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QUITO. SEPTEMBER 24-26, 2004. A brilliant morning sun presided over a bevy of activities taking place on the edge of Cotopaxi National Park at over 3000 meters altitude. Center stage were 140 hardy contestants who were lined up to initiate the 3rd edition of the Huairasinchi Adventure Race. Despite a cold Andean wind swirling around them, and the prospect of three days of grueling physical work ahead of them, the adventurers sported optimistic looks and were eager to start the race.

Huairasinchi (which means "force of the wind" in the indigenous Quechua language) began in Ecuador three years ago as a response by local aficionados to initiate a homegrown, cross-country adventure race on par with the world renowned Raid Gauloises race. Since its inception, the race has grown more popular and competitive, capturing the imagination of Ecuadorians and foreigners alike. (GoEcuador exclusive! Read interview with Ana Maria Sevilla, co-founder of Huairasinchi. Click here!)

This year's race started near Quilotoa in Ecuador's Cotopaxi province and ended after crossing the warm and sometimes torrential waters of the Quevedo River in Ecuador's Pacific Coast Rios province. There were 35 teams of four racers each (according to race rules, one team member has to be female). When completed, Ecuador's premier "extreme" race covered 240 kilometers of diverse and difficult landscapes that included paramo, cloud forest, rivers and tropical pampas.

GoEcuador.com and a group of reporters shared with the sportsmen the first and last day of this 3 day, nonstop race. Mountain biking, trekking, canoeing, roping and navigating were the different competitive modalities competitors faced along the route.