Mild Seven Outdoor Quest
It\'s hot in the Jungle
Tim / 23.11.2002
For the reigning champions Team Hi-Tec it was business as usual, they picked up where they left last year with a very impressive performance, finishing the day some 14 minutes ahead of second placed Team Nokia of Finland. 3rd on day 1 are Team GoLite (USA), only 3 minutes behind the Fins.
Team Saab Salomon were disappointed to be almost an hour off the pace, but the heat is so extraordinary that dehydration was almost inevitable. It was not an uneventful day for them. They started at 6.30am with a swim to the Kayaks, and found that right away they were off the pace starting the long sea kayak in 23rd place. By mid morning things would look up, and a very impressive performance on the 2 hour jungle run catapulted them to 7th place and much closer to the front teams. They then had another long kayak back to the mainland which was followed by inline skating, team biathlon and a jungle/beach run to the day finish.
The final 3 stages were very hard in the midday heat and would see Team Saab Salomon slip a few places down the leader board. Adam is struggling more than the others with the remains of a viral infection still on his chest. “I feel really bad that I couldn’t go any faster but I have no energy and am absolutely sh****d�. All things considered it has been a fantastic effort from him, to carry any illness in these extreme conditions and to still be running is an amazing achievement, and a fine example of how important team work is.
But with three days still to go the race is by no means over, and from here on the course may well suit the Brit’s better. With most of the sea kayaking now completed the race will take the teams inland on foot and bike, with some white-water paddling to contend with too. Marc summed up the team’s feelings at the day 1 finish. “A top 3 place is looking pretty unlikely now, but there is still a very long way to go and we will keep our chins up and give it our best shot. I hope that in the next few days we will have some rain, now is supposed to be the monsoon, but all we had today was incredible heat. It’s a great place for a holiday, but I’m not sure about an adventure race.�
Day 1 results will follow shortly, along with some photo’s of today’s action on the team website gallery – www.teamsaabsalomon.com
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