Eco-Challenge
Facts and fantasy – What will the course be like?
Rob / 09.10.2002
The gossip before any Eco-Challenge is always the same – what’s the course going to be like and where will it go? And there are always tantalising hints and some outright misinformation to fuel the rumour mills.
So what do we have to go on? Well, jungle and islands for starters, heat and humidity, and the fact there’s a strong feeling last year’s New Zealand race had moved too far away from the expedition/exploration style which Eco-Challenge is famed for. So the pendulum could swing the other way.
In preparation for Fiji teams have had to supply jungle navigation, fixed rope, and swift water paddling certificates. There are other tantalising hints too. Just before the race swim fins were removed from the mandatory gear list but an underwater flashlight was added! So there may not be so much swimming, but they will be underwater somewhere – maybe an underwater PC?
The race notes are making a big deal of possible rough ocean conditions and big river crossings too, so water is going to play a key role. There is talk of over 100 river crossings. How much water teams drink will be vital too (esp. for TNF Kona) and how safe it is will be a concern. (In Borneo lots of competitors were ill for a long time after the race!)
There’s an expectation of lots of pushing and carrying, of bikes and boats, and some hints of an Indian Jones style approach. Teams have to take 100m of cord with them – will they be doing a bit of building during the race? Mind you this idea of living off the land and local resources was pushed before the Borneo race and came to nothing. The leaders just ploughed through the course at awesome speed and went to the local shops when they hit a village!
The other key factor with the jungle terrain will be navigation and their certificate required basic nav skills, but applied to jungle terrain – so quite how the UK teams got the paperwork is anyone’s guess! At some point the teams will also split, and travel in pairs before rejoining, so the requirement was for two members to have these ‘jungle nav’ skills.
The teams, and those of us watching, will know the truth very soon, but it may be they won’t be given the whole course in one go.
SleepMonsters
