Rock and Ice Ultra

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Across ‘The Other Desert’

Rob Howard / 21.03.2007

After a comfortable night at the Matrix stage camp it was time for the remaining 5 competitors in the Rock and Ice Ultra to set off again, on stage 4 of the Diamond 300 race.

After the excitement of arriving at Matrix camp yesterday, the finish of the K-Rock 160 racers and the cultural evening, the five now had to prepare to leave Yellowknife again. “It was hard to get my spirits up after yesterday,� said Dave Mackey. “It seemed like a finish and anyway, Day 4 of a race is tough as its just over half way, but there is still a long way to go.�

Daniel Probst jogged to the start line with his usual determined enthusiasm. He is many hours behind Mackey, but will not give up hope of winning. Later in the day he told the Race Director, “Don’t consider shortening the stages or distance. I want every one of the 300km to have my chance.�

As the racers set off once again, Rob Ravilious ran away from the line, briefly taking the lead on the day. It was a spirited start, but Ravilious is in the worst shape of the remaining 5 racers. He has large blisters, a groin strain, some frost bite on a finger tip and piles too! “I’ve got all the racers ailments,� he said, “but nothing is life, or race threatening.� In other words he is not thinking of giving up.

There was a superb stage to look forward to today, taking the racers out along the shores of the Great Slave Lake, into white wilderness of ‘the other desert’. They had a relatively easy start too as an ‘ice road’ had been constructed out across the lake and they followed it for 15k to the first checkpoint. See All Event Posts