4 Deserts, Namibia: Hongkonger takes second place at race of champions, riding highs before lows of ‘hating yourself’
- Dan Parr brings home silverware for his youngest child, finally rounding off a victory for each of his offspring
- He doubles his charity aim, raising money for SPARKS, and uses the donations to motivate himself as he pushes around the course
Dan Parr had not won a 4 Deserts race in almost a decade. But when he went to Namibia to take part in the “Race of Champions”, where all former winners would compete for the ultimate crown, he was dreaming of repeating his victories.
“I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t entertained the thought of winning it, but I’m absolutely delighted with second, a fairly comfortable second,” he said. “To get out into those environments, that’s ultimately what this is about, but there is always a competitive aspect to it.”
The 250km race takes place over six days. Parr won in the Gobi in 2010, and in the Sahara in 2011, so earned an invite from Racing The Planet to the Race of Champions. He had trained hard, determined not to finish at the back as a former winner. But as the race progressed his confidence ebbed and flowed.
“An advantage of these long stage races is that you can run yourself into better form. I got stronger as the race progressed. The last section of the first day, I was toast,” he said. “I was thinking I’d forgotten how hard this could be.”
But on the longest day, stage four, which is over 80km, Parr was sticking with the leader Florian Vieux who had dominated the opening days, and he began to believe.