Expedition Africa
Exhilaration Rather Than Exhaustion
Exp. Africa / 12.06.2015
The last few teams are making their way towards the finish at Expedition Africa, and its been a tough finish with teams finding the navigation challenging. (Not that anyone should be surprised, Race Director Stephan Muller has a habit of making the last leg a real navigational nightmare!)
As the teams arrive at the finish line they talked about their experiences on the course and in Swaziland.
... Some thoughts after a night out in HQ about adventure racing and life in general. The teams that came in last night were all tired (naturally), but in good spirits, highlighting the essence of great team work to getting across the finish line. They've all been fairly consistent in their feedback - a great race, great route, but made particularly tough because of variables: the constant up down, up down of hills and temperature, made it that much tougher as it was impossible to get into a groove, or get clothing layers right. The water sections sound Baltic and if you had to do these at night, then a pleasant paddle down the river wasn't going to happen.
We had a 3am visit from one of the guys from Racing Denmark who said the race was well structured - the legs balanced each other, and the shorter legs at the end added great mental momentum. He loved the variety - in scenery, people, support of marshalls and the volunteer teams, and scope of adventure packed into the race.
Another common theme has been the friendliness of folk here in Swaziland. There hasn't been a single team that hasn't commented on how people have been curious, excited to see teams, and keen to help whenever possible. Ian (who has been volunteering across the course) is still surprised at the number of people who stopped when his car broke down on night 2 loaded with boats (including a wooden kayak that he made) and offers of help to tow him to friends, family and car mechanics.
And then there's the humour. Teams are crossing the line, and instead of passing out immediately are spending time chatting, swopping stories and jokes. There is lots of laughter here at EA HQ, with some fabulous stories and jokes. Its not a typical picture of exhaustion, but rather one of exhilaration.
SleepMonsters
