Pyramid Racing – Part 2

Each year there are roughly 5,000 entrants for the race who make their way to Cairo at their own expense. They are given a thorough medical by the race organizers and those who pass have to sign an insurance waiver and provide proof they have adequate medical insurance for repatriation to their own country. If more than 3,072 pass the tests then an elimination 10,000-metre race is run around the Giza Plateau and the top 3,072 entrants reach the pre-qualifying races.

A basic pyramid race comprises four racers, one for each of the edges. The idea is that the contestants start the race 50 yards from their corner of the pyramid. They stand by an empty plinth and wait for the Starting Judge to wave the Wand of Osiris. Once this happens, they make their way to the top of the pyramid, collect an image of Thoth from a judge wearing an ibis mask, who stands on the capstone, and then descend to the bottom. The winner is the person who first places his Thoth on the plinth.

In the week prior to June 21^st the qualifying takes place on the Pyramid of Menkaure. Between June 14^th and June 17^th the 3,072 entrants each take part in one of the 768 races; the losers from these races qualify for the races on the Step Pyramid of Djoser between June 18^th – 21^st. On June 18^th and 19^th the 768 winners are whittled down to 192 and then on June 20^th the final 48 are decided and they qualify for the “Race to the Stars” on the Great Pyramid on June 21^st. The 576 who lose races on June 18^th and 19^th qualify for the races on the Pyramid of Menkaure on June 21^st, which is still a prestigious race. The 144 who lose races on June 20^th qualify for the races on the Pyramid of Khefre on June 21^st, a race only second in importance to the race on the Great Pyramid.

Extract from Sports the Olympics Forgot