Discussion: AR World Champs 2015 - Brazil

Who are the Attackpointers we will be cheering for this year? I know these two will be there.

Kyle Peter - Tecnu

JayXC (Jason Urckfitz) - R’ADYS Team Switzerland

Tracking Map

Leaderboard

Team List with Member names

Race Course, Stage by Stage

Race News

Race Photos

Race Videos

ARWC Home Page

Organizer Site

Race Schedule - Race begins on Saturday afternoon

ARWS Quick Facts page (not sure if it's all up to date)

Race Facebook page

Social Media Overview

Sleepmonsters

ARWS Twitter Feed (They have a satellite phone so this might be good!)

Twitter hashtag: ‪#‎arwcpantanal‬

Instagram: #‎arwcpantanal‬

AR Fantasy League

Race booklet on Breathe Mag Facebook page - Thanks to Relentless and Los Dobos

Map #1



The Adventure Race World Championship 2015 is an event on Brazil's extreme west on the border with Bolivia in a unique region of amazing natural beauty and biological diversity. The Pantanal – more precisely Serra do Amolar – has varied landscapes uniting vegetation from the Amazon, Mata Atlântica, Cerrado and Bosque Chiquitano, also housing hundred of animal species.

This will be an adventure race in the truest sense of the word!
...
The Pantanal, located in the Brazilian Midwest, is the largest wetland continental area in the world. There are approximately 210,000 km2 spread over three countries in South America: Paraguay, Bolivia, and Brazil. Most of this plains (approximately 140,000 km2) lie in Brazil.

Due to its geological profile that provides a water pulse, the Pantanal has two distinct seasons annually: dry season and wet season. It is considered to have one of the richest biodiversity in the world. This ecosystem has the highest density of wildlife in the Americas, being compared with the African savannas.

Mandatory gear includes a machete and some other unusual items.

Here are the Yogaslackers practising their killer bee defence strategy using the mandatory 100L garbage bag. (They plan to get bigger, tougher garbage bags!)

It is 2 hours later there than Toronto time.

Sunrise - 6:06
Sunset - 19:02

Here are some other attackpointers:

Jason Popilsky (jpopilsky) - Tecnu
Rob Preston (NSW Stinger) - Tecnu

From Kyle's Facebook:

The team is now in São Paulo. 14 hours of flying done; one 2-hour flight, a 1/2 day bus ride, and a 12 hour ferry left. Here is a short video on how to pack a bike box and squeeze in 50 lbs of other gear in 30 secs...

I just realized Garret's not there this year. Mike, is he ok?

Heard Beantown had a work conflict. Liked this article as an intro to the race: http://www.sleepmonsters.com/v2_races.php?article_...

I got wet feet just reading that article. Looking north from Corumba on Google Maps, you see a whole lotta damp nothing.

Meanwhile, back in the mangroves... :)

Here are the total distances per discipline from the course test:

Kayak 196 km
Pack Raft 93 km
Trekking 170 km
MTB 251 km
Canoe 5 km
Total 715 km

The last 2 pages of this newsletter chart the race legs with disciplines, TA numbers and gear boxes available.

Interesting to see that teams can purchase extra sets of maps. Great idea!

Consistent with what we see on Wilberto's map, here is info from the RD's final course test:

We got lucky on the race section that I was most worried about – the second Pack rafting leg – as it is much drier; so what could have been 50 km on small boats might be 25 km of trekking and 25 km paddling. Might be, as some heavy rain can flood everything once again and in 3 weeks of drought the water level can lower many meters.

The second part of the race, where it was supposed to be the ‘dry part’, will have a very wet stage… This news will make the race even more exciting, as I’ve cancelled a CP and teams will have plenty of path options. During the technical briefing I’ll show you 3 of those options and it will be up to each team to choose the best one to follow.

Here's an idea of the infrastructure. Evacuation of sick/injured racers sounds challenging:

The region we will be passing through is extremely poor. 70% of the race will be around an area populated by native riverside population without electricity, communication of any kind and in extreme living conditions. There are no roads to these communities. The only access is via air or rivers. And even that is very
complicated. They live from what they can fish or plant.

From Newsletter #2:

The race will have only one cut off time, close to the end of the course.

The idea is to have the largest number of teams completing the full course. But that doesn’t mean that all Transition Areas will be open until the last teams have made it through. TA’s will have closing time that will be specified at the race book and teams must pay attention to it.

There will be no mandatory stops at any time of the race nor there will be dark zones.

Mandatory Gear Excerpts:

- One trekking pole per person is mandatory on the flooded regions of the course. This equipment is necessary in order to try to avoid any athletes from stepping on the stingrays. There are plenty of stingrays on these areas and they don‟t attack. They sting only when in distress, meaning when stepped upon. The native cattle herders have the habit of using a spear to poke the ground taking the stingrays out of the way to prevent the cattle from being stung; the trekking pole should be used in the same manner.

- 1 machete – with at least a 14” blade

Love your work Bash! No darkzones... how refreshing :)

Thanks, I'm glad to be a spectator for this one!

Almost forgot this Mandatory Gear item:

White Strobe Lights for sleeping in the forest with jaguars around. (Details to come - I'm collecting Wildlife Notes from the newsletters.)

I'll be on here supporting South Africa's Merrell Adventure Addicts. They consider paddling to be one of their strengths so I'm looking forward to seeing how they fare against the likes of Seagate, who might consider the same!

Great! Hopefully, we can do our usual Attackpoint day and night shifts with spectators around the world jumping in here to report interesting details, news and GPS tracks.

Last update for now. Wow, this is an interesting place!

Wildlife Notes from Newsletters:

With some animals the encounters will be frequent, like with capybaras, alligators, tuiuiús, monkeys and macaws. But the jaguars, tapirs and otters will only be seen by a few lucky ones.

1) Bees - We can say that this is our biggest concern... There are several types of bees, non-aggressive and very aggressive. Aggressive behavior of Africanized bees has, as a source, noise or very close drive from the hive. Sound of children playing, outboard motor, chain saw, dark colors, mammals‟ odors - including human sweat [yikes!!], rough texture and sudden movements, are examples of what can trigger the attack...

It was strongly advised by bee specialists that the best way of protection against a hive attack is to have a garbage plastic bag of 100 liters at hand. One bag per athlete! In case of an attack, it is recommended to bag yourself and stay quiet. Don’t try to fight them.

2) Piranhas - For them, the danger arises when the water level is low, the prey is scarce or river bathing disrupts their spawning. Basically, only when the fish feel really threatened or very hungry, they become more aggressive. In the Pantanal, this situation of extreme food shortages are rare but can happen in the dry season, when some becomes trapped in small wells and the food just before the flood. To protect yourself, pay attention to small wells and creeks if our November drought is very dry.

As we’ve said on the first info pack, they don’t attack! But they do like blood! My advice here is to make a good wound dressing. In case you have a big bruise, open, bleeding wound and has to go into the water, either to cross a corixo, a river or even paddle, you must take care of the injury and make a nice dressing. I suggest you that have a good waterproof tape (sports tape), waterproof band-aids and gauze. Do not pack light on this item...

3) Ariranha - Also known as Giant Otter... In Brazil, we find these animals
in large quantities in the Mato Grosso Pantanal region and in the Amazon River basin. The ariranhas are very noisy, so our advice is to leave the water when possible (where they are faster) and always head to the opposite direction of their noise.

4) Catetos - Peccaries - These are wild pigs with a narrow snout and mobile head. Their coat is a dark brown, almost black, flecked with white. They inhabit forests and can be viewed during the day, especially in the late afternoon. They cross rivers and lakes, even though they are not that good swimmers, they do swim. They are also able to cross vines and bamboo groves with great ease.

There is no standard procedure, but based on the morphology of the animals, they do not have great skills to jump, climb trees or swim. So these are the safest places to protect yourself. But before that, they are very noisy and are easy to detect at a certain distance, then it is relatively easy to avoid an encounter taking a detour off the course where they are, or even stand still watching they pass through.

5) Pantanal Alligator: As its name implies, it is a species frequently found in the Pantanal, measuring 2-3 meters at their adult stage and has the nickname of piranha-alligator, to have very sharp teeth. They live in rivers, bays or lagoons, always looking for water...

Despite the appearance somewhat scary, Pantanal Alligators are not aggressive and females turn out to be protective mothers. To make the nest, they look for hard to reach places, near wasp nests or between branches. They dig a hole in the ground and use sticks, leaves and sand to cover it. Another interesting aspect is that the nests are reused from one year to the next. So stay tuned if you are, do not destroy an abandoned nest of alligators!

Alligators are smiling friends and are afraid of us. They only bite when attacked. So even more attention! Do not step on the heads of alligators. [A good rule to live by!!]

6) Stingrays: The most dangerous animal of the Pantanal is hidden in the sand and attacks (more defense than attack) usually in the shallows - the freshwater stingrays. Of ten Pantanal fishermen, two have been stung by stings rays. The wound may take months to heal.

The locals say to enter the rivers in the Pantanal, ideally using a stick, stirring the bottom of the river because they have a hidden stingray, it scares and leaves, or walk dragging your feet, so that the movement chases away the stingrays. Although the stingrays are not aggressive, it is common that they defend themselves against the "stomps" of fishermen, locals and distracted bathers, lashing with its tail against the hurt.

The stingray sting is in a dangerous toxin and when the person is stung usually in the ankle, will feel a very sharp pain that may be followed by vomiting and increased heart rate. The first step after a stingray attack must be submerge in hot water, as the fish poison has thermo labile characteristics - the heat can degenerate the poison and lessen the pain, although it is unable to prevent necrosis. The victim should then seek medical attention for xray the affected part and receive medication with antibiotics. Until today it was not developed a serum for the sting of stingrays. The production is not justified by the small number of reported accidents (though not know the real scale of the problem) and the fact poison not be lethal, such as some snakes.

Therefore, stingrays only attack to defend itself, but as you will be walking in various regions flooded, creeks and ponds, on a trekking in particular, the use of trekking pole is required, all athletes must have and use while walking anywhere waterlogged. They should be used to poke the ground before stepping forward, so they can get out of the way. Have to be very careful as several sighted in course survey. They are camouflaged in the sand and even in the shallows is difficult to see them.

7) Jaguar - the largest feline in the Americas, reaching 135 kg. It is a robust
animal with great muscular force, and the power of its bite considered to be the greatest among felines throughout the world. Their natural prey are wild animals like peccaries, capybaras, alligators, deer and armadillos....

In Brazil, after the Amazon, the Pantanal is the largest continuous refuge for
jaguars and their prey... We've done several survey trips and the first one was lucky enough to see one jaguar.

Jaguars don't attack. The risk of a jaguar attack exists only when it is with a cub or carrion. Or when the man is after her, usually in order to hunt / kill. There are thousands of people living in the region, farms, ranches, river banks and coexist
with the big animal. The cases of attacks are very few and are always related to hunting or baiting (the habit of giving food to the animal in the same place in order to attract the predator so that it is often seen by tourists)...

But these rural residents return to their homes, shacks, or camp overnight. Although all researchers assert that the jaguar can pass within a meter of us sleeping, smell us because of it is curious and go away, we do not even want a sniff, do we? Spending the night in a house is not feasible for athletes, so I have been researching all the "rules" and security measures so that they can sleep in the bushes smoothly.

Among the research with Pantanal farmers, riverside locals, biologists, researchers and internet, we‟ve come to a good solution. The White waterproof strobes!
Flashing lights have been used in several rural areas to scare jaguars of livestock attacks. What convinced me was the story of a boy, Richard Turere from Kenya who lives next to the Nairobi National Park and was even on a panel at TED talks.
He created a system of flashing lights to protect the livestock of his family of lions, too numerous for being there next to the National Park.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAoo--SeUIk&featur...

Therefore, the white strobe, with the specifications listed in the mandatory equipment list will be mandatory at all times and in all disciplines. When going to sleep, you should leave connected at least two strobes, blinking at different times, with a distance between the two. Have enough batteries for the whole race.

In case of an inland meeting, stay together in order to appear bigger, don't turn your back on the jaguar and leave slowly avoiding sudden movements.

__________________________________

The wildlife is so rich that the race newsletters don't even mention snakes - but hey, it's Brazil. Maybe they are less active at this time of year? From another source on the Pantanal:

Among reptiles, there are more than 30 species of snake. The yellow-anaconda Eunectes notaeus is very common on the plains and is small in size compared to the other species, the green anaconda E. murinus that lives at the edge of the Pantanal and may reach 5 m in size, some observations reporting a size of 6-8 m...

There are four species of poisonous snakes in the Pantanal: the Brazilian-lancehead Bothrops moojeni, the Neuwid'lancehead B. neuwiedi, the neotropical-rattlesnake Crotalus durissus and the Pantanal-coral-snake Micrurus tricolor.

Making the snakes in the mangroves look pretty darn good right now...

After reading all that, I'm sure Bean is pretty happy to miss this race. Jaguars and Pigs and Rays, oh my!
That flashing strobe...the teams might know where close competitors are at night in less-dense areas. I wonder if they will push more in the night to avoid turning on the strobe.

Sounds awfully wet to me - it's giving me flashbacks of the 30 hours we spent padding around the Mangroves de Sierpe in CR 2013!

I see that the live tracking is being provided by Delorme - is this the platform where you can overlay the race maps on top of the satellite images? Hope so, as this made following Raid Gallaecia much clearer - it's much easier to see why teams make the decisions that they do when you have access to the maps that they can see. Which sound like they are going to be truly awful, by the way... 1:100k with 50m contours. Tricky to navigate in an ever changing swamp with that level of detail.

Are Breathemag / LosDobos doing a live commentary this year?

Top 5 Predictions: (has anyone seen a definitive team list?):
With Thule sitting this one out, it's hard to look past Seagate for the win this year as so much of the race is on water and they are probably the strongest paddling team in the world at the moment. However, other picks for top 5 have to include world ranked #1 Columbia Vidaraid, and US-based Tecnu seem to be getting stronger every year. SA-based Merrill had a strong race in Australia and look to have been training hard. The heat may suit them...

Rounding out the top 5 could be any one of the following:
AdidasTerrex (now known as Godzone) have vast experience and are usually well up in the front pack of teams, but this year are without super-navigator and tactician Tom Gibbs (still recovering from a horrendous knee injury) and I don't think they've done much packrafting before! We'll be cheering them on from the UK regardless.

Local boys QuasarLontra have the home turf advantage - if they have a good race they could surprise the usual challengers.

Haglofs/Silva - the Scandis beat Seagate in a straight fight in Spain earlier this year. If they can avoid the curse that seems to haunt them at the Worlds (last 2 years have resulted in 2 consecutive DNFs with broken arms) they should be in with a good chance.

Race starts Saturday morning. Let the dot-watching commence!

I am also kind of happy not to be there. It sounds like there will be very little coverage from the course. It looks like the best bet will be the ARWS twitter feed.https://twitter.com/ARWorldSeries
They will be using satellite phone.
My long shot for top 5. Yogaslackers. They love their packrafts.

Thanks, Randy! I've added that link to the first post in this thread, where I'm collecting relevant links in one place. Let's hope the tracking is good! I don't think Breathe Mag is formally involved so maybe Los Dobos will join us here.

Merrell Adventure Addicts posted of photo of themselves paddling:

"Practice session on the Rio Paraguay in inflatable pack rafts. Distracted by giant otters in the water, capybaras on the banks, turkey vultures overhead and the thought of anacondas somewhere."
https://www.facebook.com/MerrellAdventureAddicts/p...

Want to play a game? AR Fantasy League.
http://arwcpantanal.com/fantasy-league/

That's awesome.

i put my picks together Randy!

Some photos around Corumba by Kyle Peter.
<https://www.facebook.com/kylerpeter/posts/10207663...>

Also for coverage: http://www.arearaider.com/live-coverage-pantanal-a...

"After 700km, athletes will experience paddling the typical single-trunk-sculpted canoes. Those are extremely unstable canoes, and each team will have two of them."

https://www.facebook.com/ARWSBrasil/photos/np.1447...

From Facebook:

With only the information of distances and sequences disciplines - the maps will be delivered only on the boat going to the start line - athletes need to imagine your pace between transitions to know how much food to carry.

At this moment the experience of teams make much difference, who know better their average pace in each discipline and can add extra time to stop and navigational errors.

Talking about the race for Urtzi Iglesias, captain of the Columbia Oncosec, the race is still unknown. "We know it will be very hot and the team that will be able to eat - in the heat is very difficult - and hydrate well, have a good chance to be in front."

He thinks there will be other important factors, among them a lot of navigation. And about the wildlife, "We don't know what we will find. It also does not let us run like in other races."

F-Torti. Bragging rights on Attackpoint anyway

I will be out on the course filming for a Japanese documentary. We have a crew of 8 (including 4 "runners" actually following the teams on full sections) who will be following the top team(s) and Eastwind (the Japanese team). If I can get e-mail access (unlikely though), I'll hop on and try and give an update. As of now, I'll be following the lead team(s) on the first 2 trekking sections and then we'll be adjusting things on the fly from there... It's been quite the challenge to pack as I'll need to be as quick as the top team while carrying all the mandatory gear as well as a satellite phone, GPS, Yellowbrick, 2 cameras, and extra batteries for everything. But there's a very big incentive to keep up, since the alternative is to find myself alone in the middle of the Pantenal ;-) I will, however get many more opportunities for rest. The heat here has been absolutely stifling the last couple days, and will surely cause some havoc for teams if it continues...

Thanks for the update, Relentless. Are you also carrying a trekking pole for the stingrays and a big plastic bag for the killer bees? These will be interesting treks! I hope there will be some way to see your documentary some day.

Maps are being given out on the boats on the 12 hour journey to the start.

That should keep the teams interested during the journey - and stop the navigators from getting too much sleep....

Interesting that all of the teams have had to do all their logistics and food planning based on distances alone, without the benefit of having estimated stage times provided by the organisers. That could prove problematic if speed over the ground differs significantly from their estimates - there's nowhere to stock up on food in the middle of the swamp. Maybe that's what the machete is for - fresh alligator steak, anyone?

"Team Vidaraid Oncosec said they saw a huge snake while riding, so large they couldn’t pass it on the trail and had to wait for it to move on..."

The latest from Sleepmonsters.
http://www.sleepmonsters.com/v2_races.php?article_...

I'll be on here and FB most likely. Craig from ARWS asked us to do our live thing, but the race organisation never got back to Joel about it, so it was decided not to try to throw something together last minute.

This course is scary. I know of at least one very experienced world class racer who is legendary for his toughness who pulled out as course information became available. My first wish for this race is that everyone make it through the experience safely.

Yeah, I too heard that Phatty changed his mind about racing this race in Brazil...

LosDobos... please don't tell people you'll be on FB... took a year to quell the rumours last time :-)

ewwww. holy shite, never thought of it that way. y'all are a bunch of sick pervs.
the horror...the horror

Update from Kyle shortly before boarding a Navy ship for the 12-hour upriver trip to the start. I want to know what he was going to say next when the video was interrupted!

I want to stop the rumors I am the world class racer who pulled out. One, I am not a racer and B I'm not world class (that might be a lie). I will say I am not unhappy I am not there. It will be frustrating not to post any images from the course. I am also wondering if those covering the race will see anyone. I do suspect I will have some good episodes of the podcast after the race.

I got a copy of the race booklet, which basically says 2 things - stay close together so the jaguars don't eat you and absolutely don't try to sleep in any of the paddling sections unless you can find a house

Relentless just sent me photos of the race booklet. You can see them on Breathe Magazine's Facebook page.

Thanks Jig!

Race booklet on Breathe Mag Facebook page

Btw every time someone mentions an information source here, I've been updating the first post in this discussion. So if you go up to the very top, you'll find a bunch of links guaranteed to distract you from whatever you're supposed to be doing!

egads!
1:100,000
85% of the surface is water, marsh, or seasonal water

thunderstorms today and tomorrow with highs around 36. that's without the humidex.
dropping way down to 27 at night...which is 11 hours long at this time of year down there.

couldn't pay me to do this race.

Bash, I suggest adding the official live tracking link to post 1 above: http://arwcpantanal.com/ao-vivo/tracking/.

I'm not sure how valuable the live coverage site by Area Raider will be. At the moment it seems mighty jumbled. The only bits that seem useful are the AdvFeel feed (also visible on FB) and the weather.

Here's to a great race for everyone! Go USA!!!

The race has begun!!!

Love the flags for the teams on the tracking map. What's the current rule re: team composition for ARWC? Previously they spoke of requiring all 4 members to be from the same country, and they were going to phase toward this by now?....

Does anyone know if the tracker locations are all uploading at the same time (synchronized trackers), or does each tracker upload at its own time and you have to do some breadcrumb math in order to make close comparisons?

looks to be some differences on latest time stamp and not all are on the even XX:00 or XX:30

anyone know how to show breadcrumb trail times?

I am not so smrt... :-(

I see no breadrumbs or history feature.

Thanks, Eric - I've added that link along with some others. I had a Live Coverage link but they aren't actually using that one!

I can't figure out the bread crumbs thing either.

This is not going to be easy for spectators to follow the live tracker so I am thinking this thread will be key.

I am sure this isn't accurate but I am showing Seagate as remaining in same area for the last 90 minutes.

anyone know what kind of boats the teams get to paddle for stages 1, 5, and 10?

I believe I saw a pic of those big yellow plastic tandem kayaks. Their name escapes me right now.

you are correct DD. just did some research.

pic: https://www.facebook.com/SleepMonsters/photos/pb.2...

And here's what they look like in action! :(
https://www.facebook.com/ARWSBrasil/photos/pcb.120...

https://www.facebook.com/ARWSBrasil/photos/pcb.120...

You can see teams' history by going to the tracking page. Click on the Teams sidebar for it to pop out and then select which team(s) you'd like to track. You can then use the timeline bar at the top to scan through the teams' progress. The trackers appear to be updating every 10-30 minutes.

yeah, the replay function is there, but there are no breadcrumbs

doah!
I just saw that he fantasy rankings first tally comes 2 days from now. I thought it was tomorrow. It's gonna be so tight for the next 2-3 days amongst those top 10 (2,3-11,12) I may have switched one or two had I realized :-(

I wish we could see each others pix once the deadline passed, but I guess people can still make strategic changes on the fly if the 10 point penalty is justified.

Can't wait to kick Phatty's a$$.. assuming he got his pix in :-)

Carbon:
Nationality rules are that each team must represent a single nation and have at least two members from that nation. See the National Team Rules section here: http://www.arworldseries.com/arworldchamps.htm

It appears that the trackers are all updating at the same time, but there are numerous trackers that are not reporting (buried in packs?) on every interval, which appears to be 30 min.

Anyone have the ear of the tracking software geeks? Maybe ask them to turn on the breadcrumbs feature? The tracks show inflections where teams' positions were recorded...just need to add the time at each inflection. Can't be that hard, eh?

Is Mountain Designs headed straight to TA 5? Every time their tracker refreshes, I'm hoping they turn back but they just keep going off further in the wrong direction. Any chance they can cut across that swampy-looking stuff or will it be quicker for them to paddle all the way back?

As an update, it looks like Mountain Designs has gone unranked due to a sick teammate:
https://www.facebook.com/ARWSBrasil/photos/a.14368...
Also, for a while it looked like Tecnu was taking a very long transition but their tracker just updated with them in third place on the packraft, closing in on CP3. According to race information, there's a road all the way to CP3 and then a trail to CP4. After that, "The vegetation is similar to a savannah, and easily crossed."

From the race booklet, the section between CP2 and CP3 is where teams enter the region renowned for having the largest concentration of jaguars in the world. The last teammate in line is supposed to wear a flashing white strobe on his or her back at night. That would typically be me although I can imagine myself pushing hard to be 3rd on this trek!

I just noticed this update on Sleepmonsters about the navy ship teams took to the start. Yikes!

Eric Sanders of Yogaslackers had the most uncomfortable trip, hooked up to an IV due to a bad stomach, which is not a great start to the race.

Seagate look like the Rhonda Rousey of the field .... oooohhh. wait a minute....
anything can happen
This is looking to be an awesome course!!

loving this race so far!! Looks like Tecnu and Silva have made some great choices, but hard to be certain without a breadcrumb.
love that there are loads of teams that appear to be all moving at relatively the same pace due to terrain/choices
Looks like whoever manages fuel/hydration/health and sleep the best over these next 2-3 days will have a huge advantage over teams that just focus on speed.

Huge advantage to experienced teams vs some of the awesome fit/fast but less experienced teams IMHO

Time for the night shift to take over! Currently, it looks like Seagate is in the lead (with tracker not updated yet), Haglofs Silva and Tecnu tied for 2nd, and Columbia in 4th as the lead teams approach CP5/TA2, the transition from trek to pack raft/trek.

From my lastest view/guess looks like Seagate and Silva took exact route... possibly one following the other?!?! (or together.. times stamps mismatch) and tecnu caught up with them at PC 5 and is either with or ahead of both Silva and Seagate!!

So many teams racing hard and soo close that it's hard to be certain with 30 min gaps... but lots of teams in the hunt still!!

Tecnu taking the longer way around to the channel while Silva look to be portaging over a shortcut. Perhaps short enough not to have to deflate/inflate rafts again? Will be interesting to see what Columbia does..

Both teams together again after the split.

OK, so based on some replay, I have the ranking as follows (all these teams on the Laguna Mandiore now):

Seagate

..3km gap..

Tecnu
Silva

..1km gap..

Columbia
Godzone
Blackhill Opavanet
Raidlight

..2km gap..

SAFAT
Merrell
Peak Performance
Estonian ACE Adventure

Seagate is tracking again on the trekking section to TA3, likely in the lead or sharing it closely with Tecnu.

Not sure what happened to Silva - they must have lost a lot of ground on the lake as they were dicing* it out with Tecnu up front just a few hours ago.

*Bash can educate any noobs about this AP-accepted Saffa jargon ;)

Nevermind - next update shows Silva fairly close to Tecnu, with Seagate well ahead. I've edited the rankings post above.

Route choices up to PC7 may shake things up a bit!

From the course stage description:
...Athletes must find the best way to climb Morro Comprido. There are no trails.

This is a short trekking, with a fast second half. The view from PC7 and the way to PC8 is one of the most beautiful we’ve ever seen!

In case you haven't found it yet, you can see stage elapsed times and TA transition times on the "Course" tab:
http://arwcpantanal.com/ao-vivo/course_live/#stage...

Tecnu smoked the 25.5-km Stage 2 in 5:44 with the predicted fast time for the stage at 8:30. Haglofs Silva finished in 6:04. Seagate was #8 at 6:59.

Fast time for Stage 3 is predicted to be 8:10.

Looks like about 10-11 teams in the podium hunt at this point. Likely that will split soon into a lead and chase pack. My guess is the split will happen after Merrell, with Columbia perhaps moving up to join that lead pack of Seagate, Haglofs, Tecnu, Godzone and Raidlight.

Seagate taking a sensible route up the "mountain", at least based on the contour densities.

Reminder that the PREF markers are not mandatory routes nor checkpoints - they are simply route options suggested by the race organisation.

Did anyone notice Nathan was not using a wing paddle on the packraft? Did he brake his paddle or was that a personal choice

Note that due to communication challenges on the ground, the stage times on the leaderboard are provisional and only come from the tracking system, which stalls out often. Seagate was clearly in the lead by about 500m at ~3:00am local time, about 1.5 km from TA2. Seagate, Silva, and Tecnu were at TA2 at the same time (04:30) but that's not surprising given how close they are traveling to one another and the time required for a packraft inflation transition. The Seagate tracker was offline through the entire next stage and they are in the lead at the end of the paddle by 2.5-3 km. I'd venture to say they were really in first place through TA2 and every team's split times on the leaderboard and the 'course_live' page are somewhat inaccurate.

Lead teams are just moving into the section of map 1 shown here:

https://www.facebook.com/teamswitzerlandadventurer...

Makes it easier to evaluate their decisions about where to haul out from the paddle and tackle the rest of the stage on foot.

I'm particularly curious how many will paddle all the way to the "open" terrain (lt. brown) near the NW PRef to see if the long way around is faster than the direct bushwhack with terrible visibility up to PC7 on the ridge. Night will change the decision on this for some of the teams at the back.

Blackhill & Columbia's trackers have now finally also updated, so we have a fairly recent update on the entire top-10:

Slogging up the hill to PC7:
1. Seagate
2. Tecnu

Deflating rafts / starting slog:
3. Silva
4. Godzone / Columbia / Raidlight / Blackhill

Paddling on the lake:
8. Merrell
9. SAFAT
10. Estonian ACE Adventure (intersting route choice if that track is accurate!)
11. Peak Performance

What the heck is Estonia doing in the swampy stuff south of PC7? I'm going to presume this is a tracker error, b/c going in there just seems far too sleepmonster-style for this early in the race.

Umm, Thanks for Rob Howard for snaps of the log at TA2 here:

https://www.facebook.com/SleepMonsters/photos/a.10...

I guess I was wrong...Seagate rolled into TA2 in 3rd by 8 min.

Handwritten log snapshots are better than a geofencing leaderboard! We had the option of using geofencing at Wilderness Traverse but turned it down since it can make the leaderboard so unreliable. However, we had the luxury of staff with communication devices (cell or Delorme Inreach) at almost every CP.

Meanwhile, back in the mangroves, our other North American racers are chugging along. JayXC (Team R'ADYS Switzerland) left CP6 recently, less than an hour behind the Yogaslackers.

Loving all the different route choices up this mountain :)

Seagate took about 3.5h from shoreline to summit. I'm not sure if Tecnu's tigerline will be any faster.

"Be careful descending this mountain. [After CP7.] The valley with the road is a place with plenty of jaguars. Stay close together. At night, light the strobe on the back of the last team member."

As Seagate starts to head downhill, it is about 4 hours till sunset. So there will be lots of strobes flashing tonight!

This Sleepmonsters article adds some details to what we saw on Day 1. A couple of boats started to sink and had to be replaced (including Peak Performance) due to the extreme heat, Merrell and Swedish Armed Forces lost an hour with a wrong turn on the paddle, and there is more info about Gary on Mountain Designs, who had heat-related illness.
http://www.sleepmonsters.com/v2_races.php?article_...

Looks like there will be quite a convergence on CP7 in the next 30-45 mins
Tecnu, Merrell, Godzone and Raidlight all look to be with 0.5 km (linear) from the CP.... followed by a heavy dose of Swedes after that... and Columbia appears to have gone back down to the water?

Curious to see how Blackhills "longer" route around to CP 7 pans out ... well I hope, they are one of my Fantasy picks!!

I just got back from the trek from CP2-CP5. All but the last part (bushwhack down from CP4) was double track and quite fast. We trekked with Seagate for CP2 – CP3. On the way into CP3 we could see plenty of fresh Jaguar tracks in the sand on the road. Seagate was moving well up to this point, running about half of the section. We left CP3 with Columbia and then took our time on the climb up to CP4 to film a few more teams. We then spent a few hours around CP4 filming about the first 20 teams or so. For the most part, everyone was in good spirits, but nearly every team had at least one member with blister problems on their hands from the paddle. So this could be an issue moving forward.
I saw JayXC and his crew at CP5 and they seemed to be in good spirits and all seemed fine. JayXC said his team mates climb like mountain goats!
The bugs are absolutely horrible just about everywhere. Especially if you are not moving. The weather today is much cooler and cloudier than yesterday so I think this will give team much needed relief. Last night it was very muggy and the only relief was some strong winds around CP4.

Sorry - correction. The climb up to CP4 was a narrow and technical (rocky) trail and the descent was a bushwhack.

Thanks - so great to get your updates from the course, Relentless!

great first hand account of the trek!! ... now you'll have to follow it up with more or we'll all be disappointed! ;-)

Looks like Tecnu will hit CP7 in 2nd place with Merrell not far behind. Then Raidlight, Haglofs Silva and Godzone a little farther back.

I'd like to start a rumour that we have a new team on the course Peak SAFAT Performance... 8 person team moving very well at the moment!

Just for a little atmosphere - and continuing my focus on wildlife - here's a National Geographic video from the Pantanal that went viral two years ago.

Seagate is at CP8/TA3, ready to start a 40 km trek over higher ground - for the Pantanal, anyway. It will be too dark to enjoy the beautiful views, unfortunately!

We might say that this is the most beautiful part of the race.

Trail starts on the valley, a region with a high incidence of jaguars. This valley is literally their home.

Athletes will take 8 kilometers of trails until the point where they must start climbing Serra do Amolar.

From PC9 there are no more trails, and the way to go is pure navigation.

Serra do Amolar’s mountains are steep with huge walls, therefore navigation must be very careful.

Once atop the sierra, after checking PC10, the way follows the ups and downs of the ridge, crossing springs, creeks and waterfalls.

From the top of this mountains there is one of the most beautiful views in the world! Bolivia to the West, and the great Pantanal plains to the East.

Tecnu has visited CP7 and moved on in 2nd place. Teams Raidlight, Merrell, Haglofs Silva and Godzone appear to be all together, arriving at CP7 right around now.

It looks like Seagate incurred a 30 minute penalty for losing a race bib. The penalty is served at the final CP.

Strange... The tracker says Tecnu left CP7, then returned, then headed back out again. I wonder if they forgot something...? Or maybe it's just a tracker issue. It appears that the gaggle of four chase teams (Haglofs Silva, Merrell, Raidlight, Godzone) has passed Tecnu and fanned out on three different routes to CP8/TA3. The sun sets in 15 minutes so they'll be moving as quickly as they can. The TA has some facilities for resting, eating, etc.

Good Sleepmonsters article discussing the race up to Seagate's recent transition at TA3. Hand blisters, fire ants, extreme heat, crocodile and jaguar sightings, etc.
http://www.sleepmonsters.com/v2_races.php?article_...

Looks like they get a 'road' for the last 4-5 km into CP13(?)

Raid light is closing in on the road to CP8... at least what looks like a road on my screen

JayXC and R'ADYS Switzerland are off the water and preparing to climb the mountain to CP7 in the dark. Yogaslackers are partway up on the longer, "easy" route.

Seagate is making good progress on the trek to CP8 but the chase pack's trackers are all out of synch so it's hard to know what is happening.

Nerd alert! Just doing a quick recap about which packrafts each team brought:

1 - Columbia (ESP) - 2 Alpacka Gnus, yellow & blue
2 - Seagate (NZL) - 2 Alpacka Gnus, yellow
3 - GodZone (GBR) - 2 Alpacka Gnus, yellow
4 - ??????
5 - Azimut (BRA)
6 - Blackhill (CZE)
7 - Competition Aroeira (BRA)
8 - East Wind (JPN)
9 - Ekos Pinheiros Selva (BRA)
10 - Enigma Papaventura (BRA)
11 - ACE (EST) - 2 Alpacka Gnus, black * blue
12 - Fenix (CZE)
13 - Grilos (BRA)
14 - Haglofs Silva (SWE) - 2 Alpacka Gnus, blue
15 - Izzy (FRA)
16 - Kailash Quasarlontra (BRA) - i think 4 singles? dark green.
17 - Kailash Brou (BRA)
18 - Merrell (ZAF) - 2 2p boats, dark green
19 - Mountain Designs (AUS) - short course
20 - Nordic AR (NOR)
21 - Nossa Vida (BRA)
22 - Peak Performance (SWE) - 2 Alpacka Gnus, black
23 - Canoar (BRA)
24 - 4any1 (BRA) - huge 4-person catamaran thingy
25 - R'adys (CHE)
26 - Raidlight (FRA)
27 - Rosa (BRA)
28 - Summit (COL)
29 - SAFAT (SWE)
30 - Tecnu (USA) - 2 Alpacka Gnus, black
31 - Terra de Gigantes (BRA) - 4 singles, 2 red/blue and 2 black
32 - Uruguay Natural (URY) - 4 singles, red/blue
33 - Yogaslackers (USA) - 2 Alpacka Gnus, black

unknown pics: https://www.facebook.com/SleepMonsters/photos/pb.2...

https://www.facebook.com/SleepMonsters/photos/pb.2...

https://www.facebook.com/SleepMonsters/photos/pb.2...

any comments/input would be appreciated!

You are *good*! :)

From the race Facebook page:

'We've talked with athlete Erick Feldberg from team Rosa dos Ventos at TA2 - "We didn't expect to get here as tired as we are. From now on the plan is to overcome small challenges, from one TA to another, rest, change clothes, eat and go for the next TA. Right now, everything is uncomfortable: insects and unbearable heat, it is necessary to know how to manage all this", says the experienced adventure racer.'

Thanks for keeping us up to date. It's a pretty hard one to follow.
And it's good to have some news from relentless too... Not that I'm worried or anything :/

He's the only Canadian at the race so we're all excited to hear from him! (Although JayXC is an honourary Canadian...)

Godzone appears to have reached CP8/TA3 in 2nd place although some of the trackers aren't up to date, particularly Tecnu's. It looks like 10 teams are currently between CP7 and CP8/TA3. Now that it's dark, racers will likely take the chance to sleep at the TA.

We can't tell what's happened to Tecnu or Black Hills but the chase pack has grown. East Wind, Peak Performance, the Estonians, Raidlight, Merrell, Haglofs Silva and the Swedish Army have all just tracked at the same time between CP7 and CP8, and nobody has a whopping lead.

Seagate has just arrived at CP9 on the trek. This is where the trails end and the machete begins.

That is huge for Godzone and I'm happy about that, they are on my leader board.

Given the diff in time stamps I would say Tecnu, Merrell, Estonia, and Raidlight will all be at cp8 within minutes

starting to update now...
Merrell and Raidlight essentially together entering CP8 just after 20:00 EST (T.O. time) I have to believe Tecnu is with or ahead of them

:-( tecnu just updated and don't appear to have moved much

The Estonians are also at CP8. Not sure what sequence Merrell, Raidlight and the Estonians arrived.

Tecnu has dropped back. It appears that they really did stop for awhile near the summit and maybe they did go back to CP7 as the tracker showed.

Tecnu, Haglofs Silva, Columbia and possibly Black Hills (awaiting next track) are almost together in 6th place. It looks like Haglofs Silva did some circling. I wonder if they can't find the road in the dark.

Peak Performance started to head cross-country like Godzone did, then turned abruptly south toward the road route.

JayXC and Team R'ADYS are starting up the "easy" route to the CP7 summit. Yogaslackers have been on that route for a long time and seem to be taking a break.

Seagate is 2 km from and 400 m below CP10, climbing through what appears to be relatively open terrain. Godzone is flying on the trek in 2nd place after a good rest at TA3.

The Swedish Army has made a great move to hit the road/trail to TA3. They are definitely in better shape than Columbia or Black Hills right now. Tecnu and Haglofs Silva didn't update at the last half-hour so we don't know if they found the road or headed farther south like Columbia and Black Hills did.

Thanks for all the great reporting and race analysis!

Nice that you're watching even though Slice isn't there this year!

Three Brazilian teams - 16 (Quasarlontra), 23 and 31 - decided to climb straight to CP7 from the water, leaving about the same time that R'ADYS headed out on the longer, gentler route to the top. They weren't able to get to the top so they've all descended a little after getting within a few hundred meters of the CP. It's supposed to be cliffy and of course it is dark and jungly.

Guilherme Pahl, a Brazilian racing with Godzone, was treated by the medical team at TA3 due to a suspected allergy to insect bites. (Facebook)

It's official... The Swedish Army (SAFAT) has moved into 6th place, passing Tecnu, Haglofs Silva, Columbia and Black Hills, all of whom seem to have headed down to a lake, probably with the plan of using it to locate the road to TA3. Those strobe lights are flashing and all the teams can see each other; some may be travelling together. The Swedish Army is about 2 km from TA3 by road has arrived at TA3 (a rare time that the leaderboard is more up to date than the tracking map!)

With a meaningful leaderboard at TA3 - arrival times, anyway:

1) Seagate - transition time 1:07
2) Godzone +3.5 hrs - transition 0:49
3) Raidlight +5 hrs
4) Merrell +5 hrs
5) Estonians +5.25 hrs
6) SAFAT +6.75 hrs

How'd you do that strike out the text thing?!?!

:)

(s) text (/s)

Except instead of round brackets, use < > brackets.

Haglofs Silva found the road and made excellent time to TA3 in 7th place. The other teams who were near them by the lake - Tecnu, Blackhill and Columbia - are still there doing some back and forthing. Looks like Peak Performance is heading over to join them. It must be really tricky - especially in the dark on a 1:100,000 map!

Bash, you continue to be a fountain of knowledge, both for AR and web formatting!

But when it comes to pack rafts, you reign supreme!

Not sure why Yogaslackers still haven't reached CP7. Maybe someone isn't feeling well. The three Brazilian teams who got cliffed out have headed north along the ridge to a place where other teams have been successful in gaining the top.

Thanks for all the updates guys! Great way to start my morning by catching up on the blow-by-blow details over a cup of coffee.

Yay, glad you're awake! Time for the excellent Night Shift!

Since I'm here... Seagate is almost at CP10. Although the terrain looks open, they've been moving about 1 km/hr for the past few hours as they ascend. Godzone is about 3.5 km back. Raidlight was the 3rd team to leave TA3.

Still at TA3 are Merrell, Estonians, SAFAT and Haglofs Silva.

Peak Performance has found the road and is either with Columbia and Black Hills or ahead of them. (Those two didn't track last time.) Tecnu did track and unfortunately is still where they were before. Maybe resting again? Since they just rested near CP7 and are on their way to a TA where they can sleep, it looks like someone isn't feeling well.

Impressive to see so many teams all taking sleep/rest on the course at the same approx. time, many outside of the TA, which has become common to avoid the commotion: Seagate, Columbia, Tecnu, Estonia, SAFAT, Silva, Merrell, Raidlight... Clearly the heat is taking a toll. At past races in Ecuador and Costa Rica, both also tropical, the leading teams did not sleep until 48+ hours into the race, if I recall correctly.

Night shift is going to need some help! In all-day meetings today :-/

Anyone get any word on what the heck is going on with Columbia and Tecnu?

Tecnu is moving, but slowly, probably nursing illness and resting. Columbia has reached TA3 along with BlackHill in the last hour or so according to the leaderboard, but this is not shown on the tracking map.

Tecnu is almost at TA3 - phew!

From TA3 (Facebook): "We had very little water , with a very dense forest , we tried many options to set the navigation, and we tried, along with other teams like Columbia, Tecnu and Black Hill until we find the path to get out of the valley ", says Robert Lindberg 's Haglofs Silva team.

This passage was much harder than we thought , especially because we were the only teams with individual pack rafts ." The Haglofs Team had the privilege of seeing monkeys and crocodiles.

Will Godzone catch Seagate napping? Just over 30 minutes behind at the moment. Godzone do seem to have taken some time in TA3 so possibly got some sleep before the start of the trek as well.

If the leaderboard is accurate (haha, did I really say that?), Godzone only spent 49 mins at TA3. But I was just thinking the same thing.

Nevermind - I see they only had a 49 minute transition so Seagate should be much fresher once they get going again.

Estonians are moving well, beat several other teams out of the TA. Raidlight seems like they're headed in the wrong direction...

Merrell is taking an awfully long time in transition - hope everything is ok with them,,

Seagate passed close to Raidlight's current position - but they'd better turn left reeeaally soon.

Seagate is moving again and Raidlight has corrected their course. Still only 4 teams have left TA3.

Correction - Merrell just left TA3 in 5th :)

...and Silva and/or Columbia (less likely) may already be well on their way from TA3. Both have trackers stuck about 2 hours ago.

Good point.

Blackhill and Tecnu are at TA3. Leaderboard is missing them, as well as Haglofs Silva, who were ahead of Columbia, I think.

Gaps and sleep taken:

1. Seagate (2.5h sleep)
2. Godzone (no sleep) at 1h
3. Raidlight (1.5h sleep) at 3.5h
4. Estonia (2.5h sleep) at 4.5h
5. Merrell (4.5h sleep) at 5.5h

And Silva somewhere in there too. I suspect Columbia is still in transition.

Four more Brazilian teams (7, 9, 10, 17) tried to climb straight up to CP7 and have been banging their heads against the wall - literally - for the past hour.

Something tells me those teams' navigators and spot on with their bearing following in the bush, but have never heard of or forgotten the immense value of aiming off.

Or the value of aiming away from the cliffs!

SAFAT now also showing as being on the trekking leg - about 30 mins to an hour behind Merrell. There must be some other teams in the mix as well with trackers not updating. Raidlight also seems to be moving very slowly - Estonia may have passed by now?

Woah - Estonia way off track. If the update is accurate, that looks like nighttime wandering rather than route choice. Daylight soon should help.

Silva and Blackhill have just left transition, with Columbia still in transition (fresh update). These teams should be well-rested now so will be looking to cover this ground much quicker than those ahead, particularly with imminent daylight on their side...

Columbia now also trekking, about 30 mins behind Blackhill & Silva.

My best estimate of the rankings as at 06:30 local time:

1. Seagate
2. Godzone at 2.5h
3. Raidlight at 4.5h
4. Merrell /Estonia at 6h
6. SAFAT at 7h
7. Blackhill / Silva / Columbia at 8.5h
10. Tecnu at 9.5h
11. Peak Performance at 10h

I could be wrong but I think the Estonians decided to follow the ridgeline in order to have a clear attack point for CP10 in the dark.

Ouch - where is Peak Performance going? Maybe they brought their pack rafts along on this leg? ;)

The Estonians can Nav well. Be surprised if they made an error.

I think Peak is back on track by the look of the latest update. I'm not sure what would've dragged them SW... I just love how the Estonians and South Africans took very different routes from CP9 to CP10 and they appear to be together again.

To begin, thank you all so much for this incredible play by play. WOW. So appreciative.

I just noticed on the leaderboard that Nordic AR and East Wind are both unranked--I hope it's nothing too serious.

Serious props to the racers out there. The conditions must be totally draining.

As far as I can tell, Godzone is the only top team that has not slept yet... Approaching 46h of racing so far - surely they will need to bank some sleep tonight. That long paddle may be very sleepmonsterish otherwise!

Great race update from Merrell's journalist on FB: https://m.facebook.com/MerrellAdventureAddicts/pho...

yes, Godzone appear to have slowed dramatically over the last few tracker updates - from nearly having caught Seagate at one point they have dropped back again and the chasing teams seem to be catching them again. I thought it was just the approach to CP10 where everyone was slow, but they've not really picked up speed again since this. I suspect that they are desperately in need of some sleep, but will probably try to hold out to the end of this stage as they will value having the daylight to help them navigate - getting cliffed out in the dark sounds easy to do on this stage!

Just noticed a good random statistic in the course overview - the first time that they get to use their bikes is 72% of the way through the course. It's 150km long with 28 metres of climbing. No resting the legs on the downhills, then...

I can't believe there are only 30 something teams racing... That's half the teams that were racing in Costa Rica two years ago...
And with the toughness of this course I wonder how many teams are going to finish... I'm not sure they will get twenty teams on the full course this year...

Does anyone have the link to the Facebook photo of Map 1?

A little info on Stage 4 from the course guide:
Athletes will take 8 kilometers of trails until the point where they must start climbing Serra do Amolar. From PC9 there are no more trails, and the way to go is pure navigation. Serra do Amolar’s mountains are steep with huge walls, therefore navigation must be very careful. Once atop the sierra, after checking PC10, the way follows the ups and downs of the ridge, crossing springs, creeks and waterfalls.

Map 1 is one of the links in the first post in this thread.

Thanks for the updates, Night Shift! The Facebook post by Merrell's journalist is especially interesting.

check out Adventure-j on Facebook for some sweet photos.
https://www.facebook.com/adventurej/

Great pack raft info for Silkychrome!

Note that Aussie team Mountain Designs has left TA3 with the lead pack, racing unranked. So we can't just count flags anymore.

The ability to quickly locate the road leading into CP8 seems to have played a significant role last night from 7-8. I wonder if we'll see a similar jostling of the top pack when they look for the road/trail that covers the last 2/3 of the segment from 12-13. It could help the chasing teams who have had the advantage of daylight for much of the trek from 9 onwards and then will (hopefully) have a nice fast 'finishing route' when it gets dark this evening.

Thanks for the link to the map, Bash.

From the Merrell posting, it sounds like CP7 was a tricky one. Anyone have any idea what this means: "It turns out the CP 7 had been put in a random spot - 500m when the map which we and the competitors have shows it at 350m." Is that altitude? Does that mean the CP was near the top of the mountain? If it was at that altitude, seems like where it is placed on the Tracking site might be off a bit.

Insight from sleepmonsters article:

Several of the teams who had been at the race front early on (Tecnu, Silva, Columbia) struggled to find the way and spent long hours without food and water in the night. They found a small waterfall at one point, but Tecnu didn't fill all their bottles and later regretted it. They said they'd spent 10 hours with no food and up to 3 hours with no water during the night.

Godzone seems to be barely moving recently and Raidlight should pass them soon (just 500m back at 12:30). Also, Columbia seems to be narrowing the gap to Estonia & Merrell quite quickly.

Strongmachine, I assumed that was altitude. I've been calling CP7 the summit and it is around 500 m but there is a higher point a little farther along the ridge. It sounds like the racers' map shows the CP at a lower elevation on the ridge - a point that most people would pass by - but based on the tracks, it appears that our tracking map is probably pretty close. I do wonder about all the Brazilian teams who aimed straight up the slope at the CP. Maybe later teams were informed about the new location.

JayXC and R'ADYS are currently enjoying a rest at TA3, hopefully inside the screened porch. All the reports of fire ants and swarms of insects are starting to make the jaguars sound good. At least they finish you off quickly. ;)

Did the Czechs go by CP10 by mistake?

So far the RDs time estimates are looking significantly optimistic for both leg 3 (pack raft) and leg 4 (trek).

Leg 3 estimate was 8h-12h and current spreads are at 12h-26h+
Leg 4 estimate is 11h-18h and Seagate will be doing it in about 22h (incl 2h sleep).

What does that mean for the overall race time estimates? And the teams outside of the top 10... this is going to be a looong one.

Where the heck are Terra de Gigantes (31) going? Looks like they are missing out CP10.

Raidlight have caught Godzone, looks like they're trekking together now (1430 race time) about 6km back from Seagate. Merrill and Estonia approx 1km further back.

Excellent coverage guys, thanks for all the updates and comments so far.

One of the biggest concerns about wonky time estimates is that teams won't be able to purchase much food along the course - at least not till later when they get to more civilized areas. Remember they loaded food into their gear bins before they saw maps, just using the RD's time estimates.

one thing that is nice for dot-watching, is the tracking map made Mountain Design's dot highlight in yellow to signify short-course. all other teams' dots are highlighted in green.

interesting stat on # of starting teams...just 30-ish! didn't realize that was such a drop from Costa Rica. wow! hope the race management has some sponsors that can pick up the lack of entry fee income.

I know there's a lot of race left, but with the size of Seagate's lead, would any of the chasing teams think about working together to try and bridge the gap? I haven't done any expedition races so I'm not sure if that happens...

The colour-coded dot highlighting rocks! Brazilian team #5 Azimute is also continuing unranked, currently starting the longer route up to CP7. Norway's team #20 Nordic Adventure Racing has retired and is highlighted in black at TA5.

Team #31 Terra de Gigantes has gained the ridge about 4 km past CP10. They veered a little in the right direction in the last half hour so maybe they've realized their error. They still need to climb another 200 m to reach the elevation of CP10. They should run right into Team Peak Performance soon. It looks like they may not even drop in ranking as a result of taking this route but it doesn't look like it would have been a conscious choice.

It looks like Blackhill started the trek from CP10 to CP11, then changed their mind and started to descend. It appears they may be returning to TA3. [Note to FB: You may need to change your Fantasy League choices!]

Seagate has arrived at TA4. Next up:

"There will be 60 kilometers paddling the majestic Paraguay River. This section of the river is majestic, for having the Serra do Amolar as a background.

PCs along this stage are located in river communities and farms, this way the athletes will have the opportunity to get in touch with the local people, and especially to be able to ask for shelter, in case they need to rest."

From the race booklet:

- There might be homemade food for sale at TA4. It is screened in from the bugs.
- The kayaking will be "calm" with easy navigation although it is a Federal Waterway with "considerable traffic of vessels".
- "The next CPs are located in populated places. If you need to sleep, please look for local people's homes and farms to take shelter. Do not sleep on the banks or river beaches. That is exactly where the animals go to drink at night."

And then racers reach TA5 where "the most difficult section of the race begins".

Seagate barely stopped at TA4. It will be dark in a couple of hours so they're making the most of it. They can rest later when it's dark - as long as they don't mind knocking on some stranger's door in the middle of the night. ;)

Raidlight is in 2nd place approaching CP11. Seagate was at the same spot 7 hours earlier.

As much as we like AR, there is something far more important to discuss than this frivolous competition.

I'm referring, of course, to the AR Fantasy League. Without real names, it's a little hard to figure out but I see that Canadian Long Sault Long Shot is tied for 1st. I'm tied for 12th, which only matters because I'm ahead of Wilderness - and he will be pleased to be ahead of his Dad, FB.
http://arwcpantanal.com/fantasy-league/

it appears i'm fithing hard for the 50th place...

Looks like Seagate took 3 hours from 12-13, which most teams should be able to match if they find the road 'efficiently'.
What's up with Blackhill? If they are dropping out I want to change my pick, but it does not take effect until tomorrows calc point (which I found out the hard way) so I don't want to give up on them too early :-(

28th for me.. not helped by Mountain Designs (and now Blackhill). Changes made - onwards and upwards!

I've just scheduled a swap for Blackhill. :(

I gapped and miss my swap opportunity yesterday so now I am nervous about waiting too long to pull the trigger, but just in case Blackhill is looking for the snickers wrapper they dropped ......

Does anyone know how the ranking works? do they just calc off the leaderboard or is it based on where the teams are on the course when the deadline hits. My points yesterday didn't seem reflective of where the teams were on the course... that can have a huge impact on choices... less so going forward I suppose

I suspect they use the Leaderboard since if you're not on AP, you probably don't know the instantaneous ranking. ;) So for tonight, the league calculation will probably be based mostly on arrival time at TA3. I am willing Blackhill to walk downhill slowly so they aren't considered retired or unranked until after 8 p.m. race time.

I am pleased to see that I am (fantasy) ahead of Phatty, but I fear that may be shortlived :-(

I was just thinking the same thing about Blackhill!!... take your time, have a picnic, enjoy the bugs a little... TA 3 ain't going anywhere!

Back to that other competition, Terra de Gigantes is about 1.5 km from CP10 after taking the loooong way. They passed Peak Performance going the other way and will see Quasarlontra soon. Depending on how fast the Yogaslackers and East Wind climb, Quasarlontra may be the only team to pass Gigantes between CP9 and CP10. Because Blackhill is heading downhill, Gigantes' ranking probably won't change.

Seagate is flying on the Rio Paraguay - almost halfway to CP14 already. They are taking advantage of their paddling skills and the last hour of daylight. No other teams will hit the road to CP13/TA4 before dark so this is a great opportunity to extend their lead.

Is there anyone who didn't pick Seagate in their top 3 in the Fantasy League? Anyone who didn't pick them #1?

From TA4 (Facebook): Team NZL Seagate (2) arrived a short time ago at PC 13 / AT4 (4pm local time) and were tired and very hungry after a trekking through some fairly rugged terrain. Nathan believes the stage during the night will be very difficult for the other teams. He spoke of the fantastic views of this section of the race and commented that the navigation was a bit tricky just before the PC12, though it didn't really slow the team down. They slept about 2 hours at PC10. From here they will kayak to the next PC.

Also from Facebook about the Stage 4 Trek:

This leg takes teams over the highest peaks in the Panatanal in the Serra do Amolar range. Shubi Guimaraes, race director, described it as being is one of the most stunning treks she has have ever hiked as there are 360 degree views over the Pantanal in every direction. "When organising the race the locals told me I was crazy to cross this mountain range, they said no one has ever been up there".

She also described it as one of the toughest legs in the course. The hiking is typically half metre high grass with rocks under it. This will make it harder for the first teams and gradually easier for the back of the field as a path of least resistance is made through the bending the grass. There are a lot of ups and downs out there that teams will have to conquer as the route travels along the sky line of the mountains.

...It seems most teams are nursing one team member along as conditions such as blisters and heat exhaustion set in.

From Tecnu's Facebook:

"My concern is that the lead team after 54 hours has only traveled 20% of the course."

Given that teams haven't biked yet, it's not surprising that the distance travelled has been relatively short. (It's 150 km to TA4 in a race advertised to be around 700 km.)

On the other hand, the predicted winning time was 108 hours. Hmm. With only 129 km of biking coming up at a (hopefully) faster pace than paddling or trekking, all while the racers are fatigued and moving more slowly, I'd say Earring Doug is right to be concerned.

I didn't pick Seagate for #1. I was hoping that Marco & Co. would have a big advantage on home turf. This is obviously what is holding me down to 48th place. Snif.

How do I just swap a team from, let's say, my 3rd pick to have them be my 5th pick?

Anyone else happy to be watching this race from the comfort of their homes? :)

Good question - I couldn't figure out how to swap team sequence even when I set it up in the first place. I cancelled and started all over again.

Oh yes, I am very happy to be a spectator for this one.

Just about to pull the trigger on a swap for Blackhill. A shame to see, but I can't see how this team will continue in the race ranked if they are heading back to TA3.

Any word on the status of East Wind? They are my obvious replacement choice and not a surprise package given the wealth of experience on this team. I read earlier in the posts that someone saw them as unranked on the leaderboard, and in a close look at the trackers it is hard to see if they actually collected CP7, however they are still coming up as ranked on the leaderboard and the tracking system. It would be a shame to swap out one unranked team for another and burn 10 points. Also, do unranked teams still get assigned a score (ie do they just come in at 32nd, 31st, 30th place, etc)?

Maybe Blackhill is just holding their map upside down?

Haha! East Wind doesn't appear to be unranked but I wouldn't want to be the one to steer you wrong on something as important as this.

Slice and Bash - my assumption was that it doesn't matter on the order that you set the teams up. My assumption was that in effect you select a total of 10 teams and where they fall on the ladder at each scoring cycle (8pm local time every day from day 2 onwards) you get given that score. I thought if you had Seagate as #4 on your list that you would still get the 100 points. Otherwise, how would they calculate the points for your Group B teams - it is not like they will also be sitting in 1st to 5th place.

I think part of the fantasy league should be a guess at how long it will take the winning team...

Ah, that makes sense, RogueAdventure. I shouldn't have wasted all that effort then! :)

We could have our own pool on the winning time, W4J. Hmm.

I'm going with East Wind. I can't see a team as experienced as this just skipping a CP, particular given that they must have approached it from the "safe" second reference point. Plus it would be fun to get behind this team.

If rankings are based on the leaderboard and not what's happening on the ground (which I suspect they are), then I'm going to take a big hit this next scoring cycle. Hopefully everything will work out in the long game.

Interesting to see that there are 4 Brazilian teams all travelling together.

It says that the scores are based on "the ranking of the teams that you chose" so I would assume that the leaderboard counts! But who knows really. If your #1 pick is sitting in 2nd, do you get 85 points, or zero points?

Those are probably the same 4 teams that got cliffed out together below CP7 last night. I haven't looked back to see. I expect that would be quite the bonding experience. :)

Darkness has fallen and Seagate has passed CP14 on the paddle, having completed about more than a third of the leg.

Raidlight is in 2nd, still working their way another 2.5-3 km along the ridge before they will drop to CP12 and make their way down to the road to TA4. Unranked team Mountain Designs is ahead of them, just starting to drop down. It looks like they will get into some thick jungle bushwhacking partway down so Raidlight probably won't benefit from seeing MD's lights.

Several kms back, Columbia (3rd) and Merrell (4th) are the only other teams who have passed CP11. They're about half a km apart.

The Estonians are 1 km behind in 5th and Godzone is taking a less-travelled route in 6th place, probably trying to avoid some climb. About 2 km behind them, the two Swedish teams - Haglofs Silva and SAFAT - are travelling together.

A little behind them, it's our friends Tecnu in 9th, then a big gap to Peak Performance in 10th. (Unless I've missed seeing a hidden flag.)

Godzone have been overtaken by several teams now, and are travelling very slowly. Possibly they stopped for a nap, but the tracker never seems to stay still for long. Hopefully not sickness or injury in the team, they were doing great until the last few hours.

For sure. I can't see many teams finishing the full course... It looks brutal!

Looking more closely, Haglofs Silva hasn't moved in more than 2 hours although they are tracking. SAFAT is now about 2 km ahead of them in 7th and Tecnu is approaching from 2 km behind. Godzone has regained the ridge in 6th place.

Meanwhile, back to our honourary Canadian, JayXC and R'ADYS have started the climb to CP10.

Seems like Haglofs Silva is taking a sleep...2 hrs in the same spot by my count.
You beat me to it, Bash!

Do I get a prize for being the new claimant of the bottom of the Fantasy Leaderboard?

I swapped in East Wind for Blackhill also.

I've been cheering for East Wind for 18 years... it's about time they do something for me!! ;-)

Wow... Big change in the Fantasy Pool!

I made 4 changes?! Need to keep better track of what I'm doing!! :-)

Slice, are you AR-Fan?

Congrats to RogueAdventure, who has moved into 2nd place! And StrongMachine in 5th.

After a great start, I'm back in 29th - sigh. I'm tied with Wilderness and Wokitoki and ahead of such luminaries as Leanimal and Shebeen but, alas, FB is crushing me now with his 23rd place ranking. Phatty and AdventurePete (Dobos?) are doing well too.

Bash, I'm lizapye... but wait a minute. Looks like the whole leaderboard isn't displayed. I see AR-fan in 59th, but apparently I'm 67th. Maybe I'm not in last place afterall as the whole board may not be displayed! :)

I still don't know how to swap teams so I didn't actually change my picks before the last tally. Looks like I have a couple of days to figure it out now.

Hey, do you guys think that Tecnu can look over to their right and see Seagate's headlamps on the water?

Haglofs Silva is on the move again! So Tecnu remains in 9th place for now. Not much else has changed. Quasarlontra is in 11th place as the top Brazilian team.

Slice, to swap teams, you log in to get to the "My League" page. You can "add team" beside any one of your choices, which schedules a swap for the calculation *after* the next one. Unfortunately, if you do that now, it will not take effect until the calculation that will be done almost 48 hours from now. (You missed the deadline by 40 minutes.)

I'm a BOTPer at 134 in the leaderboard

But if I just want to change the order of the teams I've already chosen? Or did we decided that doesn't matter?

pretty sure that doesn't matter

I forgot to look at it too.. I still had mountain design on mine :/

I'm sticking with my picks, good and bad. No bandwagoning for me. That also means I will end up in suckyess place.

At 22:30 race time, Seagate is less than 3 km from the end of the 60 km paddle.

Raidlight has just passed through CP12 and will now bushwhack down the mountain to look for the road that leads to CP13/TA4. Based on what happened to several top teams last night, this will probably be harder than it sounds.

Columbia, Merrell and the Estonians are spread out on the ridge in 3rd/4th/5th, 2-3 hours behind Raidlight.

Not too far back is Haglofs Silva in 6th, charging up the pack after their nap. SAFAT is next, followed by Godzone in 8th, who have been stopped at CP11 for at least an hour.

Tecnu is in 9th about 1 km away from CP11 and 200 m below. Tecnu is where 2nd place Raidlight was 5.5 hours ago so there is still lots of room for anything to happen in this chase pack of 2nd to 9th place teams.

There is a more significant gap back to Peak Performance, rounding out the top 10. Hot on their heels are Quasarlontra, East Wind and the Yogaslackers.

JayXC fans will be happy to know that R'ADYS is almost at CP10.

Blackhill is back at TA3. Has anyone heard any news? I've heard that Race HQ doesn't have Internet right now.

Yay for JayXC and team! Shoot, just a couple of weeks ago he mentioned a seventy degree run was warm.

I'm pretty sure the order you have them set in for the fantasy league doesn't matter. I don't think that MDs will net you any points though as they aren't in "32nd" place on the leaderboard and there is mention in the rules about not being able to select teams that have finished or unranked, so it is definitely worth taking the 10 point hit and swapping them out. To be honest, the points difference beyond sixth place doesn't make much of a difference, although it all adds up over the 6 days. If one of your teams is really off the pace now, it may be worth the 10 points and swapping them out for a team that is placed 3 or 4 places higher than them now.

I'm surprised I only fell to 2nd place in this round of scoring given the major shake up of lead teams heading in to TA3. Mountain Designs were my hot tip from pool B, but at least the writing was on the wall with their problems just before the first round closed. Great to see Sloshy and co back on the course and making the most of their time out there. Liam.

At 22:30 Seagate are still a long way from the end of the paddle - they have to paddle right past TA3 and on to TA5.

But from their pace, it looks like they are going with the flow of the current for a change. I wouldn't be surprised to see them make it the end of this stage, get dry and have another sleep in the TA.

Appears that the latest fantasy calcs were based on the time the teams left TA3.

Wish it was the time they arrived as I lost 11 points by being passed in TA :-(
hope getting some rest in more a comfortable place pays off in this next 24 hours.

Looks like Silva and Columbia are cruising through the nigh trek!!

Whoops, RogueAdventure is right - I saw Seagate nearing the TA triangle and failed to notice it wasn't the TA they were headed for. They're getting close to TA5 now though and should be able to get some rest around 1 a.m.

Sleepmonsters article getting Seagate's perceptions of the Stage 4 Trek.
http://www.sleepmonsters.com/v2_races.php?article_...

The 00:30 track shows Haglofs Silva continuing to storm ahead - now in 4th place just ahead of the Estonians! I hope that Merrell (6th) hangs a right soon. They've gone a little past the saddle that teams are using as an attackpoint for CP12.

It's been fun following so far; thanks for the work folks are putting for the others to follow. Keep up the 'nerd work'. Like so many APers, I'd love to be at these destinations but this it's shaping up such that I'm not so sure that I'm glad to be home on a comfy couch....and not suffering slow death by ants and mosquito. Given the choice I'd chose death by jaguar ...at least there'd be a good story behind it!

Albeit a short story, based on that video above! ;)

There's a gap back from the top 6 to SAFAT, Godzone and Tecnu, all of whom are within 1 km of one another in 7th to 9th place just past CP11. Raidlight was in this area 6.5 hours ago.

After another gap, Quasarlontra has passed Peak Performance to move into 10th place. Yogaslackers and East Wind are about 1 km behind.

Ah, Peak Performance napped for a few hours and has just started moving again.

JayXC and R'ADYS have moved up to 18th place. Keep up the good work - I showed faith in you by picking you in the Fantasy League!

The Lanterne Rouge appears to be Summit Adventure Team from Colombia, currently taking the long way up to CP7 accompanied by unranked Brazilian team Azimute.

The only other team that hasn't reached TA3 yet is Brazilian team Grilos #13. They've entered the dark Bermuda Triangle of jungle that confused a number of the leaders last night and they've just done a little backtracking. All the best, Grilos!

More news from TA4 (ARWS Twitter): "Some gear missing at TA such as seats and footrests. Seagate most upset about missing secret weapons - waterproof stereo."

Issy Adventure #15 and Uruguay #32 are having some trouble finding CP10 in the dark.

At 1 a.m., Tecnu has been stopped for the past hour, just past CP11, still in 9th.

And Seagate is enjoying a break at TA5 at the end of the 60 km paddle.

Stage 6 is a 49 km trek with 15 m of climb. Look at the photo on the "Course" page. That says it all.
http://arwcpantanal.com/ao-vivo/course_live/

From the race booklet: "Here is where we believe the most difficult section of the race begins. Despite being the flattest part of the race, it will be very challenging. It is going to be a section with plenty of navigation in a region without references and many flooded parts.

The suggest path follows a herdsman road, the way the cowboys lead the livestock. The good navigator who's got acute vision to see the road under the flooded areas will have a great advantage.

Life vests are mandatory for all the swimming moments. This should happen more than once, especially where the herdsman road crosses the largest streams. Kayak Bag carrying is mandatory.

Warning: This is a place with plenty of stingrays. They lie on the sandy bottoms and prefer cold water, which makes them like to be more active during the night in the middle of the roads. The use of trekking poles is extremely important to remove them from the way. If you all pay attention, we will not have any problem."

Excerpts from the Description on the Course page:

TREKKING ON ESTRADA BOIADEIRA DO PAIAGUÁS

...This is where the real Pantanal starts....

Those roads appear in the dry season, and disappear during the wet season. Each year, the road changes, since the cattle always seek the driest parts.

It’s a flat trekking, fast on the dry sections, but athletes will have to cross very wet sections, sometimes having to wade in water up to their waist. Sometimes athletes will have to swim for up to one kilometer. All that water may vary, depending on the rain or dry weather...

Neither 2nd place Raidlight nor unranked Mountain Designs has tracked in 2+ hours since they entered the jungle-y, jaguar-y part of their descent from CP12 to find the road to CP13. It must be thick in there!

3rd place (we assume) Columbia is tracking but they're not heading as directly toward TA4 as the earlier teams.

4th-6th place Haglofs Silva, Estonia and Merrell are all together now and it's impossible to tell whether any of them has visited CP12 yet. It seems unlikely, given their position.

Not much has changed behind. Tecnu is still napping in 9th place near CP11. After their nap, Peak Performance has moved past Quasarlontra back into 10th place.

Poor Team #13 Grilo - the Bermuda Triangle between CP7 and CP8 seems to have caught them too.

All of that really sounds awful to me.

On a happier note, Issy Adventure made it to CP10 and Uruguay is now heading the right way up the mountain.

Even better, JayXC and his mountain goat Swiss teammates have caught the 3 Brazilian teams ahead of them. It's looking good for my Fantasy League pick. :)

Haglofs Silva, Estonia and Merrell (3rd to 6th) definitely didn't find CP12 yet. They probably think they're one spur to the north. Merrell has just turned back a little.

Tecnu is on the move again, still in 9th place with a sizeable gap back to 10th.

2nd place Raidlight finally tracked again at 2:30 a.m., close to the road to CP13.

3rd place Columbia is making progress but they have taken the long way and may have some trouble finding the road since it probably won't be there as a backstop if they continue travelling in their current direction.

Merrell is in 4th and Haglofs Silva 5th after they both found and moved past the elusive CP12. The Estonians are almost at the CP now.

Yay, #13 Grilos has found the road to TA3!

If you want a higher quality image of the terrain, go to www.bing.com/mapspreview and paste in these co-ords:

-17.831543, -57.553722

Then change the view to Birds Eye and zooooooom in

:)

Raidlight hasn't found the road yet and Columbia has moved into 2nd place! Haglofs Silva and Merrell are travelling together and are down in the valley now. The Estonians stopped well up the mountain for a rest. SAFAT (6th) is now at CP12.

Looks like seagate and columbia left their respective TAs about 30 mins ago...

If the tracker is accurate, raidlight is looking like they're struggling pretty good trying to find the road, and will likely give up at least one spot to merrel if they haven't already.

Thanks fuddam. I never new that bing could have better satellite imagery on occasion.

Merrell and Raidlight go jungle walkabout while Estonia slip by so close to transition. How frustrating for those teams!

Haglofs Silva now a clear 3th place on the next paddle leg.

Go Merrell! This race sounds like hell.

Welcome to the rest of the night shift contingent! Thought it was just going to be me this year..

haven't been following closely so far, but on reflection it looks like Seagate made really good time on the 4th trek leg. what was just a 2hr lead on Godzone at the start of the stage has grown to become a 12 hour gap.

Columbia also stormed through the field, going from 9th to 2nd - but still gave 4hours to Seagate. Haglofs went from 6th to 3rd, giving Seagate 5.5 hours.

I won't dwell on those who lost out, and there's obviously still plenty of miles in this roadtrip, but this was quite a decisive leg by the kiwis. Not sure what news they got of the chasing pack (at either start or finish of paddle), but they can comfortably take the foot off the gas slightly here if they choose to.

Looks like Godzone finally stopped for a sleep at PC11, having crawled along the top of the ridge. they stopped for 3 hours and are now moving much quicker! They're now about 2k short of transition. They've been on this trek for 34 hours already and must have run out of food hours ago - there's no way that Nick would have thought a 40km trek would take this long!

Not when estimated times provided to teams were between 11 and 18 hours for fastest and slowest teams.

glad to see Merrell have finally made it out of the woods and on the path to the TA. But Estonia are already on the paddle and Godzone have caught up quite a lot. Raidlight look like they still having fun in the jungle!

I wonder if there's 'food' to be had along the way? they could be getting supplies from farms/villages but they seem to be more in the river sections - otherwise they could always use the mandatory machetes (to cut fruit off the trees).

onto Leg6 - the hardest one of the lot. seagate left at 4/5am and have probably done about a third of the distance so far without straying much from the suggested route. it would appear that they seem to be coping fine with this leg - but will finish it sometime in the dark.

Raidlight finally found the road... really feel for them. Hope it didn't take to much of a mental toll on them. doesn't look like they were resting just struggling...

It will be interesting to see who has managed their health the best for the next trek/packraft/trek.... looks like teams can make some good time on that final 26 km trek if they're not completely trashed from everything up to now and then over 100km of wetlands with heavy loads in oppressive heat. I'm sure they'll be looking to stay in the packrafts as much as possible vs carrying them.

Took me a while, but I am now firmly in the camp of 'rather be here than there' ...

bad things seem to have happened to BlackHill...they left on the mountain trek, collected the first 2 CPs, then turned around and went all the way back to transition.

terra de Gigantes Selva took an interesting route from 9 to 10...wonder if it was on purpose?

ARWS Facebook: Team Godzone arrived at TA4 with Merrell and SAFAT. Warren Bates said the heat was their main challenge. At one point, they had to cool themselves on a puddle. They slept for 2.5 hours up there.

Still no news on Blackhill?

I'm guessing tonites fantasy rankings will be based on Time out (or in) at TA5.

Looks like Seagate took about 8.5 hours for the paddle so anyone on the water now should be able to hit TA5 before the next Fantasy tally. Could be some rank swapping if teams decide to rest there going into the night and others push straight through and get out of TA first.

Maybe I'll gain back some of those points I lost from teams resting in TA 3? :-)

Seagate about 1 hour out from the reference point (half-way?) on trek to CP17. That'll be about 7.5 hour trek for them and I'm guessing will be about the same time Columbia gets to TA5. I would think Columbia will want to push straight through to save daylight for the trek, but it if a matter of following a flooded out cattle trail, daylight may not make much difference.

I suspect daylight will be huge in the next (packraft) section for route selection

I see Blackhill has now been moved to TA5... or at least their tracker has.
They were doing so well. I hope they are all o.k.

At high noon (HOT), Seagate is at the reference point about halfway through the Stage 6 Trek.

Blackhill is at TA5 with their flag now highlighted in black, which means they've officially retired. (Also reflected on the Leaderboard now.)

2nd place Columbia is about an hour away from TA5, the end of the paddle. They'll get a good start on the next trek in daylight. When the RD talks about using "acute vision" to spot a flooded road under water, I expect daylight will help. Too bad the cowboys don't use reflectors but I'll bet they don't do much herding at night because stingrays.

Next it's Haglofs Silva in 3rd about an hour back, just past TA3 on the river. It looks like Team #13 Grilos is on the river starting at TA3. Maybe this is going to be a short course for them? We'll see at the next update.

After a bigger gap, it's the Estonians in 4th, then SAFAT in 5th. (Those tricky Swedes have a way of working themselves up the rankings, no matter what terrain they race in!)

Then it's Godzone and Merrell almost together in 6th and 7th, then Tecnu in 8th and poor Raidlight in 9th. If you want to see a depressing race stage, rewind the tracker and watch them trying to find the road in the dark at night. I feel for them.

The 2nd to 9th place teams are all paddling between CP13/TA4 and CP16/TA5. The 10th place team (East Wind) has just reached CP12 high up on the ridge. It should be easier for them to find the elusive road in daylight. They only have 6.5 more hours of daylight, which doesn't bode well for a lot of teams still on the ridge.

Ouch, it took Seagate about 3 hours from CP12 to CP13 in daylight. It took Raidlight 12 hours, mostly in darkness, likely including some sleep. They were in 2nd place when they started so this is what can happen to a really, really good team in that terrain. Yikes!

North American content: Yogaslackers are in 12th and the JayXC fan club will be pleased to see that R'ADYS has moved into 15th. Peak Performance is now in 17th.

Go R'ADYS!

And, from the Merrell FB page--a quote I LOVE--especially the last line...
"Organiser prediction for top team: 14 hours on Stage 4 trek. Seagate 22 hours. Merrell 30 hours in 5th position. This does not bode well for the rest of the teams, less than a third are likely to finish the full course in time to catch their flights home on Sunday.
“Why did we ever think a race here would be a good idea? Why were we excited to come here? This is not fun. This is not a nice place.” Said the ever optimistic Robyn in a despondent outburst.
I cannot get photos out yet so throw these words at a canvas and build your own picture of the team: filthy, matted, rancid smelling, blistered, swollen, bitten, chafed, rash covered, utterly exhausted. This is not inspiring. This is not an advert.
Yet they collected their box, ate their food, picked up their paddles and set off on kayaks.
And this is why they are my heroes."

THE ARWS updates have some of the South American teams drinking their own urine, in order to rehydrate - nasty :D

First two rules I have in AR
1) don't drink your pee
2) never tell anyone if you have to break rule # 1

By my calculations, Seagate has a 10- to 12-hour lead. That's incredible.

Anxiously awaiting the next few updates to see how long Columbia and Silva linger in TA5.

The cool water that the stingrays enjoy is probably the most pleasant place to be walking (wading) to get a reprieve from the heat... but then there's the tender feet and unavoidable sand/grit filling your shoes &, & ...

Well that didn't take long... Columbia lingered for .. 'hey there gone'!!

a minute??!! I'd say less than 20 anyways.

So Seagate left about 9.5 hours ahead of Columbia. I think Seagate got about 4 hours rest at the TA.. Not sure how much sleep Columbia has taken so far.

Seagate now at roughly 9 hour lead, but they slept for a while (~3 hrs) at TA5. Columbia barely stopped there...maybe they slept on the kayaks? That sleep bank for Seagate may put first place finish for anyone else out of reach.

NAR appear to be on the move from TA5.... Apparently in a boat?

Tecnu's been sleeping for the past two hours...just got passed by Raidlight.

On my tracker, Tecnu's track is more than 2 hours old so hopefully they are much farther ahead than they look.

Go RADYS!!!!!

#13 Grilos has travelled from TA3 to TA5 so fast that it must have been a motorboat ride. There is no reason that kayaks or kayaking gear would have been available for them at TA3 unless the RD is doing some "short course on the fly" planning in an area with limited communication and transportation. Doubtful. Now we will see if they start the Stage 6 trek. Their flag is not highlighted in a different colour, nor does the leaderboard indicate a change in status - yet.

The previous Lanterne Rouge, Summit Adventure Team of Colombia #28 is now at TA5 highlighted in black with "Short Course" beside their name on the Leaderboard. Until now, black highlighting has only been used for teams that have retired.

Did you see that post? "During the Pack Raft stage BRA Enigma Papaventuras (10) went to test their lights (headlamps) and they did not work at all. "I had an alligator coming our way and we were there, desperate. No one knows what it is!" Said Rose Muller. "No light at dawn, alone, on the waterfront. We and alligators. But we are stronger than them and survived" joked Rose"

I would have been very scared and as pissed off as the time when FB forgot the map in transition ;)

!!!

It's now 9.5 hours since Seagate left TA5 and it looks like they're about 2/3 of the way through the trek, having done almost all of it in daylight. The predicted times for this leg were 7.5 (fast) to 16.5 (slow). Who tested this course?

There are some pretty spectacular photos up of leg 4 on the race website. I love this one: https://farm1.staticflickr.com/750/22675141518_cf7.... Check out the wind!!

The link to get the the photo page is here: http://arwcpantanal.com/ao-vivo/photos/

Oh wow, that must have felt great in the heat!

3rd place Haglofs Silva is still at TA5, having arrived around the time that Columbia left on the trek. They have about 4.5 hours of daylight left.

Eastwind seems to be doing great from 12-13!... they'll hit the road shortly if they have not already.

There's a decent gap from Haglofs Silva to 4th place Estonia on the river, then SAFAT is an hour behind them. Godzone (6th) and Merrell (7th) are within an hour behind SAFAT, and Tecnu (8th) is an hour behind Merrell.

And good for Raidlight - now at CP14 on the river, about 45 mins behind Tecnu.

From ARWS Facebook:

Update - 5th to 10th at CP13/TA5 at the end of the Stage 4 Trek.

ZAF MERRELL - "It was a tough trek with jagged rocks the whole way but the main problem was the relentless heat. There was a small window of cool in the middle of the night as the breeze came up" said Robyn. As they descended from cp 12 they couldn't find the trail and had to swim and hike down the creek to the TA. "All we wanted to do was get out and it was so slow. DEET was mouth wash for the Mosquitos" said Hanno. The team looks like they are in reasonable condition with only a few blisters. They slept for 1 hour on the mountain and are planning to get onto the water and 'Activate their kayak sleep plan' which involves one person paddling and the other sleeping.

GBR GODZone - This team who started the trek in second was slowed due to the heat. "We were forced to stop for 5 to 6 hours as we just weren't moving anywhere" said Warren. In spite of this they only managed to get only 2 hours of descent sleep. Even then they woke to find the industrious leaf cutter ants had been slicing up and carrying away parts of their back packs while they slept. The lid of Warren's pack is now a patchwork of holes. They were full of praise for their navigator. Sarah noted "Gui is the only reason we are here. He is on fire with route finding and navigation". Warren sought some medical attention for blisters on his hands which presented with some blisters and swelling. There was some debate by the medics about his wedding ring which may need to be cut off at the next TA. Warren was philosophical, "I haven't been able to get it off for years, I think I have put on weight since my wedding".

SWE SAFAT - This team entered the TA very quietly and methodically went to work getting ready to leave the TA. This team also missed the track and followed the creek to the TA but found the going better than they expected. The teams most interesting moment was seeing a jaguar on the track about 150m in front of them before they ascended into the mountains. The jaguar stood and watched them dancing around yelling and clapping for about a minute before fading back into the jungle. Malin sought some medical attention for a nasty heat rash on her back and it is unlikely she will be able to carry a backpack for the remainder of the race.

USA TECNU - Tecnu entered the TA just as the 3 other teams were leaving. They were more concerned about their placing than anything else and were very glad to be back in the race. Kyle did say "It was very slow with rocks hidden in the grass. It was a good challenge to cross the mountains of the Pantanal. It was very steep on the way down and there was a lot of sliding on your backside. It wasn't dangerous as there was a lot of jungle vegetation to hold onto to slow yourself down". They also said the hardest part of the leg were the ants as they made sleeping difficult. Mary went straight to the shower when arriving while Jason who has blistered hands sought medical help to ensure he could keep on paddling.

FRA Raidlight-Naturex - Arrived not long after USA Tecnu. They had one of the fastest times over the top of the mountain and were in 2nd place at CP12. They lost all of this by not being able to find the trail at the bottom. The team followed the creek line and tried on several occasions to use their machete to beat down a path and get to the road. They finally gave up, had a short sleep and hiked out along the creek. Nicholas said "We are very disappointed as we trekked well when up high. I am very proud of my team though as we managed to work together to get out of the jungle."

Silva started the trek shortly after 14:30.

At 15:00, it looks like 10th place East Wind has not found the road to TA4 yet. They could be following the creek, as some other teams did. Not fun.

11th place Brazilian Quasarlontra has descended from CP12 to the jungle-y, jaguar-y place where the trackers often stop tracking for awhile.

Behind them, it appears to be a 5-way tie for 12th just past CP12, including R'ADYS, Peak Performance and three Brazilian teams. Peak Performance is staying high on the ridge, leading the way on a route choice we haven't seen yet. R'ADYS and two Brazilian teams are heading straight down as most other teams have done.

Yogaslackers stopped shortly before CP12 for a rest. They've been stopped for more than an hour.

Photo of Jason Poplisky's (Tecnu) blistered hand prior to current paddle.

https://www.facebook.com/advfeelcomunicacion/photo...

Team #20 Nordic Adventures has been "retired" at TA5 since yesterday morning. This afternoon they seem to be paddling east, roughly along the Stage 6 trekking route. Bored? Passing time while waiting for a ride? Eager to explore? TA5 is on the Rio Paraguay so staying there is the fastest way back to civilization. I don't think they will keep going because where would they go?

It would be very convenient if East Wind and R'ADYS could make it to TA4 before 8pm for the Fantasy League points :) I'm presuming checking into TA4 is sufficient to update their significant move up the rankings? Or would they have to check out of TA4 before 8pm for that to happen?

I would think that checking out would only matter if a team passed somebody in transition. If a bunch of teams arrive before 8 p.m. and nobody leaves, I assume the Fantasy League would use the order of their arrival since that's how the Leaderboard would work. But it's calculated automatically so who knows if it makes sense? :)

Nordic Adventures has turned around and is returning to TA5. I guess they were just bored after waiting around for a day!

Bad news for those of you who picked East Wind in the Fantasy League. They haven't found the road to CP13/TA5 and are following the creek, which is slower. Maybe they'll make another attempt with their machetes!

11th place Quasarlontra hasn't tracked yet at 16:00 but if they find the road, they could move into the top 10.

Behind them, the two different route choices down from CP12 didn't make much difference. R'ADYS and Kailash are half a km ahead of the others but it's the next section that matters. Teams have about 2.5 hrs of daylight to find the road, which is enough if they choose a good route. Sending good vibes to JayXC! Wield that machete!

Yogaslackers are on the move again, having passed CP12 in about 17th place.

I think I jinxed Eastwind. They were <500m from the road and turn away :-(
Not that I'm superstitious... being superstitious would be bad luck.

I have East Wind too. :( My one non-performer so far has been Issy Adventure but the others are all doing fine. No swaps today.

By the way, I think the next Fantasy League points aren't calculated until tomorrow night? "You are currently selecting teams that will contribute to your League score when the League points are calculated at November 18, 2015 8:00 pm (AMST) - 1 day."

I can't even admit openly my horrible swap from yesterday. I assumed someone must have been sick/injured and they might be just limping into TA3 to reassess.
I won't be able to look "them" in the eye next time I see them :-( ... I am ashamed

Any teams you swap now will only be counted tomorrow night, but all teams locked in as selections as at 8pm last night will score points tonight.

Slice, I think they count at 20:00 tonite based on who you have right now. Any changes you've selected to occur at 20:00 tonite will be counted for you tomorrow at same time. A painful lesson for some of us!! :-)

That was the mistake I made with Mountain Designs. Not swapping them out early enough meant I only scored on 9 ranked teams for the first 2 rounds of points :( No swaps today though, so hopefully that will help.

FB, with regard to the swap.... I mean, I really do hate to say it, but i told you so....

The current Lanterne Rouge is #27 Rosa dos Ventos, currently on the ridge 1.5 km past CP10. They're in for a loooong night. Sending them best wishes!

Wilderness.... nevermind :-)

So who will get out of TA5 first out of Merrell, Godzone, Safat, and Estonia

Could be "HUGE" implications for fantasy points! Well, at least some implications...

At 17:30, Seagate has about 12 km left in the 49 km Stage 6 trek. It took them about 4 hours to cover the last 12 km. I doubt the satellite image can be trusted because of changing water levels but this last section looks a little better. Regardless, the sun will set in 90 minutes and they started just before sunrise this morning. I wonder how close they will be to the estimate for the slowest team?

If you use Bing maps to look at the aerial satellite images, the paths through this stage between TA5 & TA6 are much more apparent. Here is where Seagate is at 17:30 local time: -18.140608, -57.092731

Quasarlontra has arrived at TA4, much to the chagrin of people who chose East Wind in the Fantasy League. ;) East Wind has found their way and will arrive shortly in 11th.

With an hour of daylight remaining (probably less in the jungle), #17 Kailash Brou has found the road in 12th place. Peak Performance, R'ADYS and #7 Aroeira are close if they don't make a left turn along the creek like some teams have.

8th place Tecnu finally took their tracker out of their dry bag. ;) They are about an hour away from TA5 at the end of the paddle. They have a decent gap on Raidlight.

The Estonians have left TA5 to start the trek in 4th place.

In TA5 now are SAFAT and Godzone. 7th place Merrell should arrive shortly. They will all be trekking through the night so they may as well rest, eat, drink, etc.

That featureless landscape trek will be MUCH more difficult in the darkness. Seagate has virtually locked it up by tackling this during the day. Of course, that's assuming the next packraft section doesn't throw a wrench in their plans overnight.

Bash I think Quasarlontra is pool A and East Wind Pool B, so anyone who chose Eastwind had no option of Quasarlontra (I hope) :-)

Uh oh! FRA Issy has missed the turn NE thru the saddle to get to CP12. Hope they catch on before darkness sets in.

They had a rough time getting to CP10 as well. Hmm, do I swap or not...?

FB, yes, the teams are in those pools but we each have 5 teams from each pool, no? And I have East Wind but not Quasarlontra so I'd have been a wee bit happier to see East Wind find the road!

Moi Aussi

I thought you were second guessing taking E.W. instead of Q.L.,

Raidlight has a chance to hit TA 5 before 20:00 but very unlikely they could get out of there quick enough to leap over Tecnu or Godzone in the fantasy ranks

And anyone who is not already at TA4 is very unlikely to get there before 20:00.

Seagate might hit TA6 by 20:00.... they will certainly be close. Amazing!

Reason # 47 I'm happier to be here:

From Facebook - More things bothering Marina Verdini of Kailash Team Quasar Lontra when she arrived in PC13 were the bites of ticks! "I need to get an urgent remedy, I will not be able to paddle with this endless itching", reports Marina.

RogueAdventure is #1 in the Fantasy League at the end of Day 4 - nice job!

I recognize several nicknames in the top 11. Nice job, Phatty.

I'm 21st and have left FB and Wilderness in the rear view mirror - for now.

Looks like Seagate should arrive at TA6 around 20:15, more than 15 hours after they started. Remember the estimate was 7.5 to 16.5 hours and they did almost all of it in daylight.

Bash - agreed East Wind coming in before the Brazilians would have been nice, but the difference is only one point in the league, so no biggie.

The tough call is Issy Adventure. After a great start they have been sitting a bit behind on this trek. They are far enough down the ladder that you are only losing a point for every place they are behind another option. But a couple of points (ie a couple of places) behind each day will add up over the next 3 or 4 days to make it worth while for the 10 point hit of swapping out. Not to mention that they still have to find the track out of the trek in the dark, and future short course options are looming on Friday. A tough call, but I mad the last second decision to swap out for the round tomorrow. Will see if it pays off over the next 3 days. It's a risk because the team you swap for might tank, but I guess it is all about playing the long game.

I love how the league keeps the race in the middle of the pack really interesting for those following online. Funny how you find yourself supporting and cheering on teams you would never normally follow.

Given your success in the League, I probably screwed up! I decided to stick with Issy Adventure due to their experience. They've come a long way to race and will try hard to finish. My other options were mostly Brazilian teams I don't know who may be pushing beyond their abilities. I wouldn't know which one to pick.

I put Seagate's lead at TA6 at about 10.5 hours over second place. That's pretty incredible. To be 13% faster than the next best teams in the world is exceptional. They're in a class of their own.

Yeah, Issy were a pretty good bet from the onset due to their experience, and I admit of all the decisions I've made in the League, this one could really come to bite me back. It will be at least 2 or 3 days to see if the swap was worth it. The Brazilian team to swap for was an easy call though - Kailash Bro Aventuras have been tracking well all race and have at least one competitor from the very experience BMS team racing with them. I nearly picked them from the onset. Will be fun to see how it all plays out. Liam

According to the Course Description, Seagate has now completed 38.5% of the race course distance. Predicted winning time was 4.5 days, which would be tomorrow night. I don't think so!

Stage 7 is 57 km of Pack Rafting, estimated to take from 10.25 hrs to 22.5 hrs. There's a 26 km trek after that, which will bring us to the halfway point of the race. (!!!)

Here's the course description for the Pack Rafting:

"If the previous trekking was the beginning of the challenge, this is where the race will separate the men from the boys. Aboard their little inflatable boats, athletes will cross approximately 50 kilometers of flooded farms.

It is a region with countless options of trails, under or above water. This stage will require careful attention in orientation, because the references are all the same, just small bushes and not a single hill… Good navigators will stand out!"

From the race booklet:

"If the last leg was considered difficult, I believe this is the true crux of the race. Plenty of water within the forest and animals. [Poor watery animals!] Navigation with endless path options and difficult for the lack of references in an extremely flat region. Be careful and have a repair kit for your pack rafts. Pay attention to the stingrays. Despite being a section with deeper water, they are still there.

After crossing the Santa Rita stream, you arrive at the driest part of the race. If there is no hard rain, the last 7 km of this section will be trekking."

I don't understand the Short Course vs. Retired vs. Unranked rules. Two "Retired" teams are out on the Stage 6 trek and I think they've done the same amount of racing on the full course (i.e. up to TA3) as Grilos, currently listed on the "Short Course" and also doing the Stage 6 trek. These teams appeared to get a motorboat ride from TA3 to TA5.

Anyway, according to the leaderboard...

RETIRED:
Azimute
Blackhill
Mountain Designs
Nordic Adventures
Summit Adventure Team

UNRANKED:
Canoar Acampamento Aventura

SHORT (still shown with a ranking):
Grilos

Hahahahah! Sounds like those animals need some diuretics!

I know Google Earth isn't very accurate for looking at what the route may look like today, but if the images are any indication of travel. it looks like the teams will be in and out of boats quite a bit. Wet feet.

I wonder what the race organizers will do with the course now that we know that the top team will be nowhere close to finishing the course in their predicted time. What section would they cut out? Will everyone take the MTB Corte during the first MTB leg and skip section 10 (kayak)?

Given the time it took Seagate to get through stage 6, I imagine the next scoring round for the fantasy league will be taking results from the times teams are into/out of TA6

I think retired are out of any competition (lost a team member). Short would be the ones who took the motorboat but are still an intact team. And unranked... ummm, not sure how thery're different from retired?

Interesting alternate route choice by Kailash Quasarlontra on the paddle - I haven't looked closely enough to see if it is any shorter or longer.

Uh oh! R'ADYS were close to the Jaguar Road to CP13/TA5. Since then, they've done a big out and back and are now where they were 2.5 hours ago. Go east, JayXC, go east!

Brazilian teams 10 and 31 are heading away from the road in the same direction R'ADYS went.

And as for alternate route choices, what are Kailash Brou Aventuras doing at the start of the paddle! I imagine in the dark with all that jungle around them, it will be impossible to get any meaningful reference points for navigation. Hopefully they can get it together in short order.

I'm sure you hope so - especially now that Issy Adventure is right on track for CP12. ;)

Alas, JayXC didn't go east. R'ADYS is giving their previous route another try and it looks like they'll follow the creek for awhile. The past 5 hours must have been frustrating! (Check their track.)

Yogaslackers snuck by and are on the road to TA4.The two Brazilian teams who headed the same way as R'ADYS seem to be taking a nap. Hope they've got their strobe lights flashing!

GAH! Darkness reigns supreme over FRA Issy and all the other teams currently in the hunt for CP12. Issy is searching in vain on the wrong mount it appears. Hope they decide to bed down for some rest until daylight.

Merrell and Estonia look to be in a group of 5 Teams ... do they all still have flashing lights on this section... someone's gonna have a seizure.

At 23:00, Seagate hasn't tracked but they are probably resting at TA6.

2nd place Columbia is near the Reference Point on the Stage 6 trek.

Haglofs Silva is an hour behind in 3rd.

The Estonians and Merrell are 2.5 hrs behind, tied for 4th. SAFAT hasn't tracked but they are probably in the same group. These lead teams are travelling with two "retired" teams (Summit Adventure and Azimute) and "short course" Grilo. I guess they're hoping to splash a lot and scare the crap out of those stingrays!

There's a larger gap back to Tecnu in 7th and Raidlight in 8th, both near the start of the trek. Godzone hasn't left TA5.

Tecnu and Raidlight back on the move.. Godzone appears to be resting still

echo.. echo... echo..... :-)

:) It's a bonding experience when we have the same thoughts.

It's a long way back to 10th place Quasarlontra, a third of the way through the 60 km paddle. Behind them on the water are Peak Performance, East Wind and Kailash Brou (13th).

Looks like Kailash Brou Aventuras have recovered.

I'm a little confused by the classifications of short coursed, unranked and retired. By my definition, a retired team is no longer continuing on the course and an unranked team is one that has lost a team member or missed a CP but is still continuing on the course. However, there are a couple of "retired" teams out on the Stage 6 hike now. I'm hoping this means that MDs haven't retired but will get to still continue on the course at some point.

Peak Performance is moving fast on the river and dropped Eastwind very quickly after starting the paddle with or near them. Will not be surprised if the catch up with Quasar before the end of the stage.

Yogaslackers (14th) are almost at the end of the TA4 trek.

R'ADYS is currently 15th although they're taking the same painful jungle route that Merrell and Raidlight took.

From the Blackhill/Opavanet Facebook page:
Právě jsme obdrželi zprávu od organizátorů: "Hi Black Hill community, one of the athletes was not feeling well so the team choose to retire. But all are well, so no need to worry."

From Sleepmonsters:

Craig Bycroft from the AR World Series walked up to CP12 and said that in the area near the road there was a large creek completely unmarked on the map which he thought had been causing some of the problems. Poor mapping is just one of the navigational issues the teams have to cope with as they cross Pantanal.

Craig said; “It was like another world up there. There are huge gullies and chasms, many ridges and spurs and as you look into the distance there so many more mountain ranges. It’s an amazing place. It was cooler up there as the wind is stronger today.”

In case you missed the Sleepmonsters article that explains the once-in-a-lifetime experiences teams are having - like the guy on Kailash Brou who drank his own urine.
http://www.sleepmonsters.com/v2_races.php?article_...

Godzone (9th) is trekking just 1 km behind Raidlight.

One more team has started the Stage 5 paddle - Brazilian Competition Aroeira (14th). Yogaslackers are at TA4 in 15th.

The two Brazilian teams (10 and 31) who headed off bushwhacking in the same direction as R'ADYS had a Eureka moment and turned east to the road. Unfortunately, they didn't flash their strobe lights brightly enough. R'ADYS is still in the thick of it. :(

Issy Adventure and unranked Canoar A.A. are still looking for CP12 on the wrong mountain top in the dark. So easy to see this from the couch at home. Two other teams will arrive soon to add some minds to the problem, which will hopefully steer everyone the right way eventually.

As of midnight, 84.5 hours into the race, my approximate estimate of the top 15 as they stand on the ground are below. I've included time splits to Seagate, who have been in TA6 for 4 hours and are presumably sleeping. Note that these times don't take into account how much sleep a team has had, and given it is in the early hours of the morning, they could still see a shake up over the next few hours:

1. Seagate (sleeping in TA6)
2. Columbia Oncosec - 7 hours
3. Haglofs Silva - 8.5 hours
4. Merrell - 10 hours
5. Estonia Ace Adventure - 10 hours
6. SAFAT - 10.5 hours
7. Tecnu - 12:45 hours
8. Raidlight Naturex - 14:15
9. GODZone - 14:20
10. Kailash Quasarlontra - 23 hours
11. Peak Performance - 24 hours
12. East Wind - 24.5 hours
13. Kailash Brou Aventuras - 26:15
14. Competition Aroeira - 26:45
15. Yogaslackers - 27:30

Seagate have been in TA6 for 4.5 hours now. I suspect they have gotten word of their handy lead and are taking a solid rest. I wouldn't be surprised to see them up and moving soon, and being (relatively) well rested moving well. Sunrise is still a while away, but they should do the bulk of the Stage 7 packrafting leg in daylight and presumably extend their lead.

Anyone taking bets that even Seagate get sent on the short course and will skip Stage 10 all together? The only other time I can think of this happening is the first GODZone race in 2012 where every team, including Seagate, had to skip whole sections of the full course to get through the race in time.

The course closes in just over 86 hours. The "fast" time estimates for the remaining stages total about 47 hours, not counting transitions. Starting tomorrow, we may see teams affected by transition areas closing, e.g. TA4 closes at noon. We should have another pool on the number of teams that will finish the entire course! (And "zero" is an acceptable guess.)

By your maths, there should be plenty of time to complete the course for Seagate, and perhaps one or two others. But apart from the kayaking stages, all of the time predictions have blown out massively, particularly Stage 4. Even Stage 6 had time predictions of 8:30 to 16:20 and it took Seagate 19 hours, doing most of it in daylight.

So if the bet is to how many teams make it through the full course as it is set now, than my prediction is 0. This next packrafting stage looks brutal.

Exactly. The "fast" time estimates have been wildly low. Just because I do math doesn't mean I believe it. :)

Some minor changes since RA's excellent update:

- SAFAT has moved into 4h, probably tied with Merrell since they had moved ahead together at 1 a.m. The Estonians have fallen back a little, still travelling with the retired/unranked teams.

- Godzone has snuck past Raidlight to move into 8th place.

Near the start of the paddle, Aroeira is having some nav issues in the dark.

R'ADYS hasn't tracked for the past hour so I've got my fingers crossed.

And Issy Adventure is sitting tight on the wrong mountain top near CP12, hopefully getting some rest at least.

Over to the night shift!

Good morning! Pleased to see Merrell having moved up a few places - it's all still quite tight for 2nd through to 9th. Thanks again for the fantastic updates! I, too would like to throw my name into the hat of "thanks, but no thanks" when considering the conditions these teams are facing...

I'm also more than happy to do this race from a satellite image, leaf cutter ants tearing out your backpack whilst you (try) sleep?!!:


The most extreme situation happenend with Jose Elias (Kailash Brou Aventuras) who drank urine and asked for water when reaching CP7. “We ran out of water 5 hours ago and when I am in this situation, I pee in the bottle to use inthe last call", he said.

But he had another system to get water, too. “I put some leaves inside a plastic bag and attached it outside my bag. The leaf humidity turns into water with the heat.”

Curtlo Lobo Guará had two situations to have some water. The first one was not a good idea, said Rodolfo Portella. He had a buff in his wrist and tried to use the sweat to kill his thirst.

Them his teammate Pietro Carlo remembered the wet clothes from pack rafting that they put inside a dry bag. They twisted them to get some fresh water.

Despite all the problems the teams keep going. “This is the World Championship, is not for kids. Teams here know this is not a regular race so it has to be this way and a little more. It is a race for the best”, said Xikito (QuasarLontra).

Awesome paddle and hike by Merrell, who have now moved up caught Columbia and Silva. Looks like Merrell, Columbia, Silva and SAFAT all hiking together in 2nd place.

Seagate now in transition for 7 hours. Perhaps a sick team mate, or they are banking a ton of sleeping, backing their speed when rested and heading on the packraft closer to first light. Theories anyone?

Four teams tied for second place on day 4 of an expedition race. Surely that is unheard of.

My theory is Seagate are getting a good sleep in before tacking the packraft in daylight. If they had a sick team mate, I think they may have moved alot slower on the last hike.

Odd route choice by East Wind on the paddle leg which may even cost them a place?

Seagate are now on the move!

after the New Zealand All Blacks Rugby team comfortably won the Rugby World Cup last month, it pains me to see Seagate so dominant here. It's not over yet, but as it stands - the Leg4 trek is where they really showed their class. Only team to do it in under 24 hours and they opened a huge gap here, despite starting with a small one on the chasing pack.

They have the minor irritation of a 30minute time penalty, but it's possibly not going to make the slightest difference - one can only applaud.

Conspiracy theory but what if Seagate looks at what is in the rearview, how much time it has taken, what's still to go, does the math, and goes for maximum rest so as to put extra pressure on the race organizers to shorten a racecourse that is too long for the time allotted? Smart move in my opinion as they'll still be able to move quicker than the rest of the field with sleep and rest in the bank.

i've marked this one on the 'watch later' list on youtube - looks like a decent show to put the race area in perspective https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbNo8JlMhvM

In other news, it looks like team Mountain Designs are back on the move again after spending over 26 hours in TA4. I assume they are paddling as a team of 3 and not catching a motor back to race HQ given that it has just gone sun up and would be an ideal time for an unranked team to enjoy more of the course.

This next stage (7) is going to take an awful long time at the current pace - check Seagate's progress relative to the previous stage, and that is after a massive sleep and in daylight! Stu is going to sleep till Christmas at this rate!

Nathan's dislike of long races is fairly well known I think - he's been quoted in the past as saying that 4 days for the winners is ideal. I wouldn't be surprised if Phatty is partially right on this issue. The other reason will be to bank enough sleep so that they can start out on the packraft section just before daybreak and move quick enough to complete it in daylight. The navigation on that section sounds horrible, and any teams trying to do it at night are likely to be at least 50% slower. Chances are that even with 6 hours sleep, they'll do it as quickly as anyone who has to do part or all of it at night... (remind me to check back on that prediction tomorrow!)

Seagate going in revers?

looks like seagate are going backwards..they've done an about turn and have spent about an hour going nowhere - BUT the tracking has such course resolution with 15min timestamps so it's very hard to say too much right now.

here's where seagate are right now - go to bingmaps

-18.187532, -57.006653

it's not exactly easy to compare the two. would be interesting to see what their maps look like for this leg. posted anywhere?

From the tracking and the pics on Merrell's facebook, it's clear that 3 teams are travelling together. This will help morale and route finding in tough conditions, helping them to gain on Seagate.

Speaking of which, Seagate has just changed course and are now heading East, off the "recommended route".

Ouch, Fi is right. Nearly 4 hours out of transition and they've done less than 5km. If Seagate are having issues in the daylight I wouldn't fancy the chances of mere mortals having to do this stage in the dark.

is the 'suggested route' on their maps....surely not?

in that case, Seagate are not totally going in the wrong direction, yet. Either way, this leg is shaping up to be a real decisive one.

Do we know if the water is high or low?

Who knows what is the faster travel in that flat, waterlogged terrain? Head for any type of vegetation in hopes that there's decent land underfoot to walk on? Or, try and find navigable waterways that are hopefully deep enough and long enough to warrant a full inflate of the packrafts? One can only imagine...honestly, that landscape looks like a nightmare.

It looks like Seagate is just North of a trail heading South that would take them almost half way to next CP.

Well spotted, Stark. Looks like it leads to a small village. It must be on their map. I'd love to see what they are seeing on their maps. 1:100 000 - can't be easy, especially on flat featureless terrain like that.

Seagate going SE, parallel to that trail - maybe GPS is off. SAFAT doing something strange but at least seem to have recovered, Haglofs straight out of TA6 - no hanging around. Godzone also back on the accelerator, passing Tecnu. The Estonians taking it easy.

Swedish Armed Forces (29) appears to be taking a bit of a dipsy doodle in the wrong direction - headed north.

Now SAFAT (29) are correcting. But where is Raidlight (26)
going?

Thanks for all the great updates!

#24 4any1 Lobo Guára and #27 Rosa dos Ventos are dicing* it out for the Lanterne Rouge honour, currently around CP11 on the Stage 4 Trek. With only 7 more hours of daylight, let's hope they find CP12 easily and head straight for the road to CP13/TA4.

Btw TA4 was scheduled to close a few minutes ago. I'm not sure what that means for the 5 teams currently between CP11 and CP13/TA4.

*Was that proper usage, SA friends?

My Fantasy League friends, Issy Adventure, saw the correct mountain top at sunrise and headed over to CP12. They then made a beeline for CP13/TA4, taking only a few hours to get there. I guess they got lots of rest on the wrong mountain top!

By contrast, JayXC really got his money's worth on this leg. I look forward to his race report since his stories are always good! R'ADYS took almost 16 hours to get from CP12 to CP13 after getting tangled up in the valley jungle where other teams have reported using machetes to move forward. They couldn't have been carrying enough food for that.

The good news is that R'ADYS is still racing. After what could have been a morale-busting night, they arrived at TA4 around sunrise and were out on their kayaks 27 minutes later. Awesome.

Yep, Bash, while #24 and #27 dice it out for the Lanterne Rouge, the nice 3-way dice for 2nd place is about to get very interesting on this next stage. The teams probably won't stay together. I hope Merrel can make the most of daylight and get moving. Meanwhile Seagate has found that village.

It is really great to see all the reporting about teams at the back as well as the lead teams. Thanks!

Oh my. Poor Raidlight seems to be wandering in the wilderness.

Yikes, I thought they'd got themselves back on track but... no.

With only three teams out on the Stage 7 Pack Rafting section so far, we're seeing route variations and signs of confusion already. These are the top teams in the world. They are navigating in daylight. Access for rescue looks very limited. Weather, fatigue and wildlife could cause serious problems for some racers. Opportunities for rest are probably limited too, given the terrain and animals.

Having managed a race HQ a number of times, the thought of less experienced, more fatigued teams doing this section at night is raising my blood pressure!

On a happier note, look at the meal teams can get at CP13/TA4! "rice, beans, macaroni and a lot of fish"
https://www.facebook.com/ARWSBrasil/photos/np.1447...

...and hopefully lots to drink!

Just to make it more interesting, Bash, consider the fact that Raidlight have been trying to make headway, but no dice!

;)

Now Raidlight are back to the route...let's hope they turn in the correct direction

Merrell taking a bit of a break at TA6. Looks like Columbia slept a bit on the trek...does anyone see the last time Haglofs slept?

Stage 7 (the one the leaders are on) is, to me, the most interesting stage to watch so far, with Seagate choosing a line that's way off the recommended route. They seem to be making good progress nonetheless, but it will be fascinating to watch whether teams that take the recommended line go significantly faster and actually make this a race for more than just second place.

"No dice" - that is my motto for this race! ;)

I'm guessing that Seagate is navigating toward obvious landmarks on the map in order to stay found. In this terrain this is only going to be villages/ranches that are noted on the maps. Look how they nailed a village an hour or so ago. Now they appear to be aimed almost directly toward the Ref point, which is also a village. We'll see if flawless bearing following is faster than flawless trail following (if either is even possible).

Now, where is Godzone going?

And Summit Adventure Team too? Btw you've probably noticed that the Short Course teams (currently Grilos and Summit Adventure) are shown with teal highlighting.

I think Haglofs got a couple of hours sleep at the "CPref" shown half way through the previous trek. Looks like their tracker stopped there for a couple of hours.

Seagate are going for the straight line approach, by the looks of it. Godzone appear to have picked up the pace quite a bit, passing Tecnu and the Estonians and making good progress, now only 3km from the transition.

@ Bash -Yes, But it is confusing to see black teams still on the course - like Nordic Adventure and Mountain Designs. I thought "retired" meant you stopped racing. Although Nordic Adventure just seems to be going back and forth near TA5.

OK Godzone looking better now- maybe just route choice.

I agree the terminology has been confusing. Also, the Leaderboard hasn't always assigned teams to the correct category, e.g. Summit Adventure Team was listed as "Retired" at one point but now they are "Short Course".

Nordic Adventures has been "Retired" at TA5 for more than two days. Yesterday afternoon they fooled me by going for a paddle and it looks like they got curious and did some of the trek today too. They're just trying to entertain themselves after travelling all the way from Norway and doing so little of the race course!

If my readings are correct, it appears as if Haglofs has cut Seagate's lead to 3-4 hours. But of course Seagate is much more rested.

I'm suspect that Silva is either following a trail or they are following footsteps of Seagate.

Do we know if they need to hit the reference points? Can they use a totally different route to just get to the next CP?

They do not need to hit the reference points. Those are locations provided by the race organization where there may be easier routes, e.g. trails.

The race began 4 days ago - Saturday around 13:00. Here's where everyone is:

Stage 7 Pack Rafting
1) Seagate - with a decent lead, especially considering their full night of sleep at TA6
2) Haglofs Silva
3) Columbia (45 mins back)

TA6
4) Merrell - although they didn't track at 13:30 so they could be pack rafting now
5) SAFAT - arrived recently

Stage 6 Waterlogged Trek
6) Godzone - with unranked Azimute
7) Tecnu
8) Estonians
9) Raidlight - going in circles for the past 3 hours
10) Peak Performance
11) Quasarlontra
12) East Wind
13) Kailash Brou
14) Aroeira

Also two Short Course teams - Grilo and Summit Adventure

TA5 (end of river paddle)
15) Enigma Papaventura
16) Yogaslackers

Stage 5 Paddle:
17) Terra de Gigantes
18) R'ADYS
19) Fenix Multisport
20) Issy Adventure

Also Unranked Team Canoar Acampamento

Stage 4 Trek
21) Ekos Pinheiros Selva
22) Nossa Vida
23) Uruguay Natural Ultrasports
24) 4any1 Lobo Guara
25) Rosa dos Ventos

Because TA4 was supposed to close at noon, I'm not sure of the status of the final five teams. There was talk of extending the deadlines after the leaders exceeded course estimates.

Columbia headed straight south on the recommended route - should be interesting to see if it helps them!

Looks like Haglofs have hit the trail that Seagate may have been on. Hard to know with the tracker updates. Seagate look like they were glued to a bearing and steamrolled right on through.

Head to head between the recommended route (Columbia) vs wild trail (Haglofs). Be interesting to see which is quicker.

Hard to judge what Seagate are following as map resolution goes to pot after the village with no clear trail to follow.

Amazing race to follow.

Yay, always fun to see different route choices play out!

I don't know how they did it for this race but for Wilderness Traverse, the marked line on our live coverage map shouldn't be called the "recommended route". The developers ask us for a GPS track, usually within two weeks of the event when we're really busy, so the track is usually one we already have, i.e. a route we took. When we test a course, we may be curious to see what a particular area is like, whether there is a campsite on a lake or whether a trail goes farther than marked. We sometimes choose the route we would take in a race but not always. So in our case, it is "a route", not "the route".

Our marked line is not provided to racers, just to spectators. In this event, I think the racers only have the Reference Points.

New information. Always learning. Thanks Bash!

After the 14:00 track, Merrell is still at TA6. Tecnu is doing some side exploration, which has allowed the Estonians to slip by into 7th place.

Raidlight is back on course and moving well, undoubtedly annoyed at wasting 3 hours of daylight.

Summit Adventure is circling now.

A-ha, thanks for the info, Bash! Going the direct route doesn't seem to have slowed Seagate at all, so I think it will be difficult for Columbia to gain too much time, although zooming in on the (newly termed) "blue-line route", it appears as if much of it is tan-colored/cleared away/dirt rather than jungle/green.

These RDs may have consciously drawn their blue-line route but at the moment, I think I'd call Seagate's route the "recommended" one! :)

Seagate travelled about 3 km in the past hour. Not bad considering how yucky the terrain looks. (That's a technical term for any non-adventure racers following this thread.) There's still a long way to go with only 4.5 hours of daylight remaining. If it's dry enough, the last 7 km will be a trek on a trail and Seagate will be able to nap again before heading out on the 26 km trek - you know, the one that will bring them to the halfway point of the race course, distance-wise.

Columbia is making a beeline over to the trail that Haglofs Silva is on - the same way Seagate went.

Tecnu has veered north of the herdsman's trail on Stage 6 for the past hour. Let's hope their next track turns south. And poor Summit Adventures is still going backwards, trying to get back on the trail.

I'd love to see the maps for this leg7 (and leg 6 really too).

It should be mandatory for races with big online following for the RD to upload their maps or a screenshot thereof to us dot watchers. :-)

also, Bing maps is way better here for sat photos. someone asked earlier about the seasons. - it's the start of the wet season currently, so i would hazard a guess, the driest possible.

Rain season in the pantanal
In general we can say that the rain season starts in November and ends in April. At this time the water level raises and covers a large part of the land giving you the possibility to explore the waterways, revealing fantastic landscape views. The rain season is also the breeding season for most of the animals, when they search for higher lands to hide.
Dry season in the Pantanal
In the dry season (May to October) the water level goes down forming baias (bays), lakes and waterways. It is the season when trees start to bloom and animals come out to look for food for their new born: mammals, reptiles and birds. As the land gets dryer they gather around the baias, lakes and waterways looking for water. Giving you the chance to spot a variety of species.

I swear I saw a post that said TA4 would remain open a bit longer...now I can't find it. Was it 3pm today? There's only one team with a chance to make this cut: Ekos.

Okay found it on Sleepmonsters FB stream. Quoting it:

Here's an update that I just received from Rob Howard:
"Update from AT4 on day 4 at ARWC Pantanal. The closure time here has been extended to 3pm, but its unlikely all the teams still trekking will make it.(If they don't they will have to wait for a boat downriver.)
Almost all the press are here and going nowhere as fuel is low and the plane is broken down, so don't expect much in the way of news today."

So, it looks like Ekos will be the last team to paddle stage 5. Cut-off happens right about now.

Can't you just hear the frustration underlying Rob's update...

Any takers on how long this leg will take Seagate? They are not yet halfway, and it has been nearly 10 hours in daylight after an unusually long sleep...

Predicted time 10 hours and 15 minutes if that helps... (ie double it at least)

@ Bash: WHHAAAAATTT??? your line on the WT page wasn't THE route? You mean I could have left my Smart phone behind and not risked getting it wet during the race?.... ;)

Yup! Silly boy. Sorry to cause confusion on your way to victory!

Great info, Conman. Yes, love the tone of that update from SM. I wonder where Relentless is hanging out. It sounds like being with the media at this race is another item for the "no dice" list.

Just requested that earring Doug get one of the photo geeks a the race to snap pictures of the racer maps for our reference.

Thanks! The race booklet that Relentless photographed has been super helpful.

Earring Doug isn't there, is he?

Somebody really needs to go out there and uncover Merrell's tracker. Very confusing, it is at the moment!

For those of us who are missing Kyle's smiling face...
https://www.facebook.com/162254323809953/photos/pc...

Pretty sure Doug is indeed part of the press crew. He wrote this yesterday:

"I have a limited access where I am but apparently our tracking device stalled two hours ago so not sure what place we are in on the 60 kilometers paddling leg but I'm sure we are a couple of places farther up than where we are."

Maybe he's in places with limited access that are not in Brazil?

From a recent ARWS Facebook update:

USA Tecnu arrived at TA5 excited they had seen armadillos, capybara and had an alligator swim next to them.

...Latest predictions have NZL Seagate at the finish on Friday afternoon. Just over 6 days....

TA6/CP17 is the most remote part of course. No access. Media flying in to try to get photos. 1950's Cessna.

Doug also wrote this early in the race:

"It's incredibly hard to call this race. Media crew in Brazil here are all fighting for use of one satellite phone, one satellite connection. Wi-Fi is almost non-existent. Not much word coming back from the course and when there is its spotty. Just a very difficult part of the world to get word out to everybody who's trying to follow the race so we are left watching dots blinking when we can get them but those are inaccurate because trackers are either not working, or they're stuck for hours."

Sounds like he's there, eh?

Regardless of whether Earring Doug is at an event, he always writes the Facebook updates as if he is there. And he is a great fan of Tecnu, often suggesting that they are likely doing better than it appears online. :)

The word "here" in the 2nd sentence is an indication that he may be there, as he sometimes does attend events. But he is posting much more to the Internet than I would expect for someone who is in the Pantanal.

At the back of the pack, I hope the Lantern Rouge team(s) -- 4any1 and Rosa -- find PC12 and get off the mountain before dark...it's awfully close, but maybe they have enough light and visibility at the moment to know where they need to go before dark settles in.

Doug posted on facebook (maybe in a conversation with Randy?) that he wouldn't be making the trip this time.

Thanks, Abby - and congrats on your great performance in the Fantasy League so far!

There was this photo of Map 2, but the resolution is pretty useless: https://www.facebook.com/400TEAM/photos/a.28224510...

Thanks! Brent's AR color commentary has been on overload with this race, so it's a constant hum in our house :) (He's not on AP, but he's bfhhouck in the fantasy league)

Yours is the winning household, I'll bet!

Brent needs to get on AP - we love AR colour commentators. :)

Ha, I'll work on him :)

And the race has just gone 100 hours!

I just received an email confirmed that Doug is not in Brazil. He is, however, doing a great job of sorting through a lot of information sources and sharing them on the Tecnu Facebook page.

When you're too tired to feed yourself... It's time to get in a kayak and paddle 60 km.

From ARWS Facebook: "The team BRA Ekos Pines Jungle Adventure (9) was the last team to go through PC13 / AT4 within the TA closing time and will continue on the full course, but the team needs to keep up the pace in order to make it to the next PC before 2:00 a.m. Otherwise they will be disqualified!"

See the photo.
https://www.facebook.com/ARWSBrasil/photos/np.1447...

Thanks for the map link Rouge. I agree it's not great, but you can decipher the location of TA6 centered near the top in pink, then PRef on Stage 7 SE of it about mid-map as well as TA7 further SE and near to the E map edge.

The many straight black lines seem to indicate trails/paths and the one from TA6 that teams have been trying to track along is pretty clear.

GAH! Too bad about Doug. Maybe someone else can request better map pics...the link above is okay, but something higher res sure would be nice.

I know this is a "packrafting" leg, but looking at the satellite map, the race map photo and the route the three lead teams are taking, and do you think they will actually do any packrafting? It's a long way to carry an extra 12kg+ worth of gear (3kg per raft, 1kg per paddle and 0.5kg per PFD) if you don't end up using them.

I was just wondering the same thing. It may be very similar to the last leg - trails that are occasionally flooded but not necessarily worth pack rafting. That's a long time to spend doing that kind of trek. #nodice ;)

BRA Ekos (now the Lantern Rogue) left TA4 at just before 1600 local time and have until 0200 to reach TA5 = 10 hours. The teams already reflected on the leader board have all accomplished this or nearly so except, most notably, for the two recent stage 5 finishers (JPN East Wind and BRA Brou) who each had some nav troubles / questionable route choices along the way. So, it's doable if they ride the current, paddle well and stay the course.

Tecnu are almost in off Stage 6 after almost 19 hours on that leg.

Merrell's tracker has not updated in 2.5 hours, so there is a good chance that they are in fourth place and out on the Stage 7 Packraft leg.

At 16:30, Seagate is almost at the Reference Point on the Stage 7 "pack raft" leg.

Behind them, Haglofs Silva has arrived at the village along the trail.

Columbia seems to be following the same route although the GPS tracks for the top 3 teams don't all align with the trail - which may or may not mean anything.

SAFAT has started the leg, possibly in 4th place depending on what Merrell is actually doing.

Zooming in, it looks like Godzone also started Stage 7 right at 16:30.

wait a moment...map2? have they done the first 80 hours of racing on one map?


interesting that all three teams to do the leg7 so far have taken the direct route to the Pref as soon as possible. does it mean the suggested route(s) is probably quicker, but they just don't have the same level of info the RD had when setting the course?

I say this, because if transition marshalls are watching, they could pass on this info to later teams...and the race compresses.

anyway, 4:30pm local time now, but bedtime for me at GMT +2. i think there's going to be some varicose veins all over this leg when i wake up.

Tecnu has just reached TA6 in 8th position! Yogaslackers began the trek to TA6 just about an hour ago in 16th position. Go USA!

Also, Silva's bearing over the last couple hours has been impressively straight. No way they are packrafting unless the whole place is flooded.

Sleep well, Shebeen - we need you fresh for the night shift!

Oh dear. Poor Summit Adventure still wandering like lost souls.

shebeen: Map 2 picks up just before TA5. Yes, Map 1 was the only map in use until that point. The maps are 1:100,000 so they cover huge areas and don't have very much detail, esp. for elevation contours. That was part of the trouble in the stage 4 mountain trek for many teams.

From ARWS Facebook: "Teams BAR Nossa Vida (21) and URY Uruguay Natural UltraSports (32) arrived after the TA4 closing time (15:00) so they are now out of the race and are being transported to TA 5 with the HQ boat."

It seems weird that teams who didn't get to TA3 before it closed were allowed to resume racing on a short course from TA5, whereas (presumably better) teams that got to TA4 are out of the race. There are still teams paddling on the river who haven't reached TA5 yet. And the race isn't expected to end till Friday.

Uruguay is marked "Retired" while Nossa Vida is marked "Unranked" but that may be a temporary Leaderboard issue.

Translating some Portuguese on Facebook, I see that a bunch of commenters are saying the same thing!

Taking bets on how many finish....I can't imagine many if any at all. Anybody willing to predict?

Also from ARWS Facebook (are they looking here?)

"The teams maps do not have the colored course line like we can see on the tracking map. This line may or may not be the fastest/best route. It is just the route that the race organisation went during their course reccies. Teams are free to choose how they get from one CP to the next."

Haha, here's a translation of one of the comments below the explanation of the coloured line:

"If the organization has done reconnaissance, how could they do give estimates also wrong???!"

Looks like the flood of race news, photos and videos is going to dry up overnight. ;)

"Kalypso, it is the name of the boat that works as HQ of ARWC Pantanal 2015. All the race control is inside the boat, that travels Paraguay River following the race with organizers, media and families and friends of racers.

Small boats travel attached during all time and they are used to take journalist and photographers to checkpoint alongside of the river or places that the big boat can not reach. With food, bed and air conditioning, Kalypso offers all the infrastructure in a remote area like Pantanal.

The boat with the organization of the team will leave the Treasury Acurizal the 16hs sense Corumbá. We will take about 15 hours and we no communication! Monitor the site the position of the teams! Tomorrow morning we will be online with more information Pantanal Pro."

Photo of the Kalypso. It's not the easiest way to cover an AR but when the race takes place in a remote region like this, there may not be any better way.
https://www.facebook.com/ARWSBrasil/photos/a.14368...

Speaking of the media, if you zoom in on TA6, you can see the wee runway at the farm. Between that and a "broken down" plane (as reported by Sleepmonsters), I'd choose the boat.

To be fair, there are some gorgeous photos of the race course, even though some were taken before the race. There are some nice racer photos too. Check out Stage 7 to see what the trails may look like.
http://arwcpantanal.com/ao-vivo/photos/

Seagate's speed has really picked up the last couple of hours - hopefully the terrain is improving? I read somewhere that the RD has been through here a couple of weeks before the race sand said the last part of this section was drier than expected.

Yes, and the race booklet said that if it's dry, the last 7 km will just be a trek.

Well, that will be a nice warm up for the next 26km...trek...

They will be so excited to see their bikes for the first time 5 days into the race...

I hope they haven't rotted away in the jungle.

This is probably the "broken plane".
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=9601137340...

Seagate's lead to Haglofs Silva is 5 hours right as it should be getting dark soon. They are about half way through the trek and have been out on this leg for 13 hours (almost all of that done in the day). Even if the second half of the leg is quicker terrain, and done faster in the cool of night (despite the harder nav of darkness), the organisers predicted time of 10 hours for the fastest team is right out of the window. Even the slowest time of 22.5 hours is looking like a push for the best team in the world.

On 7 hours of sleep.

Looks like Seagate basically shot an azmuth and headed for the RefPoint. Pretty tough to do in conditions like that. I can't even imaging moving through that stuff.

Holy s**t, the 2nd packraft stage is already causing havoc! Silva is making circles at the first farm and Columbia is heading due East...really curious what they have planned. Doesn't night arrive over the next hour?

Going to guess that Columbia is paddling around trying to find a route the "goes" heading South.

Haglofs Silva left a farm (I think) and returned to it more than an hour later. They had only gone half a km south of it before they turned back so they were moving slowly. It looks like a conscious decision, not a nav error. Perhaps with darkness falling in less than an hour, they decided to look for a dry place to rest.

Or maybe they couldn't bear to leave a perfectly good road to return to the wetlands.

Or they've spotted another route where they can use the road.

Or they've decided they chose the wrong sport...

Or they suddenly remembered to try and sell their pack rafts to the farmer?

Waiting for this next tracker update and hoping we see Merrell out of the TA!

Good morning, Stijn!

Looks like Haglofs Silva is heading west toward the blue-line route - although it's just one track and they may still have something else in mind.

Oops, not morning - still night for you!

Yep - and still no joy from the Merrell tracker... off to bed for me.

Leave your phone on. I'll text you if they move. ;)

After the top teams seemed to have generally agreed on the same route:

Seagate is travelling the blue-line route after the Reference Point.

Haglofs Silva (2nd) has changed their mind and decided to head west. It wasn't a quick decision but they're heading away from civilization so they appear to be well.

Columbia (3rd) is making good time going east.

Who knows where Merrell is? They haven't tracked since 14:00. They were 4th into TA6 so they could be next on the list.

SAFAT (4th-ish) hasn't tracked recently either but we know they are on Stage 7.

Godzone left the TA next and immediately stopped tracking.

Then the Estonians (6th-ish).

In the TA6, we have Tecnu, possibly Merrell, Grilos (Short Course - no track for the past 90 minutes) and Azimute (Unranked).

Out on the Stage 6 Trek, Raidlight (9th) and Summit Adventure (Short Course) have separately wandered away from the herdsman's path again.

Behind them (although maybe not for long), Peak Performance and Quasarlontra are travelling together, tied for 10th.

#24 4any1 Lobo Guára and #27 Rosa dos Ventos, our former Lanterne Rouge teams who are now officially out of the race because they've missed the TA4 cut-off, are just entering the jungle below CP12. From there, it is either 3 hours to TA4 - or a whole lot more. Sending them "find the road" vibes!

Our new Lanterne Rouge (last team on the full course) is Ekos Pinheiros Selva.

Current position of some Fantasy League teams people have mentioned:

East Wind - 12th
Kailash Brou - 13th
Yogaslackers - 16th
R'ADYS - 18th
Issy Adventure - 20th

(I haven't taken into account what their ranking was when they left the last TA - it'll be similar.)

....and Ekos appears to be making decent time on the river so far. Perhaps about 15 mins behind Seagate's time over the same stretch & about 1/3 of the way, in river miles, to TA5. Seagate took ~9:30 for the stage, so Ekos may be have trouble making the cutoff if they don't pick up some time.

Going into Wesnesday night I am looking for how course closure(s) might/will happen? I'm just looking at the stages wondering how it's possible for even the non-mortals to complete this before flights home. Any info anyone on this?

Only thoughts I have are that there is a large amount of biking coming, with much faster travel assumed. I saw something earlier estimating Friday finish for Seagate on full course. Judicious short-coursing should get the mortal teams caught up, I think. We'll see!

The course closes on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Seagate will probably finish Stage 7 some time tonight and take a nap. The total "fastest" time estimates for the remaining stages total almost 37 hours, not counting TAs. So if Seagate leaves TA7 at first light on Thursday morning and if the fastest time estimates are accurate this time, and if they rush through the TAs, they could get in on Friday evening. But that's a lot of "ifs".

It looks like the best bet is to send everyone to the finish by mountain bike after the Stage 8 Trek. I like Phatty's conspiracy theory on this.

O Raidlight... You were soooo close to getting back on track. :(

Summit Adventure has been resting for the last 1.5 hours. After lots of circling, they're about a kilometre away from where they were at noon (8 hours ago). But they probably don't know that.

Godzone is moving, Tecnu is not at TA6.

Leaders now:
Seagate
Columbia
Silva
SAFAT
Estonia
Godzone

Merrell likely in there somewhere

Godzone hasn't tracked for 3 hours so they are probably ahead of Estonia.

And as soon as I said that, they tracked - right behind Estonia!

Tecnu tracked at TA6 just now. Merrell hasn't tracked for 6 hours. :(

Haglofs Silva continues to move west and may soon run into SAFAT coming down the blue-line route. A night of Swedish cheer lies ahead!

Columbia has blazed confidently east and arrived in what looks like some higher ground, maybe farmland with some trails visible. They have to turn south eventually. What's the plan? At this stage, it's hard to know the rankings of Haglofs Silva, Columbia or SAFAT. Whose route will work out first?

It's that time of day again!

Congrats to RogueAdventure who continues to sit pretty in 1st place in the Fantasy League.

Phatty is 5th, StrongMachine is in 6th and bfhhouck is 7th. Anyone else here in the top 10?

FB will be pleased that his strategy has propelled him to 13th place. Abiperk and I are tied for 17th. At least I'm still beating Wilderness.

Exciting! (wow, I picture Bash as the commentator voice for this as a TV broadcast similar to EcoChallenge... cue the theme music....)

I was referring to all of Bash's tracker-tracking comments, but the Fantasy League is pretty exciting too! What's the prize?

Bragging rights? It's not just me - there is terrific commentary from around the world! I hope some day we can all meet in real life. When I finally met Silkychrome in person, it was like I'd known her forever!

I find it extremely hilarious that two Swedish teams are about to cross paths in the middle of a Brazilian jungle after four days of racing.

Lads and Lasses. I registered with Attackpoint just to say thanks for the commentary. I've tracked a few of these races and never knew this site existed. I'm commenting a bit over at www.boards.ie http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=20... and have borrowed some of Bash's brilliant bulletins.

This is addictive dot watching!

I'm certain the Swedes can see each other's headlamps by now. Be curious to see if they avoid each other or indeed connect. Until they get close, they won't know who the other team is.

Welcome aboard, Shotgunmcos! I checked out your discussion forum - nice to know we're not the only dot watchers around and nice to know I've had 15 minutes of fame in Ireland, albeit under a nickname. Please share info here too - we need people from different time zones and with different schedules!

Bash, our team would love to meet you at the Wilderness Traverse next year...is it possible not to schedule it the same weekend as USARAs (first weekend in October)?

And shotgunmcos, I speak for myself only, but I do not consider myself a nutter :) Just have a healthy curiosity, you know...

Bash, Brent tells me he's made a top secret move to his fantasy picks, which he's positive will pay off by the end of the race.

...and as I hit send, he tells me he's questioning his move...

If I had a top secret move like that, I certainly wouldn't tell anyone the details. Wishing him luck!

@SM, the WT date conflict was unfortunate this year. The RD has another job that keeps him busy for most of racing season, and our host venue was unavailable on the only other weekend we could have had it. We haven't decided on a date for 2016 yet because we have to finalize our course design and book the host venue. I'd guess it'll be a couple of weeks earlier though.

Fun times in the Fantasy League. There are one or two teams who are giving me strategic headaches.

The next question is: given the pace of Seagate out front on this packrafting leg, will teams like GODZone, Estonia and the elusive Merrell make it to the next TA before the next (fantasy league) scoring round at 8pm tomorrow? Ie, will they knock this leg off in less than 24 hours? If not, their scores will stand from where they came in at TA6 for this past round. They are right in that zone on the ladder where a smart change now would justify the points in the long game.

My other question is, when a top team finishes the race and is assigned their final place, do you keep getting points for that team while the rest of the field finishes the race? I know you can't select them after they finish, but surely you would still get the points? Might be worth a change just before the finish line if there is still a couple of days left in the League and it looks like one your non-picks is going to finish highly.

I really should go do some work.

I assumed you would still get the points. Unless the course is shortened for everyone, I doubt Seagate will finish before the 20:00 league calculation time on Friday so this question only comes up for the final calculation.

At 21:30, Seagate is about 1/3 of the way between the Stage 7 Reference Point and TA7. It should get faster toward the end but I still doubt they'll be leaving the TA before first light tomorrow.

Columbia has turned south but their game plan is still not obvious. Anyone know the easiest way to get coordinates to look at the same location on Bing Maps?

Haglofs Silva's western odyssey is over and they have rejoined the blue-line route about 1.3 km away from SAFAT, who veered right a little. They probably haven't seen each other after all. Silva must think they've totally screwed up but they are probably still in 2nd place.

Godzone and the Estonians aren't travelling together but they're only 500 m apart, both still on the blue-line route.

Merrell hasn't tracked since 14:00. Tecnu didn't track (yet) for 21:30 but they were still at the TA half an hour ago.

Raidlight is way off course and runs the risk of bypassing TA6 completely. What will their backstop be?

Getting coordinates is not possible via the tracking map (I presume unless you are an Admin). Best bet is to just zoom out a bit to compare the two maps and find recognizable features (bunches of trees, farmsteads, river bends, etc.) then move Bing toward where the team is on the tracking map. As a starting point, here are the lat-long coordinates for PRef: -18.304296, -56.930565 and for TA7: -18.460396, -56.762936

Hello and want to say Thanks! for all the great commentary. I have been glued to this all week, to the detriment of getting 'other things' done. I am also firmly in the camp of glad to be here not there, as I am sure my feet would be complete cases of trenchfoot.

Definitely feeling for Raidlight, but looks like they are heading the right direction now. Hope they keep it up.

I bet Raidlight hits the large, well-worn trail running due north from the TA6 farmstead and handrails themselves right in.

...and just as I said it, there they go. Good on them!

Good for them! There are a lot of trails and some of them are underwater so it wasn't a sure thing. Also, Raidlight seemed to think they were farther south than they actually were!

Both SAFAT and Columbia have only moved a few hundred meters in the last hour. Haglofs Silva is the clear 2nd place team at this point. They've been flying since they got back on the blue-line route, whatever it is.

And there it is. Merrell tracked at 22:00, still at TA6. Oh no.

Well, I guess Merrell had a sweet little sleep...on top of their tracker. Perhaps some good rest will give them the tools to dead reckon the route as Seagate did (mostly).

Darn, should have gone into the Fantasy League... Haglofs Silva was my choice for #2... I figure bad luck can't hit three years in a row, they are due for their chance to show how well they can finish.

... but the race isn't over yet...
... far from it....

That's right. After the next 26 km trek, the race will be halfway done. (!!!)

Crazy!

Merrell arrived at TA6 almost 12 hours ago, shortly after 10 a.m. They wouldn't waste all those hours of daylight to rest. Someone is not feeling well.

In the Lantern Rouge realm, it appears that 9 BRA Ekos has put the paddles to work. From the point they are at now, Seagate took about 2:45 to get to TA5. If Ekos holds to 3:00 or so, they'll make it to the camp with about 30-60 min to spare. Cheer them on!!!

Seagate now on this leg for 18 hours. My call is that they will be the only team to do it in under 24 hours.

Meanwhile Quasarlontra and Peak Performance are passing near to short course team 28 COL Summitt, who has been walking in circles for several hours. I hope they catch the lights of those teams and latch on to get to camp before they run out of food.

Brent hasn't joined AP, but here's his most recent analysis, sent to a group of our east coast racing friends (and shared here with his permission):

"Okay, just spent way too much time doing this, but…here you go. My predictions based on all that has been and all that I foresee in my cloudy safety mirror…also, based on relatively flawless nav and TRUSTING that the rest looks far more straight forward than the past…

Seagate will arrive at approximately (times are in the local Brazilian time):
TA 7, 4 AM (Thur)
TA 8, 9 AM (Thur)
CP21 (cutoff), 2 PM (Thur)
TA 9, 9 PM (Thur)
TA 10, 7 AM (Fri)
TA 11, 11 AM (Fri)
TA 12, 2 PM (Fri)
TA 13, 630 PM (Fri)
**Finish, 830 PM
Tack on several hours more of sleep, because I think they will sleep some more: Finish sometime between midnight and 2 AM on Saturday. MAYBE a bit faster if this last part of the packrafting is drier and faster, like the RDs suggest…

Now, IF Haglofs manages to finish this section now that they are on track, holding roughly with Seagate now, I estimate 12 hours behind at TA 7, BEST case. If you then say they hold with Seagate, this would have them finishing at approximately noon or 2 PM on Saturday. So maybe.

That said, I think this is very optimistic. Seagate is much fresher than the chasers right now thanks to their big sleep and daylight. They can afford to sleep more, maybe coming in later in the morning, but still finishing the whole thing. I don’t think Hagloffs can afford to rest much, and realistically, I don’t think they can hold with Seagate considering the banked sleep and timing with the sun for SG (honestly, I don’t think Haglofs will manage 12 hours, I think it will be more).

So, my official declaration: SG WILL finish all of it assuming the course isn’t modified for them. Haglofs appears to be the only other team that has a chance. They are already pulling away from Armed Forces, so I don’t think can do it. Columbia appears determined to packraft back to Spain and Estonia/Godzone seem to be more like 14-15 hours back, and it won’t surprise me if they wander in circles all night or at least slow down considerably. I don’t see them keeping that gap with what they have ahead of them. My only remaining question then is whether Merrell might be sneaking through all the mess and following Seagate’s track smoothly. If they are, MAYBE they have more time to play with than Haglofs. And as for Haglofs: I’m going to say no. I think the relative lack of sleep and how tight it looks now means they won’t make it. Not sure which cutoff they’ll miss, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the RDs force everyone to detour at CP 21 after Seagate goes through. Or they might let a few go down south, paddle, and then straight to GO, collecting 200$ and a baby anaconda on the way…

Ultimately, I HOPE they let SG finish the whole thing because I think it would be a hell of a finish for them, esp. if Nathan does hang it up. But the RDs probably only need to bring one boat down to that TA and get a refund on the rest…"

Great stuff - I wish Brent would join AP! :)

Be sure to tell him the bad news about Merrell. :(

What am I saying? He was probably the first to notice!

Wait, what happened to Merrell? We haven't seen that.

(Or is it just that they're still in TA? We did notice that.)

Their tracker popped up still at TA6 after 12 hours. All are assuming they are there with it.

I guess I posted that at the same time you were posting Brent's analysis.

Yeah, that's what we were assuming, too. I had the same thought, that someone isn't doing well. Brent isn't quite as convinced. His logic is that they had the fastest split on the trek, so hard to believe that someone was really struggling coming into TA.

I hope Brent is right.

Uhm, is Godzone going back to the TA? Worrisome.

Sure looks like it. Damaged pack raft?

Even Haglofs Silva backtracked a little on the last track.

Columbia hasn't tracked in an hour but they hadn't moved much in the hour before that so maybe they are sleeping. They didn't stop long at TA6.

Some much-needed good news: Raidlight has arrived at TA6 more than 24 hours after they left TA5. This stage must feel like their Stage 4 trek - much more exhausting and stressful than it needed to be.

R'ADYS is about a quarter of the way through the 49 km Stage 6 "wet trek" that precedes the 57 km Stage 7 pack raft stage. This will take them most of the next two days, much of it in the dark while using trekking poles to scare off the stingrays.

My questions are:

1) How much would JayXC have to pay you to switch places with him?

2) Do you think he would be willing to make that offer right now?

Discuss**.

(**If you are JayXC, then you only need to answer Question #2.)

Well JayXC rocks and I am guessing is having the time of his life. He would have to pay me a lot mind you, but I think he SO committed and is LOVING his sport of choice that he would never trade places right now. In fact, I bet he is planning his return trip to the Panatanal.

JayXC, we got your back!

Two hours left for team 9, our Lantern Rouge, to get to TA5. They look like they're going to make it! Then what will they do? The treks ahead are huge!

I love that the Swedes on the pack raft have their flags in the same spot at the moment. The time stamps are an hour apart, so it's still not clear if they have crossed paths.

Well, how about that: Silva and SAFAT have officially passed one another. I wonder how long they paused to chat?

And, it now appears that Peak Performance and Quasarlontra have adopted the short-coursed, and recently quite lost, team COL Summitt Adventure. This after making a slight turn to the North a bit ago and getting "jungled" out (is that the same as being cliffed out?). Now, all of you get to camp at TA6. You are missing the party!!!

Looks like a LOT of sleeping is now in progress all over the place on Stages 6 and 7. Team East Wind has collected two other teams now at the edge of the farmstead at the Stage 6 PRef. Wonder how many will stop off and stay the night? From that point forward, out of 17 teams, I only count 4 that have moved >forward< appreciably in the last 30 minutes.

SAFAT is in 2nd place for the first time in the race. Haglofs Silva may have been asleep when SAFAT passed by; they'd already been stopped for more than 30 minutes by then.

Godzone got back to TA6 seven hours after they left. Not a good sign.

Merrell is still there at 00:30, 14 hours after they arrived.

Tecnu is still there about 8 hours after they arrived.

Raidlight has been there for less than 2 hours and they must be exhausted after their 24+ hr trek.

"Short Course" Grilos and "Unranked" Azimute are there too so it's quite a party.

W4J, of course JayXC rocks! But having raced with him during Hurricane Irene, I know that even *he* would sometimes choose a nice vanilla latte over a slog in heinous conditions. I doubt he's at that point yet though so I think the answer to #2 is "no" - for now. My price to switch places would be really, really high!

What a war of attrition! I give SAFAT huge props for pushing into 2nd. Loved Abby's comment about Columbia paddling back to Spain...but I am seriously worried about them. Can they phone a friend? Or get a 50/50 on a cardinal bearing? Poor guys - they're really out there!

I'd love to be a fly on the wall at TA6 right at the moment. I'm sure there are some very broken bodies lying around.

SAFAT, although an experienced outfit, have been a real surprise package in this ARWC. They probably have no inkling of how well they are doing right now relative to the rest of the field.

A shame media has not been able to get into TA6 as I'm sure there have been quite a few stories.

At 1:30 a.m., it's possible that all five of the top teams - the only teams on the Stage 7 Pack Raft - are napping. Seagate has been stopped for an hour. SAFAT is the only team that has been moving but even they backed up 200 m in the last half hour.

I love StrongMachine's ideas about "who wants to be a millionaire Pantanal racer?!"

Thanks for keeping an eye over Merrell Bash. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like the good vibes I was sending them have been working. It is odd that they get the fastest trekking split and then stop for 12h+...

Out of curiosity I checked the weather in the current area where the leaders are.

The good news... it's only 21C (albeit with 100% humidity).

The bad news...looks like thick fog with limited visibility and rain coming in. If navigating that flat section wasn't difficult enough, add fog to the mix?!

90% chance to t-storms tomorrow afternoon.

Yikes.

I've been trying to think of reasons that a racer might stop after the fastest trekking split. We've heard a lot about hand blisters from earlier paddling sections. Maybe someone has painful or infected hand blisters and doesn't feel they can go pack rafting for 24 hours?

Bash - that's the problem with being on the other side of the world (Australia) - all the action happens while I'm sleeping and then after an orgy of news when I wake up, I get to spend the day hitting refresh on the trackers watching teams sleep.

Well, you get to host next year, Rogue...Perhaps you can be our source on the ground (if you're not racing)?

Just took a peek at the back of the pack (where I normally am) and noticed Team #24, 4Any1 Lobo Guara, has been on the Stage 4 trek for 47 hours and counting...I'm seriously surprised they haven't been helivac'ed out yet, with how dry other teams said that section was. Tough bastards!

Will be racing next year sorry StrongMachine. Not one to be missed.

Oh geez, I thought those two had reached the Jaguar Road awhile ago but now that I zoom in, I see that they're lost near the creek in the Jaguar Jungle. Damn.

On a happier note, our current Lanterne Rouge, Ekos Pinheiros Selva, made it into TA5 before 1 a.m. (The cut-off was 2 a.m.) So they get to head out into the fog and impending rain for a nice trek and pack rafting adventure.

theory from Erl about the teams stopped at TA6...maybe the race organization has halted all teams there to execute a mass short-course? I havent been paying attention to TA6 arrival/departure times to verify but wanted to throw that option out there too.

Well, not much is happening, so at 12:30 a.m. here in Maine I'm off to bed. Good luck to all teams (and night shift, keep up the good work)!

woken up, and my synopsis from 12 hours of non dot watching - Seagate are just a cut above the rest....

not sure what's happened to Merrell(my team!), they slowed down a bit coming into TA6 as columbia/haglofs got there before them. now been there for 16hours. Either someone is sick/ill can't go on, or they left their tracker behind. (they could quite easily have swapped a tracker out - happens with battery levels, and the race HQ hasn't been able to switch the team ID over, but that's clutching at strwas)


AFAIK there is no word from TA6 on anything, this came 2hours ago from the official ARWS Brazil webpage, but that might just be someone sitting in his lounge in rio with the login details (and a caiparinha).

https://www.facebook.com/ARWSBrasil/photos/a.14368...
"Nearing the middle of the night on day 4 you can see sobering evidence just how hard this pack rafting section is without map features and sunlight. While NZL Seagate (2) took a very direct line between TA6 and the first non compulsary reference point, other teams like COL Columbia (1) and SWE Haglöfs Silva (14) have made wild deviations. GBR GODZone (3) has started to go backwards and EST Estonian ACE Adventure (11) has started going side ways. It's very testing out there even for these strong teams with good navigators.
The next 6 hours until dawn will be really interesting...."

Earlier, we heard that the only access to TA6 was by Cessna, which would make it a hard place to implement a short course - but maybe there's another way in.

TA7 (the end of the pack raft) is scheduled to close on Friday at 6 a.m. so it won't be much longer until it is out of reach for anyone still at TA6.

The last team to leave TA6 was Estonia at 18:00. At that time, Merrell had been there for almost 8 hours. Godzone headed out but returned to TA6 after 7 hours. So Merrell and Godzone aren't at TA6 because of a halt by the race organization.

However, something like that could explain why Tecnu is still there after 9.5 hours. Raidlight has been there for 3.5 hours but they needed a good rest after their 24+ hour trek, and I could see the unranked and short course teams waiting for daylight. But Tecnu would normally have headed out by now.

As a Saffa, I'm worried about Merrell who hasn't moved in a very long time. At least they are at a transition. This is honestly the most ridiculous AR course I have ever seen. This surely sparks the debate about growing the sport worldwide. I have been racing almost 15 years and have aspired to do an ARWC (unfortunately have never got there), but seeing this is completely uninspiring and I have no enthusiasm to pursue doing ARWC in future if the courses look like this. I think its just crazy! Anyone else feeling the same, or is it just me? :-) How is the sport supposed to attract new blood with races like these? I cant wait to read Nathan's write up on this one. I am sure he'll have another full outburst as he has in the past.

To quote Merrell's Facebook page:
__________________________________________

“Why did we ever think a race here would be a good idea? Why were we excited to come here? This is not fun. This is not a nice place.” Said the ever optimistic Robyn in a despondent outburst.

I cannot get photos out yet so throw these words at a canvas and build your own picture of the team: filthy, matted, rancid smelling, blistered, swollen, bitten, chafed, rash covered, utterly exhausted. This is not inspiring. This is not an advert.
Yet they collected their box, ate their food, picked up their paddles and set off on kayaks.

And this is why they are my heros.
_______________________________________

And from Sleepmonsters in the early part of the race:

Nathan Fa'avae had earlier said, "I rate races by how much fun I am having ... and I'm not having any yet!".
_________________________________________

I try to withhold judgement until the racers are able to tell us what the event was like from the inside. Sometimes it was a lot more fun than it looked or the race organization was amazing or the scenery or the local people, etc.

Having said that, I don't think I've ever seen so little "ARWC envy" among spectators, nor as many experienced adventure racers who are entirely satisfied to be watching from home. Even if this event is incredibly fun and exciting, it sure doesn't look that way. Maybe part of the problem is the inability of the media to access the race course and show off its beauty. This is the largest wetland in the world; it is a very special place. Maybe it's not the most enticing race course though.

I was fooling around and made an animation of the comings and goings round TA6. never done a gif before, and file size is just a bit too big (4.6Mb) as it seems the layers didn't sit right on top of each other to get optimised out....

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0ZOkd42SBC0Y1FPW...

my 2c as someone who aspires to get his act together one day and progress up to a full on ARWC event to really test myself and team. World Champs should be tough, but the rewards should be commensurate to the effort put in.

I watched a wildlife documentary on chasing elusive jaguars in the area last night to try and get a feel for the conditions. Surprisingly, 95% of the Pantanal is privately owned, and there's 4million cattle there. BUT it's true wilderness - this is what adventures should be about. The rosy side of that coin just gets outweighed by the conditions, hot/wet/humid/featureless/bugs. with old maps. I think a decent option would have been a hybrid pantanal/mountains/plains. we might still be getting there with the MTB in the second half, but there's been too much slog up to that point.

I've always wanted to tour some of the wild places of Brazil and what better way to do it than an adventure race? So if I was in the league of these racers (I'm not) then I would have jumped at the chance to race a long course in Brazil.

So I should be experiencing some FOMO right now. I'm not. It just looks like WAAAY too much of a good thing. A little bit of swamp is good, but this entire race has been a massive swampfest so far.

"Meanwhile, back in the swamp..." pertains to all the teams, all the time.

I'm getting the strong impression that the way to travel the Pantanal is by boat (and horse). Not the pack-raft kind, but I can see myself checking in for a week on board Kalypso.

That GIF is how my brain feels after ARWC each year! :)

At 4 a.m., Seagate has been napping for almost 4 hours at the sharp bend in the blue-line route between the Reference Point and TA7.

2nd place SAFAT has been napping for an hour halfway along the western side of the blue-line "route choice".

3rd place Haglofs Silva has been napping for more than 5 hours, also on the western side but just south of the fork in the blue-line route.

Columbia has been napping for at least 6 hours.

Estonia is on the move again, heading east, roughly in Columbia's direction. (We didn't see them sleep but they had two tracks 3 hours and 1 km apart.)

Godzone, Tecnu and Raidlight just tracked in TA6. Merrell last tracked at 00:30 but I assume they're still there, along with Grilos (Short Course) and Azimute (Unranked).

Peak Performance, Quasarlontra and Summit Adventure (Short Course) are travelling together 7-8 km from TA6 and have gone walkabout north of the trail like Raidlight did - in daylight.

That's a long time for teams to be stopped on night 4 of the race. Perhaps the navigation is just too hard in a featureless, potentially foggy, environment to risk losing touch with the map? Every team out on the leg probably feels like they are losing places by the hour, not knowing the general carnage going on around them.

I'm sure there will be some very interesting stories to come from this one.

It might be turning farcical....

At this point, looks like the only option will be the direct ride to the finish canoe bit - no extra kayak leg, probably no ropes section.

If I was due to fly out on Sunday, I'd be seriously antsy about making it. If there is the option of a full 10 days, then ok, is do-able. But I keep on hearing of Sunday as a departure time - that must be wrong, right?

I must say, big kudos to Estonia, who are the only team in the top 10 still moving through the night... While they keep moving, everyone else is sleeping, but they still haven't made up a place. Eish...

Well done to Estonia, don't think they'll remain on the B-log for future fantasy classififcations(they did finish 15minutes behind the winners at this year's expedtion africa)

I know of people with a flight on sunday...but from where is the question? not like there's an airport round every corner, so probably quite a transfer involved too!

So, its day light and seems most teams on the move again! Merrell tracker has just updated and indicates they are still in transition, along with Tecnu, Raidlight and Godzone. Could be a long day....

Yep, Shebeen, there are several trips on other means of transport between the airport and here. Flights are definitely gonna get missed.

Seagate timed this leg to perfection, didn't they? Maximising daylight, they moved on a compass bearing from village to village. On this flat landscape, even the relatively low roofs of a village can probably be seen from a kilometer away, maybe even smoke from a fire. On that note, I wonder if those villages have lights that would be visible at night?
Anyway, once darkness fell, Seagate were on a road that was followable at night.

I enjoyed this line from Sarah Hearn, one of the journos: "The hospitality of the hotel boat is beyond what anyone expected and we guiltily enjoy icecream freshly made from local fruits at lunchtime - while the teams sweat it out in the sun quaffing warm river water - and sculptural buffets of traditional foods charmingly presented by the chef cum art director."

I was hoping Merrell were merely taking a long recovery sleep, knowing that it would be their last for the race and that the next stage was pointless by night. However, I'd have expected them to be on the move by now. Something's wrong.
Ditto for Godzone.
Meanwhile out in the swamp, Columbia have headed too far East. They needed to have turned South already if that was their plan. Hang on, they may have just done that! Will be interesting to see if they meet Estonia en route.
And the Swedes are sweating it out from the West, on the "recommended" route. Who will hit the CP first out of these 4 teams?
Stay tuned to find out.

Poor Columbia really are in the horrors :(

Looks like they have given up and are heading for home.

Hey Teamie!

Dawn soon so hopefully Columbia will turn about,
I wonder how GZ and Merell are in TA6? Hopefully running repairs and still in it.
Fenix Multisport sneaking back into it behind those midpackers.
Silva have turned East now after SAFAT so that could be your latest podium
Estonia have been a surprise package and still in it if they just head south. I wonder how good the Bike skills are of the Ensaar brothers? I figured they would go well with so much trekking in the first half of the race.

Also with Quasaslontra and Peak Performance going walkabout looking to hand deliver Santa Letters, Rady's could steal a march and move into the
top 10!

Have a feeling there is something going on at T6. No movement from any team, and it has been light for an hour and half now. Any guesses? theories: All teams there pulled off the course? All teams short coursed? All teams got sick on the last leg? Or perhaps all teams just thrown in the towel and said THAT'S ENOUGH!

MCOS - a new place to hide out :)

:-)

Latest Twitter feeds:

Short course - teams will be flown from cp 17 to 18. No more teams to start this leg. All will be ranked behind top 5.

Final kayak will be cancelled for all teams. Teams ride direct to ropes from cp 19.

Explains what is going on at TA6. The writing must have been on the wall for the teams there for a while now. Perhaps GZ were given the chance to go out but realised they weren't going to make it in time and thought better to go with the short course instead of DNF on the long?

I assume times into TA6 will be taken and appropriate credits given on a restart or there will be a staggered restart (or a mix of both). What a headache for organisers and followers.

Quite hard to believe 4 contenders sitting in TA6, Tencu, Raidlight, Merell and GZ so its very plausible something is going on. I heard dawn has produced a fog. Maybe it is near imporssible conditions and a call is/has been made?

I'm guessing no one after Issy Aventure will be allowed out onto Stage 6 either.

Aha that meakes sense. Time credits is a a better option as the staggered starts is logistically more work to manage.

If the leading 5 teams can finish Stage 7 and survive the relatively more straight forward ride, then the top 5 positions have been stitched up. Kind of takes the competitive drive out for the chasing pack, however there are still places in an ARWC to fight for, and any of those top 5 could still stumble - it is looking like a long hard stage, even for the best teams and navigators in the world.

Seagate, who haven't really done too much wrong on this packraft leg have now been on it for 28 hours (including a 6 hour stop last night), and still aren't done yet. Makes the time predictions of FASTEST 10 hours and SLOWEST 22 hours seem laughable. Makes you wonder how well the course was vetted.

thanks for that update RogueAdventure! I should get onto twitter! :-) When did that come through on twitter? Must be hot off the press. Lets hope they fix the plane and find fuel for it...

I think I'd prefer to complete this 'swamping' stage on foot/pack raft rather than fly in a 1950's Cessna, which has just broken down in outback Brazil! Anyway, great to see you on here for the first time Liam. Loving all the updates from yourself and others from all different time zones.

So, do they wait for the other 11 teams on stage 6 to rock into TA6 and then pile them all onto the Cessna? Do they wait for the top 5 to dib into TA7? Do the hold everyone at TA7 for X time after the top 5 head off? How much fresher will everyone be than the top 5? Are they enternally ranked >5th or can they over take on the last bike leg and try and make up time handicap? Really feeling for the Estonians and Columbia right now

Hey Brian - news came through about 10 seconds before I posted it :) I'm not on Twitter but have just been following the page here: https://twitter.com/ARWorldSeries

Hey Kim - it's been a fun way to vent all the dot watching thoughts and great to see an enlightened and engaged community in the absence of the Breathe coverage. I should really get to bed.

As I read it Shotgunmcos, the top 5 teams can't be passed by the others now unless they DNF. I imagine they will shuttle the teams. Given access issues and the fact that the many of the ranches/properties/homesteads/farms have runways, I imagine that they all have their own small planes which will be recruited for the job by organisers. In fact, if you zoom into TA7 on the satellite photo, you can see a small plane parked there. Given that time is pressing on the course closing, I don't think they will hold teams back for the full difference of times according to arrival into TA6, however they may stagger starts a little bit (eg first into TA is first to fly and first to set off on the bikes, with time adjustments calculated later).

Theories anyone?

Meanwhile, if Seagate head west a couple hundred meters (along a fenceline??) then they will find a hand track that will lead them most of the way off the leg to TA7.

AR World Series ‏@ARWorldSeries 58m58 minutes ago
Final kayak will be cancelled for all teams. Teams ride direct to ropes from cp 19. #arwcpantanal

BTW Kim - I'll be very keen to hear Rob's thoughts on the race when he gets home. Tecnu are still in for a chance of a very competitive result. Every place means a big difference for their world series ranking given that it's a World Champs and worth more than double the points.

Whatever is going on at TA6, there must have been some fun chats. #3,5,6,7 on the world rankings there. not exactly midpackers.

also seen on the twitter feed(and thisi is before they canned the last paddle)
- AR World Series ‏@ARWorldSeries 23h23 hours ago
Latest predictions have NZL Seagate at the finish on Friday afternoon. Just over 6 days. #arwcpantanal

I'm also looking forward to hearing Rob's thoughts, and anyone else that posts here or Facebook, etc. From my comfy couch at home I'm glad not to be racing this one, but I'm really hoping those racing are enjoying it more than we all think they are!

At least now we have an explanation for the long stopovers and return trips to TA 6. I bet they're all looking forward to seeing their bikes for the first time.

Yeah, but they still have to hike from CP18 to CP19!. Predicted times are 4 to 16 hours, however they should be relatively well rested and according to the description the terrain is not as difficult.

With some of the strange direction changes, plus the definite presence of iron in the area - cue the ropes section - I got to wonder if compasses haven't been affected?

^^ Good point, I forgot about that stage. Most will be well rested but you've got to feel for the leading five teams. Their feet must be toast...

As someone who has experienced the effect of a demagnetised compass in a race (not looking at anyone in particular ;) ) it kinda explains what might be happening with the navigation issues.

According to Earring Doug on FB, the trackers are not being updated, thus the appearance of a prolonged TA6 for those teams. Not sure if this is the case.

Alright, pressure from abiperk and Bash was just too great, so I'm getting in on this fun. Brent Freedland from Rootstock Racing, formerly with GOALS ARA here.

So, obviously Seagate is behind my estimates (posted by Abby last night). Still thinking they have a chance at the full course IF the rest is as "easy" as it seems. That said, I'm concerned for the rest, except maybe the two Swedish teams. Haven't read too much this AM, so maybe there is news, but I'm really wondering about the logistical plans right now for all those teams in TA and the many still trekking into the TA from the river.

Anyone know if they had remote TA bins for this one or their full TA bins? If remote bins, I'm thinking no one sitting in TA can possibly have enough food to go through what Seagate just did cleanly. If I'm the RD, I'm really considering how to get teams out of there now rather than allowing them to progress into the packrafting leg, at least those teams that are still trekking. Seems like a rapidly spiraling logistical nightmare, and I have to think they are considering whether evacing teams or making them trek back to the river might be better than allowing them to go out with the packrafts.

If some teams trek out, perhaps they can paddle downriver to the finish. If teams are allowed to start the packrafting...will they even have time to bike short course back to the finish? I don't think many teams if any will do this as cleanly as Seagate even if they are allowed to progress...

I feel bad for Shubi and would love to be a fly on the wall listening to the race staff discuss options. Or a mosquito. Or a capybara...

Oh, and I'm not convinced about the compasses. Seagate had little trouble, though they did have that one little loop. Maybe they figured it out. Urtzi is such a great navigator though, and I can't imagine he hasn't figured it out if it's the compass...Estonians too.

Basically the organisation has lost control of the race. It's chaos now and a bit of a lottery in terms of positions. Any plans teams may have had of saving something for the final stages, sleep strategy etc: out the window.
Still entertaining to watch it unfold, but I suspect less so for the teams who were still in race mode.

Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall at TA7 when Seagate arrive? It might be noisy, esp from the half Samoan.......

:D

Got to admire Seagate though, blissfully unaware of the chaos behind them. They have this in the bag.

Ah, just hearing that teams are being moved out. No social media access at work, so hadn't seen this. Might be faster to let them trek out!!

Looks like the two Swedish teams have a decent trail there that will see them through. Amazing how the swedes always bubble to the top. Maybe because they have AR as a school sport. Great work by them. They nicely placed for second and third now.

Interesting to hear / see Nathan's comments at TA7 if somebody there actually gets it out in public from there.

I think we might hear his comments from here

:D

Seagate now almost at transition, but taking an odd route in - almost looks like they are bypassing it to the west! Stand by for some shouting....

Seagate passed the reference point about 18 hours ago...The Swedes left TA 20 (SAFAT) and 25 hours ago (Haglofs). I'm sure they knew it would be more than 10 hours, but how much food did they actually bring? Looking like they will be out for 45 hours each, give or take, maybe more since I'm betting they are out of food or rationing by now...

And is Columbia coming out of this leg under their own power?

I'm getting worried for relentless who is supposed to be following the lead teams. According to what he said last he should be in the middle of that last leg following a team but no idea which one. I know for sure that he won't have enough food since the estimates are so wrong. I just hope he can keep up with the teams despite the extra weight he is carrying (pack raft and camera stuff)

Columbia in a spot of bother. they have stopped for more than an hour now... I agree, the race has become a bit of a shambles. What a shame!

From one of the early Sleepmonsters reports:

"It will be a brave team that goes light on food. One such is Team Silva of Sweden who told me they are taking the usual amount of food, even though they also said they’ve checked their flights can be changed should they ‘get lost for a few days’."

Good planning on the flights, but they must be getting a bit hungry by now!

@Frenchie: Relentless is stronger and better rested than any racer at this point, and he's a smart guy who would know to ignore the RD estimates when planning his food. The media hasn't had much to report on but they'll know that the wonky time estimates have been a huge story.

I wonder if the upcoming short course option was explained at TA6 and teams had a choice earlier in the day. In that case, Merrell might have looked at the map and decided to try their luck at the shorter course. After all, the top five might not make it to the end of the longer course within cut-offs so the teams resting at TA6 aren't necessarily out of it. This could also be a less worrisome explanation for Godzone taking a 7-hour tour, then returning to TA6. By the time teams got to TA6, they'd seen the type of terrain and the quality of the map. In this scenario, Estonia disagreed and went for it.

And welcome to Brent!! :)

word is that teams had to pack their food before seeing the maps, with nothing to go off of other than the time estimates. Might see some teams of 3 coming out of the swamp trek.

"Fiona McBryde I think they will have all lost weight...they had to pack the food into boxes before even seeing the maps, so to have the predicted times so far out (current stage pred fast time 10 hours, Seagate have been on it for 28 hours and counting) and no possibility of refueling on the course - teams will be running on empty." - from Nathan's facebook page

Anyone seen Columbia move since last pm? Can't imagine Urtzi not figuring out nav issues...

Columbia's tracker IS working. If you switch the map off satellite and onto map, then zoom all the way in, you'll see 11 tracker updates from their current location. That's 5.5 hours.

@Bash I know he is strong and rested but I can't help it to worry not knowing where he is :/

I can't wait to hear what the racers will have to say about the race.

All teams will ride directly from CP19 to CP26 to pick up their ropes gear. I wonder if that opens up any more direct routes than those shown on the tracking map?

Looking at the chart teams were given (first post on this thread), it just shows distances, not time estimates. Since they didn't get maps until right before the race, did they have the time estimates for individual stages? We're seeing them on the live coverage page but racers wouldn't have seen that.

@Frenchie, I'd be worrying too but Relentless is one of the toughest people in that swamp. I'll bet he'd love to help instead of just observing.

I know he would too :)

Usually we get time estimates before handing the bins in. I'd be surprised they didn't give it to them. It may have better if they didn't though..

Nope - taken from Sleepmonsters:
"Teams have had the route outline and basic details of ARWC Pantanal for a couple of weeks now, but had to wait for the full briefing and the route book until 3pm this afternoon (after they had packed their boxes and stowed them onto the navy ships which will take them to the start)."

Seagate is at TA7.

Well that's a good thing they didn't have them then considering how wrong they were...

Seagate is moving on, and Columbia is returning - to TA6?

RE. Columbia: doesn't look like it....after about 6 hours in that same spot, they have moved a bit to the South.

...and now it has updated and they are going back on their tracks. whether it is to relocate and continue or to head back...?

my guess is that it's back to AT6 for Columbia. they must be out of food.

photo of stage 6 "trek"...
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpl1/...

Seagate didn't hang around TA for long.

I don't see anyone in that photo using the mandatory Stingray Scaring Pole.

Latest ARWS Tweet: Short course update: Teams to fly from CP17 [TA6] to CP20 in the order they arrived.

Note that I didn't include a TA number for CP20 because there isn't one. CP20 is the first CP on the mountain bike course. Looking at the terrain, it looks like a good place to land a plane but TA8 (the start of the Stage 9 MTB) definitely doesn't. Hopefully it's a reasonable place to set up an unplanned TA.

You probably don't need a Stingray Scaring Pole if you have Gollum along.

I wondered that too! :)

From Sleepmonsters: Back at AT6 there was something of a rebellion in the jungle. Godzone returned to the transition some 8 hours after setting out, and the message was relayed to Shubi that the teams didn’t want to go on. “I think the teams that came back freaked everyone out,” she said. “They were saying it’s impossible to go on, to find a way or navigate and all the teams got together and called me. I spoke to Nick Gracie and tried to explain that the route on the cattle track was better, then later rang them back to say we would fly the teams out from there. They were so thankful when I said this!”

http://www.sleepmonsters.com/v2_races.php?article_...

Interesting. Merrell arrived shortly after 10 a.m. and stayed even when Estonia left at 18:00. So let's hope they and all the teams at the TA are OK, just rebellious. Even if someone *did* have a health issue - illness or a cut that wasn't healing - they've had some time to recover.

From the same article, mostly quoting the RD:

'...The plan is now to fly all teams at AT6 to CP20 and to finish the race from there. Their bikes will be moved to CP20 and from there they will ride to CP21 then take the short course option to CP25 and finish the race on that route.

There are two planes and each can take 4 so the teams will be flown out in the order they arrived, then resume racing, time adjustments will be made later on.

I also heard some food would be made available as teams are running out, and another comment was that racers who are dehydrated at AT6 have been allowed to take IV drips without any penalty, though not all took up the option. Again this was purely a safety option to keep teams in the best possible condition in the circumstances.

The top 5 teams who completed the pack raft will remain on the course, completing the next shorter trek and then picking up their bikes at PC19. They will then ride to CP20 and take the same short course route as the other teams. This means they will miss the river paddle and be on a reduced mountain biking leg (from 250km down to a total 185km … so there is still a long way to go.)'

It's just a tad ridiculous that even Seagate has *still* not been able to ride their bikes after 121h of racing!

By the look of Columbia's latest track direction, they may still be continuing with this stage???

Since Merrell was the first of the "rebellious" teams to reach TA6, could they possibly have instigated the mutiny? They must have been pretty gatvol* to refuse to continue after recovering so well up to 2nd place...

*another South Africanism for you - Brian can explain what it means :)

Clearly, the biggest question is: How will this affect the fantasy game? :)

Thanks for the continuing education!

Gatvol

Pronounced: gaaat-fall. Meaning: very fed-up or irritated.
It is a South African word, derived from the Afrikaans language, but widely used in English (and some indigenous language conversation.)
Literal translation: gat(ass or hole) vol(full)
Probably intended to mean a dug hole full to the brim (“up to your neck with…”) , but given a slant by the double meaning of the word “gat”.
I am gatvol of the way my boss treats me.

AR mutiny! Why didn't we have that as one of the theories?!

Looking at the scouting pics they took horses for the terrain, maybe packrafting was too much

Btw props to Silkychrome for calling it. As unbelievable as it seems, there *was* a short course plan brewing at TA6 that some (but not all) of the top teams in the world chose to go with. (Assuming we're right that Merrell made the choice to sit tight.)

Agreed. I would be surprised if Columbia bails at this point as they very well might be thinking that going out is just as hard as continuing. Just wonder how much food is left in the packs. Assuming they somehow emerge, this will be the ultimate "We thought we were out of it. Thought ten teams had passed us..." moment, only to find they are still in the top five...if they can make it out. And only 5 or 6 hours of daylight left...They NEED to figure something out fast or they'll be sleeping in the swamps again tonight.

And it will be interesting to see how Estonia pops out. Moving into third place is possible, what a race for them! Though I suspect SAFAT has it easier being on the "route".

This race is incredible. Amazing props to all teams still moving forward. I would bribe that pilot to fly me directly to the Westin Sao Paulo.

It might have been easier in packrafts if the water was as deep as in the pic with the horses. Sounds like water levels are lower than expected in this part? So maybe what was deeper when scouting with horses is now more like ankle/knee deep and hence packrafts would be tough to use effectively with the vegetation underneath.

Estonians following the river possibly...

The shallow water means slow trekking because racers are supposed to prod for stingrays. This would be so disheartening after doing pretty much the same kind of unpleasant trek in Stage 6.

Seagate is demolishing this next trek and may even finish ahead of the fastest estimates for once.

They slept for 5-6 hours and started moving at first light. They're going to get as far as they can today!

The mess of tracks leading into TA6 are also pretty crazy... East Wind now heading in the opposite direction. I really feel for these teams. All of them.

New question: 17 teams need flights, not including poor Issy. How long is it going to fly teams, one by one to 20? 60-70km direct line flight. So 130km round trip for each team + landing and take-off time. I imagine some refueling too...I have no idea how fast a cessna travels...but could it be as much as two hours per team? More, less?

Not counting sleep, it took Seagate more than 10 hours to get to TA7 from 2nd place Haglofs Silva's current position. Of course, they were very well rested for the last part of it, which they did in daylight. Silva only has 5.5 hours of daylight left - and who knows how much food?

TA7 closes tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. so teams have 16.5 hours to get there. Teams that missed the TA4 cut-off were "out of the race". If the same rule applies to TA7, short course teams could move into the top five.

Good question, Broots. Hopefully, there is more than one plane, especially since Rob Howard mentioned that the Cessna was "broken down" yesterday.

Why are they limited to planes? I don't much about aircraft, so I guess planes are cheaper and easier to arrange. But a large helicopter would work much better, no airstrip needed. How did they expect to rescue teams in distress quickly in areas of poor road penetration if they didn't have a helicopter standing by?

Sumthn' odd about Seagate's latest track. 5km as the crow flies in 30 min? Thru the bush, on foot? Can anyone believe this is possible with packs on and sore / mutilated feet?

Good catch. Maybe they *are* literally flying through this trek. Maybe that's where the missing helicopter is!

@Stijn / Bash I'd be using a different Dutch term "spuigzat" long before that stage!

I'll happily curse away to myself to the complete oblivion of my teammates and no one gets upset :)

Although I might have given myself away now...sorry Mike :D

Bad GPS track, I suspect. Less than 30 minutes between their position and last plot. Don't think that's possible...unless Gollum has followed them out of Leg 6, called a dragon and they are now literally flying...

I agree.

Sean, I asked Google about "spuigzat" and it said, "Do you mean SPIGOT?" :)

Google Translate says "sick".

SAFAT hit the reference point at 13:30, about 22 hours after leaving TA6. Excluding sleep, it took Seagate over 12 hours to get to TA7 from there. Given that SAFAT must be tired with limited food and will be in the dark in 5-ish hours, they will need to keep a sense of urgency to make the 6 a.m. cut-off. They're still in the right ballpark.

Other than the top 5 teams, every flag on the tracking map has now been highlighted in teal to indicate "short course".

Our former Lanterne Rouge Ekos Pinheiro Selva has not left TA5 after 13 hours even though they made the cut-off. The race organization must have changed the plan after seeing the carnage up front. They are marked "short course" rather than "retired" so perhaps they will be moved forward in some other way.

I guess the current Lanterne Rouge (last team on the full course) is Columbia. Eventually, it may be Seagate - even if they win!

@Bash - very much same as the Afrikaans, literal translation to English as "stomach full" so pretty much fed-up too :)

Where's Seagate off to now? Turned back on their track

The last track was a GPS error. This confirms our assumption about that.

The last ranked team moving forward on the Stage 6 trek is Issy Adventure, accompanied by unranked Canoar Acampamento Aventura. They're close to the reference point. Keep going, Issy. My Fantasy League needs you!

The two Swedish teams are moving well on the blue-line route. Estonia is moving east too, but 7-8 km north of the blue-line route. I wonder if they think they are on "the" cattle trail. How could they know at this point?

Any photos of the terrain they are in?

See Stage 6 and 7. Some photos are from the course test.
http://arwcpantanal.com/ao-vivo/photos/

Lots of exploration happening northwest of TA6. About 8 teams are up there, including East Wind and R'ADYS, and they'll probably be seeing footprints from other teams who spent time up there. Yogaslackers and Fenix are the only ones close to the yellow-line route. It looks like R'ADYS, Aroeira and Quasarlontra are together and have figured out their error.

Keep in mind that these teams have no way of knowing what has transpired ahead of them. TA6 was to have closed at 8 a.m. so I wonder if they are all "not in the race" as soon as they arrive. That may be what they are thinking right now, anyway. How discouraging after such a long night! Imagine their shock to walk into the farm and see Godzone, Tecnu, Raidlight, Peak Performance and Merrell hanging out, all relaxed-like.

It seems to be one stream / pool after another all linking together with bunches of forest breaking it up. No features or reference points teams just wandering around for hours and hours.

The emotions of that arrival in TA relief at being told it's all over and the frustration of not finishing. Gonna be hell.

A tough, tough race!

So, for this noob over here, has there ever been a situation like this at an elite/world level race? I can't get over how the race started with no racer self evaluation of distances and times, and same distances and times are totally off, TA6 mutiny, and maybe travels plans back are at risk? How did it play out? I thought a part of the course would get cancelled...but didn't expect a full on "we won't race."

Godzone airlifted down

The airspeed velocity of a laden Cessna 172 is ~140 mph (230 kmh or 64 m/s)

Is that an African or European Cessna...

:D

Nice one, Wilberto!

Do you think GODZone threw some vac-packed meals out the window when flying over SAFAT and Seagate? Or at least flown really low so those teams could hear them laughing?

Also, who is more lost right now - Columbia or the Estonians? I'm worried for both those teams.

I'm telling you, a Chinook would have taken care of the teams in no time. Note to next years' RD's: have a Chinook or even a Halo available for the possibility of rescue of many units of teams.

Interesting that Godzone was flown before Merrell. Teams are supposed to be flown out in order of arrival - and Merrell got to TA6 before Godzone. Maybe they really did throw in the towel. Tecnu was the next full course team to arrive at TA6 that hasn't left on Stage 7.

Yogaslackers is finishing up nicely - passing a bunch of teams still out wandering.

Both Columbia and Estonians are really in no-mans land there. Wandering for hours now and even if they find the trail they have a long haul to TA7.

And then it depends on what access to bins, food, shelter etc is there. Presume some of these teams could end up being 'fetched' from the course when the air lifting & shifting is done.

Work4justice. Tough questions. Clearly this thing derailed a long time ago, maybe even before the race began. As an RD myself (not of races of this magnitude, but still) I feel for Shubi with this one as this is not going to be easy to dissect for her and I imagine there are going to be some harsh words from some. I can't say I have ever heard of anything like this at all, but then again there has never been a course quite like this, and "quite" might be an understatement of epic proportions.

I hope that the AR community, esp. those living it in person, can use this as a model for why more of a hands on approach is necessary in the preparation of such events. More oversight, esp. for a race of this magnitude, more efforts to test courses is critical. Obviously, you can never test the course exactly as is in regards to duration, teams, environment, race day conditions, but more needed to happen. I'm not suggesting the team this year didn't scout or test, they clearly did a lot, but something obviously didn't translate to reality.

Ultimately, any expedition race is epic for the RD, far bigger than for the racers in many ways, and it's impossible to predict and account for everything. What's done is done, and Shubi and the ARWC staff are going to have to live with this one. Racers are also going to have to do so and find the silver linings.

There is real potential here for negative impact on the sport and the ARWS, but there is also real potential for improving things from the top on down. I hope this doesn't have a negative impact, and I am glad XPD is hosting next year because everyone knows they are among the best at putting on such races. Another race like this and you might have ten teams at Worlds...

Just a thought that came to mind, but won't the order the teams are transported have a huge effect on the rest of the race? GODZone will get to race in the light for a lot longer than the other teams, for example.

Thanks broots...I'm guessing most will have a silver lining perspective.

Can't help but to think at least one team will need some sort of an evac or assistance before this race is over, whether that be East Wind, the Estonians, or Columbia.

Yes, SM, that's why the organization was going to fly them out in order of arrival - a reward of sorts. And that's why it is strange that Godzone went ahead of Merrell. But Merrell is flying now, ahead of Tecnu.

Teams are flying... Seagate will be in for a shock when they see other teams at CP21.

Yep, flight time will affect things. Looks like they are moving relatively quickly with Merrell coming in now.

I think there will be silver linings, but I feel like I've seen races that go off much, much better than this still get slammed overall. I think we often hear more of the complaints. I'm remembering Costa Rica which now seems easy by comparison. But after that race many of the top racers were complaining about the fact that it was too hard and questioned various RD decisions and plans. They had things they spoke highly of, but I don't remember the aftermath being a particularly rosy one. And I also remember a lot of public questioning about issues like oversight and RDing at this level then too.

And CR had Arthur...I think the race staff should now consider planting abandoned jaguar cubs in TA bins or something to distract everyone for the last few days...maybe have someone rescue a puppy from a python...

LOL!

I expect Seagate was told about the short course plan at TA7 so they shouldn't be too surprised.

This is one heck of a way for Nathan to retire! So impressed...and serious props to all involved.

Technically the trek Seagate are on is marking 50% of the race complete. Only at the end of this they get to see their bikes!! I'd forgotten that.

FENIX Multisport is also having a great stage. A lot of credit to them for battling back and catching some teams.

Most teams who were wandering northwest of TA6 are coming the right direction now. I'll bet they can see and hear the airplane, as they aren't that far away.

Nathan's retirement should involve compulsory pre running of the champs.

Columbia and Estonia might see the planes too. I wonder if they'll put two and two together.

Theory: I reckon Merrell let GZ go before them since they were the ones who headed out for 8 hours and came back with the report of the conditions upon which the mutiny was based.

I'm guessing the teams struggling to find TA6 will get a clue from the Cessna flying in and out.

Did Merell's plane breakdown?

What is leading to the Chaos on stage 6 now? Rady's , Fenix and Yogaslackers all going to steal a march (flight) into the top 10!

@Greatescape, maybe. Merrell had already been at the TA for 6-7 hours by the time Godzone went out so I thought the mutiny had already occurred before Godzone returned. Regardless, I imagine the results seem pretty meaningless at this point and perhaps it is a courtesy to Godzone to let them go first since they have gone farther on the course.

Shotgunmcos, it depends what happens with the TA6 cut-off and what it means.

The TA5 cut-off (end of paddle) was extended by 4 hours to 2:00. We've never heard anything about the TA6 cut-off, which was supposed to be 8:00 this morning. Surely it has changed but if it's only by 4 hours, that has already passed.

Furthermore, we don't know what it means to miss this cut-off. Teams that missed the TA4 cut-off were immediately "retired" from the race and taken by motorboat.

The thing is with the world champs, it needs to be as fair as possible so that all the teams get the points they deserve. It can't be a lottery.

Not any more than it has already become. Note that Merrell didn't let *two* teams go in front of them. :)

Martin Peat has posted some maps and updates to one of my facebook posts - may be of interest:
https://www.facebook.com/fiona.mcbryde/posts/10153...

Also said Team 11 (Estonia) had been sent directions and distance to next TA to try and get them back on track - not sure if the same for Colombia

Thanks for all the updates guys - much appreciated.

It seems to me the problem with this event is that the terrain/vegetation/elements are very unforgiving if you aren't on the exact right route. Add in poor maps and you have very little margin for error which leads to big increases in predicted times. RD was probably a bit optimistic and didn't account for this.

It is too bad we don't have anymore expedition ARs in Canada - I've got world class terrain in my backyard that would make an amazing World Champs. Bash want to bring WT on a road trip out west? ;)

Broots, you're right that the AR community needs to be thinking about possible positive outcomes based on what is learned here, rather than just grumbling. More oversight by ARWS is needed.

There were experienced racers who purposely stayed away from this ARWC. Many of us read the info beforehand and shook our heads. There were lots of indications that it might not be a ton of fun and that the rich wildlife, featureless terrain, poor maps and limited rescue access introduced major risks.

There is a phenomenon that gets in the way though. At our events, we've noticed that when race conditions are more difficult, we get more positive feedback from racers. For example, there seems to be a bigger feeling of accomplishment when you finish a race in torrential rain, perhaps because you know you've done something that most people can't do.

Similarly, there was an expedition race a few years ago that a number of my friends did. Most teams saw a small portion of the course. There were missing CPs and serious safety risks, e.g. a team arriving after a long paddle to find only their bikes - no food, no maps, no race volunteer, no helmets, no bike shoes, no food, no dry clothes. They continued on the course from memory because it would be too cold to sit still.

That was just one of many stories from that race, yet many people have raved about how great it was. It was adventurous and the landscape was beautiful (although the race organization shouldn't be given credit for the latter).

When adventure racers celebrate unnecessary risk and poor organization as "greater adventure", it may be true but they are doing a disservice to the sport. The natural outcome is a situation like this. And then how do we attract new people to sustain the sport?

Hi Revy, I was just thinking about you. ;)

(Not in the final paragraph, of course.)

Here are the maps from Fiona's message above. Interesting!

From TA6
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1015613000...

To TA7
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1015613000...

Thanks for those maps Fi! Definitely of interest. Could Columbia have been following that fenceline?

It seems quite reasonable that Godzone was airlifted first. By setting out (even though they returned) they effectively took the place from Merrell.
Very interesting to watch.

Bash - yes that race certainly could have used some logistical oversight;) I wasn't too worried though - we had just passed a cottage where we'd been offered some whisky so that option was always on the table:)

We all like adventure though and dealing with (some) adversity so not surprising that the feedback is more positive when conditions are tough. It is the "epic" problem.

Just curious, any guesses how far seagate have walked so far this race? We can't know for sure whether packrafting was walking or paddling or what the split was, but still, it has to be some kind of record for AR. Day 6 and they have yet to set eyes on a bicycle.

@Veinbuster, you may be right, although an unsuccessful excursion wouldn't usually move a team up a place in the standings. Given that they didn't reach any CPs during their excursion, they hadn't made any official leaderboard-type progress. The race organization specifically said they would fly teams out in order of arrival at TA6.

Anyway, I was mostly concerned that Merrell might be unwell. If Tecnu had flown next, that would have supported that hypothesis. Instead, there was probably some agreement that Godzone deserved the first flight, even though it wasn't consistent with the leaderboard.

@Revy, agreed. Adventure and adversity are part of what make a long AR such a memorable experience. We don't want AR dumbed down to the point that it's no fun.

On the other hand, few teams finished that race and most of the others wouldn't support that race organization ever again, which is not the outcome we want. So somehow we need guidelines and a culture that encourage adventure and don't try to prevent all adversity, yet somehow find a way to keep things "reasonable", whatever that means.

It will be interesting to see what happens here. Racers who get through a difficult race leg are more inclined to think it was fair and deserved to be part of the race, and that other teams should have been able to tough it out. (Revy, you may recognize this point of view from your experience with senior MDs and interns!)

Nathan calls a spade a spade though, and I'm guessing he'll say this was ridiculous. Looking forward to that race report!

As a novice adventure racer who has only recently gotten involved in the sport, I can say unequivocally that new racers are hurt much more by poor race organization. Lack of experience makes it more difficult to stay on the correct route and much more difficult to recover. Poor maps, impossible-to-reach CPs and nasty or unforgiving terrain do not make me (or my teammates) like a race more.

However, I would say the biggest problem the sport faces (at every level, from the looks of this race) is the withholding of information from racers until they are committed. Racers do not get adequate time with the maps or enough information about the terrain to make informed, safe decisions. Many times, at least the U.S., it's impossible for racers to ask important questions about the course because they don't know it until just before the start. In addition, racers often have to pack their gear for TAs without knowing where they will be on the course or what they might need, and then are given limited space in their gear boxes to work with.

As one last anecdote to end on, while my teammates and I have only been racing for two+ years, we were thinking about doing our first expedition race next year. At the beginning of this race, I forwarded my teammates (and my family members - big mistake!) links so they could follow along. With all they've read, I'm going to have a lot of trouble convincing my teammates to commit to an expedition race, and even if they did, my mother-in-law might forcibly stop us from going :) She called me last night and tried to get me to promise that we would never do anything like the Pantanal race. Egads.

That's right Bash. Which is why I think it had to have been Merrells doing that GZ flew first. And if they were withdrawing, then they would have been evacuated last, I think, unless it was with serious injury in which case first. So neither.

C'mon R'Adys!! Pull it together! Bless them..

Well put Strongmachine. It's all about balance isn't it? Anybody can create a ridiculously tough course or laughably easy course. It takes skill to create the right course for the occasion.

I think we may have stumbled upon the solution. Show the specs for future ARWC events to StrongMachine's mother-in-law. If she doesn't make him promise not to go, then the event is OK.

Godzone, Merrell and Ekos Pinheiro Selva (who must have flown from TA5) are now all at CP20. Godzone has been there for more than 2 hours and hasn't left. So much for getting an advantage by flying first! It will be dark in 2 hours.

This wasn't intended to be a TA. I wonder if their bikes and gear boxes are there.

Meanwhile, back in the swamp :)
The swedes and estonia are headed in the right direction with a looong way to go, while columbia are headed west, probably trying to pick up the path the swedes used. I really hope they find it.

Ekos Pinheiros have been flown in to CP20, so hopefully some media might have made it in as well? Would be good to have someone on the ground able to get a story out.

My 2 cents on a few things. I've been stalking the board for a few days and haven't commented because you all are way more on top of things than I am, which is also probably why my fantasy ranking is in the 100's. Anyway, I've been racing for 5 years and RD'ing for 3 year (8-12 hr races). Costa Rica was the first ARWC I paid attention to and also what inspired me to do my first multiday race (Cowboy Tough 2014).

All that to say this: In my mind, there is a difference between expedition "adventures" and "racing". For AR to be a sport, there has to be a reasonable number of teams able to "race" the course. IE use their skills and abilities navigating, biking, trekking, paddling to complete the course in the shortest amount of time. When very few teams can even complete the course, it becomes less of a race and more of an expedition adventure, and I think the sport loses credibility as a sport at that point.

For example, I'm finding myself wondering now if Columbia is even going to make it out of there or if they're going to have to send a helicoptor. They are only 10km from the TA they left almost 30 hours ago... That's not racing anymore...

There will always be teams that don't complete the full course, and RD's need to have plans in place to manage short course alternatives. When noone can complete the course, it just becomes a battle of attrition to see who can last the longest, not a "race", and really loses the appeal for all but a very select few. Seems to me the ARWC should be a race that MORE people want to aspire to competing in, NOT LESS.

Costa Rica got me interested in trying multi-day racing, and Cowboy Tough got me hooked, and I think more ARWS or possibly even an AWRC races are in my future, but this doesn't look like something I would want to sign up for. Could just as well have somebody drop me off in the middle of nowhere with a backpack and see if I make it out alive.

That being said, I do think people will learn from it and hopefully make this great sport better.

For me the perfect balance of a race is one that is tough enough to have me questioning my sanity (my family gave up doing that a long time ago) but enjoyable enough that I can have fun (in a sadistic kinda way) with my team-mates along the way.

Gotta have fun :)

I was at the first ARWC in Switzerland, and was caught right behind a near-fatal accident. All but the top 9 teams were "short coursed". No course is perfect, but I hope RDs err on the side of true, point to point "mission impossible" race courses worthy of the ARWC name.

BTW I would probably have signed myself in a long time ago on this one ;)

Meanwhile, now towards the back of the pack, a peleton of 4 Brazillian teams have formed a pack to bring it home to TA6.

And maybe to clarify a little bit, I am not in favor of dumbed down easy courses that teams breeze through either. There is a balance, and the appeal of AR is that challenge.

If every team completes the full course it was way too easy, and the AR World Championships should be hard. But clearly zero is the wrong number also.

And I think Strong Machine's comments really highlight the problem with why the sport doesn't grow more. It's about perception and sometimes the negatives get highlighted too much. Even in great portrayals like Eco, it's easier to remember the salties in Australia (even though I hear they were nowhere near the racers), the leeches in the eyes, the broken bones and airlifts.

The reality is, though this race is turning out to be a disaster, consider some of the other expeditions that ran this year or have run/will run again:

Godzone, XPD, Africa, Itera all have fantastic reputations. Sounds like Paraguay was a great time, Spain too. Raid in France seemed to have their issues, but overall it sounds like a great event in most regards. I've heard wonderful things about Tierra Viva. Cowboy Tough has its following and is well-liked by those who do it.

We've talked about Expedition Alaska a fair bit in the last week. It had some similar issues in regards to segment length and difficulty and remoteness, but Bash, you're right, we have been glowing about it since due to the adventure of it. I think the difference was we were clearly told before even starting that we would all be doing modified versions and that MAYBE one or two teams would do all of it, and the RD supported teams from start to finish to make sure they got there doing as much as possible and everyone "finished".

Unfortunately, it takes one bad race, one bad moment to mar all the great races and things that happen within them.

So, Strong Machine, do your homework, reach out to people who have done the expedition you might consider and find one that sounds reasonable. I can make a an immediate plug for Itera in Ireland if you are up for traveling that far. Brilliant courses, and some of the most astute and wise course designers I have seen or heard of!

Does your mother-in-law like Guinness?

JVD - glad to read that the 2014 CBT (through my hometown!!) got you hooked. It was fun to lounge and chat with you in the sweltering desert heat on day 3.

Are Columbia finally back on track? Heard a plane overhead or spotted one and realised what must be happening?

Great to see them suddenly with a spurt on.

Team MDs heading home on a boat right now. I'll be keen to hear how they have been getting on.

Hooray! Columbia heading towards the farmhouse waypoint. I hope there's some grub for them there.

the idea of having teams try long trek/packrafts across flat wetlands that go from almost no features to completely featureless if covered by 2 feet of water - which happens at unpredictable intervals depending on the weather - was perhaps not well thought through. Of course it all gets worse by heaps at night, and they have 11 hours of darkness to contend with.

Clearly they did not factor the relentless heat and humidity into their travel time estimates. Hot humid conditions are like putting a rev limiter on a car: even the fastest can only go at half-speed. With racers it', they slow down not because of fatigue or navigation, but because they will suffer heat stroke if they work any harder.

I have been surprised and hugely impressed with how few teams have got themselves badly lost, although losing touch with the maps in stage 6 is a race-ending, helicopter extraction scenario. Fortunately they were able to send bearings and distances to Columbia and Estonia.

Hear hear, 5 days without seeing your bike, or another team! Seagate are leading but how can they even feel like they are in a race without contact from any other team for so long?

I agree with the points on race vs expedition. I did my first multi day (3 days so not this league) this summer and it was awesome racing. Coming across teams all the time, same team multiple times. Next year my team make the leap to an ARWS race

It has to be a fine balance to strike between making a race really tough for the elite PRO teams and doable for the 10+ contingent home teams. 5 days of paddle, trek, paddle, trek, paddle, trek, paddle, trek, paddle, is not exactly inspiring. Especially if half the teams only get to experience that and nothing else? Adventure racing is supposed to be really tough yes, but varied and fun!

The stage time estimates for this race were way out. Thats a serious flaw. How are teams supposed to plan food? In that heat!

Bash, I think you've really got it right with saying that racers certainly feel more satisfied with their accomplishments when the going gets a little rougher. Some the moments I remember most are the really tough ones where I was cold and tired and hip-deep in a swamp but managed to pull through with the help my teammates. So I completely understand that RDs want to make races super epic and challenging. However; I think that as a racer it's very important to be able to have the confidence that a course has been vetted for a certain safety standard, or to know that there are some standards in place for things like time estimates. It is not okay to have your health and safety seriously threatened by misinformation leading to under-preparedness.

As it was said before, yucky races may lead to poor press for AR. I think the ARWS has a certain responsibility to make sure that RDs are putting out good quality races not only for the safety of the racers, but in order to maintain integrity of the sport. But this is probably a harder job that we can imagine, and I know that Craig Bycroft is a sympathetic guy who would never want anyone to have a poor experience. If XPD is any indication, Craig knows how to run a fantastic race. I think AWRC 2016 will revitalize the sport after a few years of (less-enjoyably) tough jungle races.

Oh and +1 for ITERA in Ireland next year. Feeling in my bones it will be nothing short of AWESOME

With Columbia's sharp correction, I'm wondering if they have also been sent a message to help relocate them via the trackers? All pure speculation at this stage. I'm really pulling for these 5 teams to make it through this leg in one piece and finish the course under their own steam. Certainly they have deserved the satisfaction of crossing that finish line after their massive efforts so far.

Merrell and GZ on the move at last. And get this: using bicycles! Yes, those strange wheeled contraptions said to be the most efficient human powered form of movement.

It must have taken serious introspection to get moving again after all that downtime.

Good night all.

Great discussion and points! And yes, there are some well-organized, safe (as much as possible) expedition ARs, and Broots' list is a good starting point.

I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing if only a few teams finish an entire race course as long as other teams have a good experience. Racers have taken time off work, paid money to travel, compromised their family's vacation time, trained for months, purchased a mandatory machete, etc. etc. Short course teams should get to do all the disciplines and they should get to see some of the nicer parts of the race course.

Although Expedition Alaska was "big", it didn't come across as "ridiculous". It still looked appealing - with some tweaks for a future year. In this case, as Los Dobos says, teams have been given a challenge that just doesn't make much sense.

A few people are talking about "balance", which is great. There has often been a kneejerk reaction in AR culture that More Adventure always = Better, and if you don't agree, well then, you're not a real adventure racer. Slice is a real adventure racer with a ton of experience including ARWC and a win in Costa Rica the year before it was the ARWC. This comment of hers above bears repeating:

"However; I think that as a racer it's very important to be able to have the confidence that a course has been vetted for a certain safety standard, or to know that there are some standards in place for things like time estimates. It is not okay to have your health and safety seriously threatened by misinformation leading to under-preparedness. "

Shotgunmcos - Exp Alaska this year had a similar course format with trek, paddle, repeat for 5 days. We didn't see our bikes until day 6. In saying that, the first bike leg was the best bike leg I've ever done in a race. That was at least until the second bike leg, which instantly became my new favourite of all time. The key points though, were that we knew well in advance that biking would only be a small part of the race, and not until late into it. And also, the course and terrain truly justified the logistics of having so little riding. To be fair though, I would have been p*ssed if I had hauled my bike all the way around the world and not to ride it.

I think the fact that the teams have not seen their bikes yet would not be weighing too heavily on their minds. And similarly, they knew they were signing up for a jungle/swamp race. I'd suggest the unachievability of the full course given the RDs predictions may be their biggest gripe. But perhaps teams out there are relishing in the challenge (although that seems unlikely from the few reports we have had). It will definitely be interesting to read the post-race reports.

Tecnu and Raidlight have made their flight. Presumably they won't be on their bikes until dark.

Next question: given the long break that these teams have had, can they push through the final bike leg, ropes course and short canoe without another sleep? That's over 185km of riding BTW.

Finally a message back out from Team Mountain Designs, reproduced below:

"Hi everyone..... Gary, Leo , Sloshy and Kim are back in Corumba at the event hotel....we are all well and now just reflecting on the race that was.
As you would have seen that once we were sure that Gary was going to be ok and in good hands, we did attempt to go out on some of the course...but had to wait for permission....following the Trek we could not paddle straight away as again we had to wait for permission....So by then Gary was keen to paddle so we did....at the end of that leg we had our tracker and bibs taken from us as they did not want us to continue on the course.....
So Leo, Sloshy and Kim had to board a navy ship back to Corumba (after waiting 5hrs on a bank)....Gary however got a speed boat back to the luxury boat that he had paid to stay on as otherwise he would have not been able to recover and be guaranteed somewhere to sleep each night....
Reflecting on the event and now what continuing teams are being faced with for our own personal longterm health, it is probably a blessing in disguise.
We did manage to get some photos out on the course, so will be sure to produce some race reports soon....
Thanks so much everyone for your support in following us on this adventure, we are disappointed we didn't get a chance to really race.....but sometimes things just don't go your way....."

R'ADYS is getting close to the trails that some other teams have followed south to TA6. Follow the Cessna, JayXC!

Hey RogueAdventure, that bike leg probably felt like the best in the world after all that paddling and trekking! Like your first bite of chocolate after lent!

TBH I wouldn't care if there were 20 reps of paddle trek in a race, but I would be miffed if I lost out on the fun stuff and the bike always has fun stuff, like descending!! The point was more towards the short course teams. As Bash said they need to experience all discilines and see the best parts of the course.

You want teams spreading the word about your race afterwards. You want more to come.

P.S fair play staying top of the Fantasy! If it wasn't for that I wouldn't be rooting for basically every teams still out there :-)

Both the Estonians and Columbia are making progress toward the blue-line route to TA7 after (presumably) receiving the race organization's message telling them their coordinates and the right way to go. Both Swedish teams should get to TA7 ahead of them but it's still a long way to go and we don't know if/when TA7 will close now, given the changed circumstances.

At Wilderness Traverse, as some people reading this will know, if you contact me at Race HQ when you're lost, I ask you whether you want to be disqualified, which is what happens if I give you specific navigation advice. If it's not a team contending for the win (and it never is - at least not so far), I will sometimes suggest that your team is doing fine and maybe you should keep trying a little longer.

So what happens in this case? Godzone recognized that the navigation was pretty ridiculous, especially at night, so they came back to TA6. Should they be ranked behind a team that went out there and didn't recognize the problem in time to be able to return to the TA, then required detailed navigation info to get out of their predicament?

Any updates on Columbia? Have they been picked up by a helicopter?

Seem to be covering ground very fast and onto the same track as the plane.

Looks like they've gone about 7 km in 2 hours, which seems reasonable.

Yes sorry just tracked back. Seemed to jump rapidly ahead from where they were.

Seagate will hit TA8 within the hour. Bet it'll be quite a party as they rest and build bikes.

As with many things in life, it's all about managing expectations.

I've heard great things about Exp Alaska also, which was a very difficult race in the "uncompleteable" category, but David Adlard advertised it that way. I knew it before the race started and I wasn't racing. And I've also heard since then that they really went out of their way to make the racers experience great.

As has been said, It should be a reasonable expectation that the race organization isn't going to put you in harms way unnecessarily or through misinformation.

I will say that being a race director for this level of competition with increasing expectations of the "epic" factor as well as competitor experience and safety and now more increasingly spectator experience has to be a daunting task with very little reward if you do pull it off.

We all should consider how daunting a task it is to set up a race in the middle of nowhere. Makes me wonder why any sane person would do it...?

I think you're right to do it the way you do it Bash, though I also am fine with allowing them race officially and simply rank them behind all others.

In this case, seems to me, that the RDs might have to rank them ASSUMING they simply sent information. Did they ask that same question you do? Or did they text it over? If they gave the information without being asked for it, I think they have to rank them, though I would say neither should be ranked ahead of the Swedes if they somehow catch up.

Now, if these teams asked for the info, it becomes much more contentious, and I would feel differently. But it's tough to penalize EST and COL if they were simply given the info.

Weird comment, but I find it cool that the mapping software makes a cornucopia spiral of the race flags around TA6.

Also cool to see all the packraft segment teams heading in the correct direction again!

Sorry, i was gone for the past hour, but in response to Bash - yes, my mother-in-law would be a great arbiter of course fairness :)

and to broots: We have already been looking seriously at Itera (we're in Maine, so it's not a bad flight from Boston), but your recommendation (and those of shotgunmcos as well), gives me even more confidence it's a good starter race for us.

And we'll definitely be getting down to PA to race Rootstock's races! When will you have dates available for those races? We're organizing an 8-hour up here in Maine for July and you and Abby are invited :)

broots: Minor point, but Team Columbia Oncosec is racing for ESP. The COL team is still back at TA6 after their own serious epic on stage 6. ;)

Agreed, Broot, this is really not clear cut.

Bob and I have been discussing a different way of handling it. We have long discussed a "GPS category" for Wilderness Traverse. The Eco-Endurance Challenge in Nova Scotia offers GPS and non-GPS categories, and the top teams are always in the non-GPS category.

I haven't been keen on the idea but I can appreciate that it might increase participation among teams with less confidence. Bob's thought is that anyone who contacts me at HQ during the race will automatically be moved to the GPS category, whether or not they carry one, and regardless of what I say to them. Since we have pretty good cell phone coverage on our course, we know that some teams (hopefully only the honest ones who told us) have used Google Maps to locate themselves, and they could be switched to the GPS category too. It does depend on the honour system - but it already does anyway.

The other risk is that GPS and non-GPS teams will encounter one another in the woods - but once again, that may already happen with teams who have disqualified themselves by taking out their phones.

Still an idea under consideration...