Eco-Challenge
The Sleep Master
Rob / 15.10.2002
At the front of the race it’s no surprise to see Golite/Balance Bar moving up to join the leaders. They are the defending champions (with one team change from N.Z.) and are lead by Ian Adamson, perhaps the most successful racer on expedition length courses in recent years.
He’s a master tactician, particularly when it comes to sleep strategy, which played a key role in last years win when a N.Z. team were ahead of them all the way, only to give in to the SleepMonster at the very end. Adamson and his team had slept more and timed their run to the finish line perfectly.
It’s quite likely Golite/Balance Bar have been taking more sleep than some teams around them and on this race no one is going to push through with a bare minimum of sleep. At this stage last year 5 teams had already finished! Right now even the leaders are only approached CP8 of 18 and the back markers have not reached CP5. So sleep and rest, and where and when to take it, will be vital choices.
You might expect that teams would stop at checkpoints, especially where they have access to their gear boxes, but this isn’t always the case with the leaders – in fact it’s the opposite. At transitions it’s often harder to rest and the TV cameras and media can be intrusive. Teams also don’t want the competition to know their sleep strategy and to be bedded down while another team arrived and pushed through wouldn’t be good, it would give the opposing team a psychological boost.
So it’s probable teams are sleeping quietly away from everyone, but in the jungle that’s not at all easy, nowhere is dry and insects will feast on weary racers. If they can find a good spot, especially a local hut or animal shelter it may be the deciding factor in when to stop. And Adamson is a master when it comes to making those choices.
SleepMonsters
