Jungle Ultra Marathon

The Jungle Ultra Marathon is a 230 km Multi Stage Footrace/Ultra-Marathon through the Amazon Rainforest in Peru. The race starts at an elevation of 9000 ft in the Cloud Forest and winds its way down through the Cultural Zone with its indigenous villages and through the primary Amazon Rainforest of Manu National Park. Competitors are all required to carry their own equipment (hammocks, food, water, clothes etc.) for the entire race. Designed to be one of the most grueling races on earth, competitors witness humidity often nearing 100% as well as diverse and alternating terrain and severe inclines and declines in elevation. The unique route includes several river crossings and a long stage of over 90 km, this is not an event for the faint-hearted.
The event is completed with a relatively short final stage run from Queros, a community which holds special significance by becoming the first indigenous group to manage a conservation concession (the area covers 17,238 acres of highly diverse mountain rainforest on the eastern slopes of Peru's southern slopes), to Pilcopata where competitors join in with the annual Fiesta to mark the forming of Peru's world famous Manu National Park. The race is completed each year with a party and awards ceremony in the heart of the historic city of Cuzco, the Inca Capital of Peru and home of Machu Picchu.
Competitors will be competing in an area rich in bio-diversity. Indeed the Amazon region in Peru has the highest number of bird and butterfly species in the world, not to mention large numbers of amphibians and reptiles that can also be encountered. The Peruvian Amazon is a truly amazing place, and, due to several sociopolitical events such as Peru's 1968 Land Reform and political violence in the 80s, it has remained largely untouched by man.
To enable this race to become a reality, "Beyond The Ultimate LLC" had to bring together Governmental Organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations, Indigenous People communities and form a race committee, presided by the mayor of Kosñipata,. This is the first time all of these organisations and people have interacted in this way, which will serve as a catalyst for improving many services and conservation projects in the Cultural Zone of Manu National Park. The Cultural Zone is now being actively promoted as a traveler's destination in addition to the more famous conservation area of Manu National Park.
Facts
* The race is 230 km long (depending on the course for each year)
* The race starts at 9000 ft in the Cloud Forest
* The 1st stage is almost a standard marathon (42.195 km) at 36 km
* Competitors are self-sufficient, carrying all their own equipment and provisions (weighing between 8 kg - 15 kg)
* The race is part of a huge and dynamic partnership with several indigenous villages, governmental and non-governmental organisations
* The race finishes in Pillcopata, timed to coincide with a fiesta to celebrate the formation of Manu National Park
The Jungle Ultra Race Committee
President: Mayor of the Municipality of Kosñipata.
Technical Secretar: AUQUI DMC.
Technical Secretar: Tourism council of The Municipality of Kosñipata.
Members:.
Regional Direction of Tourism of Cusco.
Manu National Park.
Regional Direccion Ministry of Envinroment.
Federation of Peasant workers of the Valley of Kosñipata.
Native Community of Santa Rosa de Huacária.
Native Community of Queros Wachiperi.
ACCA.
Peru Verde.
CARTUC.
* Beyond The Ultimate offset all carbon emissions associated with flights to and from their races
Other Ultra Races
MDS (Marathon Des Sables)
Comrades Marathon
Badwater Ultramarathon
Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc

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