BHP Billiton Rock and Ice Ultra
To the Jennejohn Stage Camp
Rob Howard / 23.03.2008
The Prelude Lake East Stage Camp came slowly to life on a grey and overcast morning as racers and race staff prepared for day 2 of the race. Overnight the Northern Lights had sparkled over the camp as the racers slept in their teepees. Some were lucky and their stoves ran all night but others had a cold awakening in the early hours when the heat left their tent. One of these was Jonathan Hills, one of the 3 strong UK team in Diamond Ultra, who was busy trying to break the ice frozen inside his thermos flask!
“I think we got in last around 10pm,� he said. “It was really tough on the soft snow and the race safety staff kept telling us we a couple of kilometres away, but 45 minutes later we’d still only see the camp lights in the distance and they’d tell us the same thing again! The good thing is all 3 of us are in fair shape, with no injuries. We may be last but we intend to keep going.�
The same could not be said for everyone and 5 racers were not able to continue on day 2. Of most concern was endurance triathlete Rick Hellard, who had an uncomfortable and painful night and woke to find that his right foot, which became badly frozen yesterday, was swollen and discoloured. He was promptly despatched to hospital for treatment for frostbite and it just goes to show that although temperatures are much warmer than last years severe cold, they can still be dangerous. French racer Marc Perier also decided not to start as he was concerned about the condition of his feet, but he is hoping to resume for the final 3 days of the race. Other withdrawals were Catharine Allooloo and father and daughter, Jamie and Jaya Bastedo, who were in the family team in the K-Rock race with Brenda Hans, who was able to go on.
With the temperature overnight around the -20C mark any water had frozen solid and heating more, and cooking food for the day ahead was the first priority, before packing to leave. A fresh supply of unfrozen bottled water to fill bottles had been promised but was late arriving so the start was delayed by half an hour as Race Director Scott Smith wanted everyone to be able to drink and fill their flasks before leaving. This is the only ultra race that takes place almost entirely on water, yet managing drinking water is crucial and dehydration is a real risk.
Smith commented that Diamond Ultra foot race leader Greg McHale was one of the most organised racers he’d seen so far. “He has a place for all his kit and carries only what he needs,� he said, “and when the water arrived he said he’d already melted enough to carry and see him through the whole day.�See All Event Posts
