Atacama Bonds centers on Explorer Team member James Poole, and his individual attempt to cross the Atacama Desert - the driest, non-polar expanse on the planet - and win the inaugural The Speed Project Atacama (TSP ATA) running race. Its origins lie in an unsanctioned 500km race from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. (IN)Famous for its ‘No Rules, No Spectators’ ethos, the original (and existing) event pits runners to travel from ‘LA to Vegas’ by any route possible as long as they start at Santa Monica Pier and end at the Welcome To Vegas sign.
In an effort to cross the line first, James undertakes an unorthodox and untried path across the open-pit copper mines of the Atacama Desert. Shunning the more obvious (but longer) road-based route used by other competitors, his more direct approach exposes him to the Desert’s brutal, barren, terrain and unrelenting sun.