It's day four for Rebecca Rusch and her Team Montrail at the World Adventure Racing Championships on New Zealand's South Island and the rugged Southern Alps mountain chain.
As of Thursday evening, Montrail was in tenth place and one of 28 teams still racing with 20 having already dropped out. In such grueling contests, several dropouts are common. Helicopter have been on hand to pluck injured or fatigued racers from the wilderness.
As of Thursday evening, Montrail had just completed a brutal 89-kilometer mountain bike section and was endeavoring onto yet another hiking trek, Rusch's strongest discipline.
The current trekking section has also been shortened by two checkpoints, taking "the sting out" of some of the toughest parts, according to race organizers. Additionally, one of three remaining mountain bike checkpoints have been removed.
New Zealand's Team Balance Vector has held onto a strong lead since the opening day, but nevertheless found the recent biking tour a mountainous challenge. Vector finished the section in 19.5 hours.
As Montrail enters the current trek—estimated at 9 hours—Rusch will look to once again catapult her team higher into the upper echelons of the leader board. It was after the first trekking section that Montrail zoomed into the top five.
Sleep, both the body's need for it and the race's refusal of it, becomes a main focus of each adventure team on any five to six day race.
According to Nicky Davies of Team Saab Salomon, most teams shoot for one to one and half hours of sleep each night with 15 to 30 minute naps caught where and whenever possible. Catching some absolutely vital shut-eye trumps comfort. Sleeping by the side of the road in the rain is suddenly not so bad for these racers.
Body temperatures are key. If sleep is taken at night, athletes must know if they will cool too fast, thus hindering their ability to keep moving efficiently once awake. In her pre-race suggestions, Davies suggests that teammates huddle together for warmth. Initial giggling, she said, is only likely to produce more heat.
Hallucinations, mainly from sleep deprivation, are a mainstay of these races as well. Davies looks at them as yet another perk to pushing herself to the limit.
Beyond experiencing an unparalleled competition, these adventure racers are also vying for money this week; the total purse for the Championships is $100,000 New Zealand Dollars (approximately $72,000 USD).
Still awaiting Team Montrail are two more treks, a sea kayaking paddle and a final beach run to the finish line today.
During a sea-kayaking section, one athlete learns the definition of Adventure Racing
