Running Wild: Images from a Six-Day Stage Race Through Sri Lanka

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Running Wild: Images from a Six-Day Stage Race Through Sri Lanka

Photographer Michael Hermsmeyer was on hand to document 4Deserts: Sri Lanka, a six-day self-supported stage race held from Feb. 15-21. Australian Joseph McCann was the overall winner, covering 155 miles in 28 hours, 17 minutes and 37 seconds, while American Ralph Crowley was second in 29:48:21. Sandy Suckling of Australia was the women’s winner.

In all, 78 runners from more than 20 countries participated (for more information, check out 4Deserts.com).

See more of Hermsmeyer’s work on his website or follow him on Instagram.

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Racers drew out many curious locals from the remote villages who had never seen a race before.

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4Deserts Sri Lanka Event Coordinator Riitta Hanninen (Hong Kong) coordinating with the Sri Lankan military and country coordinator Marlo before Stage 1.

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Putting a race through a country like Sri Lanka meant a lot of creative route finding, including a long stretch of active railway during Stage 1.

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Applying a special soap to racers shoes and legs before Stage 1 meant to fight off leaches prevalent during a section between checkpoint 1 and 2.

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Crossing a local suspension bridge.

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Mauricio Rodriguez (Mexico) climbing during Stage 1.

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Sri Lankan military racers crossing the train bridge during Stage 1.

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Linda Quirk descending the Sri Lankan mountains which quickly rise from sea level to over 8,000'.

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Racers set up camp inside an old mountain tea factory after Stage 1.

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Sarah Pemberton (Hong Kong) runs below Bambarakanda Falls, the tallest waterfall in Sri Lanka, during Stage 2.

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Medical staff deal with racer illness, injuries and feet repair in a schoolroom after Stage 2.

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Female winner Sandy Suckling (Australia) leads an injured Jax Koudele (USA) out of the jungle to the Buduruwagala Temple which dates back to the 10th century.

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Race director Riitta Hanninen and course director Carlos Garcia coordinating logistics with the military for the next stage.

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Racers were put into groups of eight and were provided with a tent or a local shelter each night.

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Ashely Burke (Australia) races through a sugar cane field.

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Cooling down during a river crossing.

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Ilya Nikitin (Russia) briefly escaping the Sri Lankan heat during a river crossing.

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Racers received a lot of support from the Sri Lankan military, who up until 2009 had been fighting the Tamil Tigers during the country's 25 year civil war. The country felt nothing but safe and friendly the whole race but the military provided logistical support navigating the remote countryside and protection (mostly from sloth bears and elephants).

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Leaving the mountains and entering the rice fields during stage 3.

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Heavy rains soaked racers mid week and flooded tents during the night.

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Friendly villagers were everywhere along the course.

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Heading out for a dip in the Indian Ocean from Stage 6 beach camp.

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Alice McKay (UK) crosses a hanging bridge.

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Tina Beigelbeck (USA) and Olivia Chiu (Hong Kong) navigating the mud and rain.

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Mens winner Joseph McCann (Australia) running with the locals.

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Ralph Crawley (USA) gets cheered on by a group of locals.

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The last 10k of the 50k Stage 6 through Yala National Park was neutrally timed for safety reasons, as racers were required to group together and travel with a jeep to help prevent elephant attacks.

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