Easter Island Marathon Edit
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Stowaway Off the Beaten Path Word Count: 763
The Easter Island Marathon
Amidst the larger-than-life statues of ancient gods called the maoi, runners from all over
the world gather for the Easter Island Marathon. With a population of only five thousand
people, Easter Island is one of the grandest mysteries of Earth’s history. The once nearly
deserted island is one of the most remote places one can dare to travel. The Easter Island
Marathon falls into the category of extreme-travel marathons like the Antarctica
Marathon and the Galapagos Islands Marathon. Runners must be dedicated to their sport
to come all the way out to Easter Island for a race.
The History of the Island
The Dutch travelers who discovered the island back in 1722 named it Easter
Island because they came upon the island on Easter Sunday. Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is
in the southeastern Pacific Ocean and is a special territory of Chile. But Easter Island is
still 2,182 miles away from Chile, and 1,289 miles away from the closest island, Pitcairn
Island—making it truly smack dab in the middle of nowhere.
The island is famous for the 887 giant statues made out of volcanic ash or moai
that fill its horizon. These statues, the ancient residents believed, were a medium for
connecting the living with the dead.
Rodrigo Salas, the Easter Island marathon creator and coordinator, says that
passing these moai is the best part of the marathon. While running, the runners pass the
beautiful landscape of the coastline and run amongst the imposing heads of the maoi.
Rodrigo says that all the runners love the turn-around point in the mysterious Anakena
Cami Wilson � 2/20/13 12:55 PMDeleted: people Cami Wilson � 2/20/13 12:55 PMDeleted: gather
Cami Wilson � 2/20/13 12:56 PMDeleted: gather to run a a marathon on Easter Island. Easter Island is where they gather to run—a once nearly desertedn island in the middle of nowhere that was once nearly completely deserted.
Digital Humanities� 2/19/13 5:42 PMComment [1]: What time? When do people gather on Easter Island to run?
Cami Wilson � 2/20/13 1:01 PMDeleted: and Cami Wilson � 2/20/13 1:02 PMDeleted: mCami Wilson � 2/20/13 1:03 PMDeleted: marathon Cami Wilson � 2/20/13 1:03 PMDeleted: marathonCami Wilson � 2/20/13 1:00 PMDeleted: Easter Island is called such because ofCami Wilson � 2/20/13 1:00 PMDeleted: itCami Wilson � 2/20/13 1:18 PMDeleted: in 1722Cami Wilson � 2/20/13 1:18 PMDeleted: Chile, however,Cami Wilson � 2/20/13 1:20 PMDeleted: isCami Wilson � 2/20/13 1:20 PMDeleted: the islandCami Wilson � 2/20/13 1:20 PMDeleted: the island closest to it, Pitcairn Island, is Cami Wilson � 2/20/13 1:29 PMDeleted: their Cami Wilson � 2/20/13 1:29 PMDeleted: of Cami Wilson � 2/20/13 1:33 PMMoved (insertion) [2]
beach which is surrounded by the moai. Here the runners feel they are transported into an
ancient world where the statues symbolize the gods. Rodrigo says that the runners who
experience the wonder of the moai experience “the honor to feel the ‘mana’ or blessing of
the island’s gods.”
These moai heads are still a puzzle to anthropologists: how did they create these
huge figures? Why were they so important? What exactly did they represent?
Archaeologists estimate that the creating of the heads caused much deforestation—
making it so many trees and birds became extinct on the island. This deforestation
combined with other dangers like internal war, European diseases, and kidnapping
dramatically decreased population. By the end of the nineteenth century, 97% of Easter
Island’s population was either dead or gone. Since then, Easter Island has had a come-
back in population and a revival of its culture. Even still, this dramatic population
decrease remains one of the great mysteries of the past.
The Creation of the Marathon
Rodrigo Salas Moncada of Olimpo Productions created the Easter Island
marathon in 2000. He started traveling to Easter Island as a native from Chile in 1989 and
has now traveled there more than a hundred times. Rodrigo has also organized the
Santiago, Chile marathon for sixteen years. He has run many marathons including
running the the New York City Marathon fourteen times; the Moscow, Russia Marathon
twice; and the Boston Marathon twice. Talk about a true runner! Rodrigo is devoted to
the world of running.
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Cami Wilson � 2/20/13 1:33 PMMoved up [2]: Rodrigo Salas, the Easter Island marathon creator and coordinator, says that passing these moai is the best part of the marathon. While running, the runners pass the ... [1]
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Cami Wilson � 2/20/13 1:28 PMMoved up [1]: These moai heads are still a ... [2]
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Rodrigo says that he created the marathon on Easter Island because of the
beautiful scenery and the island’s rich history. “I thought that Rapa Nui was a great place
to run a marathon. Running in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in the most isolated island
in the world is a unique experience.”
The Marathon Today
This year, in the beginning of June, 250 international runners can enjoy a six-day
stay at the Taha Tai Hotel right on the coastline of Easter Island. On June 2, they will
gather to run a 10k, a half-marathon, or a marathon around part of Easter Island’s 63.17
square miles. While running, they pass the beautiful landscape of the coastline and run
amongst the imposing heads of the maoi. They can sense the history of the island and its
utter remoteness as they look out onto the ocean horizon. After the run, they congregate
to have a special award ceremony to celebrate the few that dared to travel to the remotest
island on Earth. Rodrigo comments that the award ceremony is one big party where the
runners combine with the locals to participate in “folkdance, music, and movies of the
weekend. [There are] a lot of friendships among the runners.”
Rodrigo is happy to bring people together to run a race few in the world have ever
run. For him, the reward is to see people enjoy what he has created. Who wouldn’t enjoy
the thrill of running a marathon on one of the most mysterious islands in the history of
the world?
For more information on the race, go to marathontours.com and search for the Easter
Island marathon.
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Cami Wilson � 2/20/13 1:40 PMDeleted: When the marathon is
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