Update from ARWC via an iPhone
You have got to love technology (especially when it is working)…this update just came in from Grant Killian (via his iPhone) who is on ground there in Portugal.
The rain started to come down just as the local church started tolling midnight. 12 midnight was the deadline teams had to LEAVE Assistance Pt 4, and so just before the hour a parade of dirty, tired, and committed racers checked out and headed for a short trek, then a long bike ride, then a “paddle” — although reports are that water levels are too low to paddle in some parts. It was quite the scene: an international band of elite athletes shuffling down the road with bags of food, drinks, and equipment.
At this late stage of the adventure race, it will boil down to who can slow down the least — and this race format makes it hard to report the current standings, so I think many teams will push hard for that finish line.
Team 35 sleeping at Assistance Pt 4
Saturday morning is when the first teams should finish, but who will win is still undecided. Nike has a lead — I’m pretty sure — and after that I really can’t say. Orion, Helly Hanson, Buff, and Quechua are all certainly in the running. I think Lundhags took a step back by missing the midnight cutoff. They weren’t alone, as ATP/Salomon, Blackheart, Cyanosis, and others were still unaccounted for when I left the Assistamce Point.
There are also some teams who have flown low on the radar, like Kinetic from Canada and nuun from the US. A team from Poland (name escapes me) and a couple others have saved their energy for this final day and a half of racing so they could turn things on here.
As frustrating as this race is to try and make sense of, the spirits of the teams and their support crews are impressive and there is a spectacle of endurance on display here in Portugal. Teams are running low on fuel, their bodies breaking down, but they press on.
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