Mary Gadams is the race director for the 10th Edition of The Last Desert in Antarctica. Mary founded RacingThePlanet in 2002. Prior to founding RacingThePlanet, Mary worked in investment banking and strategy, including as a global strategist in the Chairman's Office of the Samsung Group in Seoul, Korea, working on special projects including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, venture capital and global strategy. Prior to that time, she also spent eight years with a large investment bank in the United States.
Mary has lived in six countries and been involved in a significant number of sporting events. She was team captain of three Eco-Challenge teams, with a best finish of sixth in the ESPN X Games, and has completed dozens of marathons and ultramarathons, including the Boston Marathon (three times) and the Marathon des Sables multiple times with a personal best in the women's division of 26:30. Mary's ultramarathon experience spans the Western States Endurance Run (100 miles), the Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race, the London to Brighton Race (55 miles), the Hong Kong Oxfam Trailwalker (100km), the Texas Trail Run (50 miles), the JFK 50-Miler, the Atacama Crossing and the Mongolia Sunrise to Sunset. She has also made it to the summits of Mt. Toubkal in Morocco, Mt. Kinabalu in Malaysia, Japan's Mt. Fuji (twice), Mt. Fansipan in Vietnam and Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. She recently hiked the Camino de Sanitago in Spain.
Mary earned an undergraduate degree in the US and a master's degree in the United Kingdom. She also studied Chinese in Shanghai, China, French in Villefranche-sur-Mer, France, Spanish in Seville, Spain, and Korean in Seoul, Korea.
Ali LIDDLE
Expedition Leader
United Kingdom
We are delighted to welcome Ali Liddle back as the Expedition Leader for The Last Desert (Antarctica) 2024 for the fourth time. Originally from the UK, Ali has been working on Antarctic and Arctic expedition cruises for more years than she cares to remember.
Ali spent 15 years living in the Falkland Islands where she worked as a Primary school teacher both teaching out in ‘camp’ and at the school in Stanley. Latterly, she was employed as Education Officer for Falklands Conservation and shared her time between classroom teaching and conservation. In 1997, she spent 9 months living on South Georgia where she ran the Post Office and took every opportunity to hike, ski and explore the surrounding peaks and coastline.
She has published three books to date: Plants of the Falkland Islands and two art and craft books for children using penguins and albatross as the inspiration. Ali is a keen runner, having completed three marathons in the Falkland Islands and two in the UK, and she also enjoys cycling, hiking and camping. She has recently relocated from Northumberland to the Isle of Skye where she is renovating a cottage and enjoying the hiking opportunities of the island.
Her particular interest is natural history and the wildlife, and she enjoys sharing her knowledge of and passion for the polar regions.
Mark ELLIS, M.D.
Medical Director
United States
Dr. Mark Ellis joins The Last Desert in Antarctica as the medical director.
From Greenville, South Carolina, in the United States, Dr. Mark works as an emergency physician at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center. A graduate of the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Dr. Mark completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at the Orlando Regional Medical Center in Florida and a Wilderness Medicine Fellowship at Stanford University's School of Medicine in California.
Dr. Mark is a man truly at ease in the outdoors. He previously worked as the Medical Director at the Sahara Race 2011, Gobi March 2012, Atacama Crossing 2013 and 2023, Sahara Race (Namibia) 2017, RacingThePlanet: Sri Lanka 2016 as well as being on the medical team for the Gobi March (China) 2010 and RacingThePlanet: Australia 2010, Madagascar 2014, Georgia 2021 and Lapland 2022. "I really enjoy working in austere environments and getting the opportunity to care for others who enjoy it as well" says Dr. Mark.
When he is not in the hospital, Dr. Mark enjoys exploring and hiking southern Appalachia with his wife, Sarah, and four kids - Taylor, Noah, Emma Kate and Luke. He also spends time mountain biking, backpacking, rock climbing, photography, running marathons and traveling. Mark completed RacingThePlanet: Iceland as a competitor with his wife, Sarah, in 2013!
Hernan GARCIA
Course Director
United States
Originally from Argentina, Hernan Garcia works as an engineer in Tennessee in the United States. An experienced athlete in all things nautical, Hernan has sailed extensively around the world qualifying for the Olympics in Argentina. Hernan has more than 25 marathons under his belt and has completed the Sahara Race (Egypt) 2009, the Gobi March (China) 2011 and the Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2012 and 2016. At RacingThePlanet: Madagascar 2014, Hernan joined as the Camp Manager. At the Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2014 and The Last Desert (Antarctica) 2022 , Hernan was the Course Director. Hernan joins us as Course Director for The Last Desert (Antarctica) 2024.
Thiago DIZ
Photographer
Brazil
Thiago Diz is an adventure and travel photographer from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His RacingThePlanet adventures started when he joined the Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2013 as an official photographer. He has also been a hard-working photographer at Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2014, Sahara Race (Jordan) 2015, RacingThePlanet: Ecuador 2015, Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2016, The Last Desert (Antarctica) 2016, Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2017, RacingThePlanet: Patagonia 2017, The Last Desert (Antarctica) 2018, Gobi March (Mongolia) 2019, Namib Race (Namibia) 2021, RacingThePlanet: Lapland 2022, Namib Race (Namibia) 2022, Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2022, The Last Desert (Antarctica) 2022, Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2023 and Namib Race (Namibia) 2024. We are excited to welcome Thiago at The Last Desert (Antarctica) 2024. We all look forward to seeing his awesome photos!!
Janka DOLEžAL
Volunteer
Germany
Janka joins us in Antarctica for her ninth time at a RacingThePlanet event. She was on the volunteer team at the Namib Race, Atacama Crossing and RacingThePlanet: Lapland in 2022; the Atacama Crossing and Gobi March (where she was the Volunteer Manager) in 2023, and the Namib Race, Gobi March and RacingThePlanet: The 20-Year Race so far in 2024. Janka is travelling with her partner, Ivan Schmidt. Janka is a life coach based in Germany. Janka will complete the 4 Deserts Grand Slam Plus as volunteer at the Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2025.
Michael MURPHY
Videographer
United States
Michael Murphy, born and raised in California, was bitten by the travel bug at an early age. He has been to over 90 countries and had many adventures including climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro; running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain; scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef; and playing rugby in New Zealand. Michael turned his passion for travel into his vocation by attending 911 Media Arts Center and self producing hundreds of shorts on Cuba, Thailand, Turkey and Brazil, to name just a very few. He has produced work for Lonely Planet, Trip Films, World Cup Rally, Lindblad Expeditions and Nothin But Shorts. Michael has a way with connecting with people of any country, it's truly his passion and is evident in his films. He is the official videographer at The Last Desert (Antarctica) 2024.
Angeles BARRIOS
Volunteer
Spain
Angeles successfully completed the Gobi March 2019 which she describes as a wonderful experience. It was her baptism in this kind of race which she finds addictive. She joins us in Antarctica on the volunteer team with her husband, Antarctica Ultramarathon Course Director Carlos Prieto Garcia.
Carlos GARCIA PRIETO
Course Team
Spain
"Carlos Garcia is the Course Director for the Antarctica Ultramarathon. Spaniard Carlos Garcia Prieto has worked as the Course Director at more than 20 RacingThePlanet / 4 Deserts races and more than a dozen ultra-distance events in total. A qualified architect, Carlos established his own design company after graduating from the Higher Technical School of Architecture at University of Madrid in 1990 with a degree in architecture and has since gained well over a decade of experience in designing commercial spaces and public architecture.
Carlos's skill and knowledge of course design is an obvious by-product of his experience as both a designer and competitor. He completed his first RacingThePlanet race in 2007 and soon after decided to tackle the 4 Deserts Ultramarathon Series. He is a 4 Deserts Club member, having successfully completed the Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2007, the Gobi March (China) 2007, the Sahara Race (Egypt) 2008 and The Last Desert (Antarctica) 2008. He has also completed the Marathon des Sables, Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, Grand Raid Reunion, RacingThePlanet: Vietnam 2008 and a number of other ultramarathons. A lover of the outdoors and pursuer of sporting challenges, multilingual Carlos has now worked as the Course Director for the Sahara Race (Egypt) in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2014, The Last Desert (Antarctica) 2012, RacingThePlanet: Australia 2010, Jordan 2012, Iceland 2013, Ecuador 2015, Sri Lanka 2016, Gobi March (Mongolia) 2018, 2019, 2023 and 2024, Georgia 2021 and Lapland 2022. He has also set a number of 100-kilometer courses in the Sahara, Namib and Kalahari Deserts.
Carlos is an active member of the ultramarathon community. He regularly talks on ultrarunning and is a contributing editor for leading sports publications in Spain and Italy. What does this RacingThePlanet enthusiast say he loves most about the races? "In RacingThePlanet races you are never alone. You can run alone, but you will always find someone that will give you a hand."
Sanae KONDO
Volunteer
Japan
Sandy Kondo from Japan has volunteered at more than 20 RacingThePlanet / 4 Deserts Races since we first met her at the Sahara Race (Egypt) 2008. She has also raced in Sahara Race (Egypt) 2010 and RacingThePlanet: Jordan 2012 and Madagascar 2014. Sandy worked for the South African Embassy in Tokyo before retiring in 2023 and has managed the RacingThePlanet office in Japan for more than ten years. She is a natural organizer with a flair for multi-tasking.
Kind and generous, Sandy is one of our best known cheerleaders and has assisted dozens of 4 Deserts and RacingThePlanet competitors in preparing for the races. She also works and volunteers at the Comrades Marathon in South Africa, Tokyo Marathon in Japan and, most importantly, multiple 4 Deserts / RacingThePlanet events.
Andrea ANDREWS
Volunteer
Chile, Resident in Australia
Andrea Andrews from Chile is a clinical Dietitian and a mum of two who lives in Australia. Her first RacingThePlanet event was in 2010 when she volunteered for the Atacama Crossing which she says is "the most spectacular race I have ever been a part of and most importantly in my home country". She came to that race with her husband who was competing. She never expected to have such an amazing time, and was hooked. She went on to volunteer in 2011 for the roving race in Nepal and in 2015 she decided to see what it was like from the competitor side and competed in the roving race in Ecuador which she describes as "an epic challenge and a humbling experience to get to complete this kind of race". In 2017, 11 months after having her beautiful baby girl she completed the Patagonia roving race, wanting to break the stereotype that new mothers were not able to be adventurous "it was an amazing challenge and my best race so far". She put her volunteering on hold when she had a second baby but avidly followed the races from her couch with massive FOMO and decided that she would definitely be joining the team again.
Andrea loved competing but is coming back this time as a volunteer. Her favourite part of the race is the checkpoint and camp life and the camaraderie formed by the volunteer team. We welcome her back to her fifth RacingThePlanet event - having volunteered twice, once at the Atacama Crossing, and twice as a racer. She is most looking forward to getting to know everyone and find out why they are here.
Andre GEMMER
Videographer
Brazil
Andre Gemmer, from Santa Catarina in Brazil, will be filming the race to provide website updates during the race, clips for media outlets as well as memories for racers to remember the race. He is the CEO and videographer for Green Filmes and has been working on audio visual content and production for more than 12 years, Andre's focus is sporting events of all types from trail running and large running events to tennis and volleyball. The Last Desert / Antarctica Ultramarathon 2024 is his third time at a RacingThePlanet Ultramarathon and he is ready for this special opportunity in the life of a videomaker to record a great event like this, sharing incredible stories and getting to know extremely beautiful and challenging places.
Nicolas VERGASSOLA
Volunteer
Argentina
Nicolas Vergassola is a physical education teacher and sports coordinator at St. Catherine's-Moorlands School in Buenos Aires. His duties include organizing sports festivals, nature excursions and skiing trips to Europe and New Zealand. Outside of his day job, Nico assists with special events around South America, including coordinating drivers and logistics for the Dakar Rally in Argentina, Chile and Peru, and the team-building Arawak event. Nico speaks English and Spanish and is a Wilderness First Responder, mountaineer, runner, and cyclist. We are excited to welcome Nico and his unique skill set to The Last Desert in Antarctica. He previously volunteered with the 4 Deserts at the Sahara Race (Egypt) 2012, Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2014 and RacingThePlanet: Patagonia 2017.
Privacy policy and cookies:
By browsing this website you accept cookies used to improve and personalise our services and marketing, and for social activity. Read our Privacy Policy for more about what we do with your data, as well as your rights and choices – including how to manage cookies.
Newsletter
Online Store
Login
