Eco-Challenge
First News from Race HQ
Keith Byne – Nandi in Fiji / 09.10.2002
Fatigue caught up with us a bit on arrival and there was a bit of stress as lots of gear boxes were left behind in LA - the plane was too heavy to take off!! Stuff has now arrived so the panic is over even though we were convinced our plane was never going to get off the ground!!
Weather has been about 30C so far with plenty of cloud and high humidity. On both days there have been brief showers when the wind has had a cold edge to it making teams think hard about potential kit in case they plan any sleeping overnight on the course. Believe it or not it feels distinctly chilly at night.
All 81 teams are here now and ability tests begin in the morning and finish Thursday lunchtime (Fiji is 11 hours ahead of BST). Team Smirnoff Playboy Xtreme were added in at the last moment and are getting their traditional media attention. Not surprisingly!
Wednesday night is the race briefing where we think we will receive details of the course. This should kill all the rumours that are kicking around about the course. Word on the street is that race officials expect the winning team home in six days but they always overestimate so it could be slightly earlier. The start is set for 6.00am on Friday morning here and they’ll close the course at 10.00am on October 21st .
They’ve announced that there are 3 versions of the course in Fiji. The Championship Course, The Expedition Course and The Challenge Course. This should see a higher number of teams listed as finishers even though they may have not completed the whole course. Teams finishing with only 3 members will still be listed as DQ. I\'ll let the two Steve’s have a cynical view on that one.
The three British teams and the Irish team are all in good spirits. Morale in Team The North Face Kona is good and we\'re confident of a top ten finish. Anna has been spotted talking to every man and his dog but did find time to sort her kit out in record time before a race - for her!!!! Pete James continues to do impressions of Chris McSweeny, explaining the finest details of how he has saved 8grams from his kit weight by putting extra holes in the mesh pocket on his rucsack. Luckily they are being kept in order by their outstanding team captain!!
SleepMonsters
