Ray Zahab started his run across the Atacama desert by pounding pavement on the Pan-American Highway near the border of Chile and Peru. Landmines buried in the desert meant no drifting offroad at the start. After a few kilometers he headed inland, past the buzzing power lines marking the last visible connections between towns and into the driest desert on earth. He sent us the following video dispatch from his first day of running just a few minutes ago.
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—Bob Cox and Ray Zahab will be sending daily updates as Ray runs roughly 40 miles a day for 16 days across one of the driest places on earth, the Atacama Desert. For more on their journey, check out .