Seagate Win Raid In France

Anne-Marie Dunhill / 08.09.2016

Seagate are the winners of the 2016 edition of Raid in France. Their arrival was estimated around 04:00 but the race director took the decision to hold them at CP33 due to conditions on the sea so they arrived after sunrise.

They crossed the finish line in Saint-Pierre-La-Mer at 08:19. Exiting the sea dragging their kayaks, they had one last kite to collect on a small dune before crossing the finish line where pizza, pretzels and beer were waiting for them. A young intern for the race media took the microphone for a finish line interview and her first question elicited laughter from the winning team. She’d meant to ask how it felt to finish after five days of racing but instead asked how it felt after five years of racing. Judging by the deep lines on the faces of the 4 team members it probably felt more like 5 years than 5 days!

The team passed around the microphone for a quick round of questions.

The organizers were thrilled to have the team back racing again and some of the questions reflected their pride. Nathan said “The people who put on the event are really nice and friendly.” He added that that they’d already planned to sleep at CP33 so being stopped so close to the finish didn’t impact the team.  Glancing over to his teammates, Chris said that they’d lost quite a few hours at one point and they all laughed remembering the incident. The young race intern then asked Isla how she felt having just completed a race with such legendary teammates and she said, “It’s been a really big privilege and they all looked after me. I’m humbled and appreciative of the chance to race with them.”

The team sat down in the finish area with their box of pizza and continued talking about their race. Chris said that they’d all gotten very dehydrated two days ago. He said that the map showed streams further ahead so he decided to push forward; Nathan had wanted to go back down to where they’d last seen water but they went with the choice of the lead navigator to go forward and the streams they found were dry so they were without water for quite some time. Nathan added that he’d really struggled the last day because of that dehydration.

One of the race doctors Christophe Lamouille, had only one question for them and it was a professional one. He wanted to know how the team managed their feet. Looking down at their tootsies that were finally liberated, he asked what they did for foot care because they hadn’t been clients once of the medical tent. Nathan waved his hand and said, “No, no, we don’t have time for any of that!” Chris said that he repeatedly put cream on his feet. Addressing feet issues has been the bulk of work for the medical team on this race and Christophe wanted to relay the information to his colleagues.

After the effervescence of the first team arriving dwindled, spectators dispersed and Seagate was left changing out of their wet clothes on the finish line stage while the race organizers sorted out the transportation back to their lodgings. As they stood in a circle peeling off their layers, Chris, Stuart and Nathan discussed their race. Stuart said that they’d raced more consistently than they usually do and Chris and Nathan agreed on that.

Isla Smith has been the main story throughout this race; all eyes were on her, wondering how such a young person would hold up in a sport that favors older athletes. She had been the subject of many media, organizers and volunteers’ conversations throughout the race; the slightest change in her expression or movements was quickly relayed through the adventure racing rumor mill. She has been the epitome of grace under pressure and I’m looking forward to speaking to her to discover the backstory of this talented young Kiwi athlete. Prior to the race Nathan told me that Sophie Hart chose her. This example of Seagate’s forward thinking in choosing to mentor a younger woman athlete and to use this ARWS race as a test ahead of the World Champs in Australia is one of the reasons that the Kiwis are likely to dominate this sport for many years to come. They are formidable opponents on all levels.

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