
Krissy has been trail running competitively throughout the world for more than 10 years and has more than 40 female wins. Her most recent win came last month at the Ultra Trail Mount Fuji (UTMF) in Japan, a 100- mile trail run.
When asked what conservation means to her, Moehl replied ‘Doing our part to protect and preserve special places on our planet. From areas that are fragile, amazing ecosystems to rugged untouched mountain tops, it is important to keep these places in their natural state and bring awareness to the positive impacts these places have on our well being as well as the ever evolving planet.’
These beliefs are in tune with the founding principals of NIGSA, the race organizers. NIGSA seeks to promote Patagonia as a unique tourist destination, one that is geared to support responsible, low impact tourism that benefits local people and their communities.
The mountains, the people, the language and the desire to explore are what attract Krissy to Patagonia.
Krissy will join other renowned runners who have volunteered to be ambassadors for the race. In doing so they will promote awareness of Chilean Patagonia and it’s diverse environment, but also the need to protect all the world’s wild places. In particular, runners will once again support the Reforestemos Patagonia project that aims to plant one million native trees in areas that have become deforested. This is particularly significant for the location of the Patagonian International Marathon in the Torres del Paine National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere reserve, which lost 170,000 km2 of forest in a devastating wildfire in December 2011. This year, for every entry, a tree will be donated to the Reforestemos Patagonia initiative.
The course for the ultra-distance event is the brainchild of the Patagonian Expedition Race founder, Stjepan Pavicic, who was born in the region and has dedicated most of his life to promoting sustainable tourism in Chilean Patagonia. ‘By adding the 63km ultramarathon to our existing marathon event’ he recently said ‘we want to show the world that Patagonia is a paradise for endurance athletes from around the globe, a place that will fill them with vivid memories of running in a unique and wild place’.