Patagonian Expedition Race
East Wind is Back in the Race
Anne-Marie Dunhill / 20.02.2016
Masato Tanaka was released from hospital late last night and joined his teammates in CP8 in Puerto Natales. Stjepan Pavicic had joked with the team last night that they would wake up in the morning and want to start again. The team asked if this was possible because they assumed that they were out of the race since they had received outside assistance.
This comment planted a seed that blossomed this morning when the team called and asked if they could start the race again. Stjepan said, “I insisted to meet with them alone, no television crew, no journalists. I wanted to push them to really understand what they are asking me as race director and take a responsible decision thinking only of the team and health and safety.
This race has been Masato’s dream for many years and every time they come they try to improve, asking questions of teams after the race and planning their future strategy. They are very strong mentally and they have a special connection with this race.
When the accident happened, no one believed that any team could catch them. All of my Chilean friends from outside of the race who saw them racing reported to me that they looked so strong. But this accident couldn’t break this team, it couldn’t break their spirit. It is not just mental, it is spiritual and each member of the team is a part of it. I watch Machiko and I see that she has a connection with this hard land. All of the team has the same spirit.
So I looked at the rules and asked them to provide me with a doctor’s certificate saying that Masato could continue. According to rule number 39 it is possible; if a team receives outside assistance they are either penalized or disqualified. With this accident it was obvious that they hadn’t done anything ‘bad’ so I decided that they continue. I told them the clock continued to run so they have lost 20 hours but they have such a lead that they t can still make the time cut-offs.”
At this point Stjepan broke eye contact and gazed off into the distance and said, “It is very emotional for me to attract people like them. These are the things that push me to continue with this.” I have covered four of Stjepan’s races and this is the first time that I have seen the race director show an emotion. He choked up and looked down and the interview was over.
That is the magic of PER; it combines mental, physical and spiritual power to the exact extremes of this wild land.
East Wind restarted the race this afternoon, February 20 at 15:21, continuing from the point of the biking accident yesterday; 17km from Estancia Perales. The spirit of East Wind remains unbroken.
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