Raid the North: Canadian Championships
On Track, On Time
Doug Doyle / 23.09.2005
In reality, he let me know that once the race starts, he is unlikely to have much uninterrupted sleep at all. In this case, he managed to get a couple of hours. With teams, race staff and volunteers in the field, he’d rather be onsite and knowing what is happening on course.
The lead teams are on schedule per Bob Millers estimates of where they should be at this point in the race.
Team Tree Huggers came to the race in less than ideal physical shape with Barb Campbell, Team Captain having knee problems and Wayne Cassidy fighting off an intestinal problem he imported from Europe. Geoff indicated they are walking sections they would usually be running.
Team to watch: Zissou (Scott Covey, Danilo Caron, Jim Doucette and Paige Tiberio.) They had registered as a team of three but this would have left them unranked among the teams of four, so a few days prior to the race they picked up their fourth racer, Paige. Zissou is now ranked and making fast progress. They came off the paddle in 7th place but since being on their bikes and trekking, they have moved up 4 places and are bearing down on second place Wild Rose who recently checked in to CP6 at 0950hrs local. Wild Rose hasn’t slept yet, and that is probably the case with most of the teams at this point.
Simon River Sports built their lead in the canoes and are increasing the time gap against Wild Rose. SRS hit CP6 at 0808hrs and left at 0849hrs. SRS took 2 hours and 42 minutes to travel from CP 5 to 6 where as Wild Rose four hours and 13 minutes. The question is: can SRS continue their blistering pace?
Keep tuned as further information becomes available. Geoff and I will try to link up with some teams in transition for quick interviews.
For a great overview of the course, have a look at the mapping system the race organizers are using (Google Earth.) With satellite imagery and 3D components, you have an excellent viewpoint of what topographical conditions the racers are facing; check out the mapping with this URL:
For further information see:
www.raidthenorth.com/2005/rtn/Champs/Live/maps.php .
SleepMonsters
