 By Jacqueline WindhToday was a tough day, and it took its toll on many of the racers, but all of the next three days are going to be even harder - two 50 km days, and one 37.5 km day with the most challenging techncial trails we’ll see this week.
Today was a 39 km day - oh, a bit less than a marathon, you might want to say - but the terrain was tough. We started in the semi-dark, at 5:50 am, with a steep 700 m climb up slippery jungle paths, For a while, the terrain opened up, and we had the most spectacular views of the mountains and valleys surrounding us, all in golden side-light from the rising sun. Then we were back into the jungle again (photo this page).
Our time cut-off for the day was to make PC2, at the 22 km mark, within 8 1/2 hours. This PC was where the Adventure category would finish for the day, while those of us remaining in Expedition category would continue 17 km more, by now in the full heat of the day, first on rolling dirt roads, and then finishing with about 6 km along the beach, where we could bake in the late afternoon sun as we worked our way south.
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