Eco-Challenge Fiji 15 - Debriefing

Team US Military Post-Race Dinner

Eco-Challenge Fiji:
World’s Toughest Race

Sunday, September 22th
Spoilers: None

Packing for the return flight after the race was difficult…and messy!

This was not your typical United States Adventure Racing Association race.  Typically, in USARA races navigation is heavily weighted, meaning those teams with better navigation skills will place better than more physically fit teams that are less skilled with a map and compass.  This was not the case at Eco-Challenge Fiji.  While navigation was necessary--and still tricky enough for even the top teams to make mistakes if they were not paying attention (notably Team East Wind, Team Bend Racing, and Team OutThere)--this race favored teams that were strong physically.  This was by design as the production crew had to anticipate the teams’ projected course in order to film it.  Fairly evident from the beginning of the race, Eco-Challenge Fiji race management was very specific about how long the course was (a very specific 416 miles).  Although the race more or less diminished the strategy element of adventure racing on the course itself, it was necessary in order to ensure the film crew was able to capture the race on camera, which was ultimately the goal.

Eco-Challenge Fiji never promised to be an adventure race.  Its claim was “The World’s Toughest Race”

Eco-Challenge Fiji never promised to be an adventure race.  Its claim was “The World’s Toughest Race”.  Despite the lack of navigational challenges and jungle whacking (which was anticipated to be the hardest part of the race), Eco-Challenge Fiji was still the hardest race the members of Team US Military had ever done.  The biking was tough, with incredible elevation gains and losses, and the weather added to the suck factor.  This course tested the limits of racers’ mental capacity and their will to finish.  Traveling across and along rocky rivers was tedious and broke some of the hardest people down.  Continually slipping on rocks and banging up shins and feet tested the bounds of human fortitude and willpower.  The teams that dropped out either had medical ailments or mental fatigue that prevented them from continuing on.

Finisher rankings for the World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji

The Eco-Challenge Fiji competitor relations team did an absolutely fantastic job preparing the teams in the months leading up to the race.  They emphasized foot care, ensured teams were prepared for cold and wet nights, made gear recommendations, and answered countless questions from teams.  Eco-Challenge Fiji’s preparation for the teams (and Amazon’s financial contribution) most likely contributed to such a high finish rate (66%), despite the course being a full one hundred miles longer than the 2002 version where there were far fewer finishing teams.

Many competitors suffered from severe infection[s] following the race--some lasting months.

Many competitors suffered from severe infection[s] following the race--some lasting months.  With Spangler, an emergency room physician, on the team, Team US Military was pretty careful to prevent medical issues from escalating to a point of threatening their race—they took doxycycline mid-race after the nasty jungle swim and doused their feet and legs in iodine solution at every camp.  This was a huge contributing factor to ensuring they were physically able to finish the race.

Overall the organization, course design, unique disciplines, cultural immersion, and quality of teams from around the world all contributed to the race being the hardest (but also the most fun) adventure racing experience ever had.  Upon reflecting on the race, just one question remains…

When is the next one???

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Eco-Challenge Fiji 15 - Debriefing
Eco-Challenge Fiji 15 - Debriefing

Eco-Challenge Fiji never promised to be an adventure race. Its claim was “The World’s Toughest Race”. Despite the lack of navigational challenges and jungle whacking (which was anticipated to be the hardest part of the race), Eco-Challenge Fiji was still the hardest race the members of Team US Military had ever done. The biking was tough, with incredible elevation gains and losses, and the weather added to the suck factor. This course tested the limits of racers’ mental capacity and their will to finish. Traveling across and along rocky rivers was tedious and broke some of the hardest people down. Continually slipping on rocks and banging up shins and feet tested the bounds of human fortitude and willpower.

Eco-Challenge Fiji 14 - Against the Wind
Eco-Challenge Fiji 14 - Against the Wind

Spangler’s wife Kate was there as well. While her eyes showed concern for what condition he might have put himself in to get there, she was smiling as brightly as the sun with pride in what he had accomplished. As Kate’s husband saw her, a relieved smile appeared on his face; her presence was easing. She embodied the respite he had been so far from for eleven grueling days: home. The two embraced in silent glances, reunited in the midst of the happy chaos of finishing. The team popped champagne bottles and celebrated the end of their epic onstage.

Eco-Challenge 13 - Stage 5
Eco-Challenge 13 - Stage 5

Spangler and Joshua went on ahead while Jesse and Caitlin wrestled with her headlamp that was no longer working. Caitlin had been having a hell of a time with gear issues—she lost her odometer on the hellacious mud climb, lost a bike glove that doubled as her paddling gloves, lost her red blinking rear bike light, lost her spare headlight after attempting to use the red blinker feature for her rear bike light, shorted out both of her bike front light batteries in the rain, lost her flashlight to the team’s Fijian porter (she forgot to get it back from him), and bent her derailleur. She was down to her last light. After a few minutes, the two abandoned the attempt to fix it and just rode together using Spangler’s light. Fortunately, the team would no longer need lights for the rest of the race.

Eco-Challenge Fiji 12 - THE ROAD!!!
Eco-Challenge Fiji 12 - THE ROAD!!!

Fueled by a sudden energy to get the hell off the incline, Caitlin scampered up to where Joshua was and started free climbing the rock face. She thought, “Maybe if I can get on top of the rock, I can see where we are…” Joshua gave her a boost and a stiff warning about the brittle rock, and she climbed about twenty feet up. Right there in front of her was the ROAD!!! “THE ROAD!!!" Caitlin yelled it loudly over and over so that her teammates could share her relief and then she collapsed on it. “Guys get up here!! We made it!!" She had never been so relieved. The team had been right under the road for twenty minutes and had no idea it was so close.

Eco-Challenge Fiji 11 - The Suck
Eco-Challenge Fiji 11 - The Suck

The military team continued up the river as daylight began painting the sky. The section was grueling. The embattled racers were constantly slipping and banging their shins on the rocks that littered the river and the narrow banks along its side. The rocks ranged in size from the size of a baby’s head to the size of a car. When traveling along the river, they were unavoidable. All were wet and slippery, and falling in that environment could have heavy consequences. To make matters worse, an underestimation of the number of spare batteries to bring for the stage left two of the team members without light. Leaping across wet rocks--sometimes as much as six feet above the ground--by moonlight in the middle of the Fijian jungle would be one of numerous truly unique Eco-Challenge Fiji experiences thrust upon the members of Team US Military.

Eco-Challenge Fiji 10 - Porters and Waterfalls
Eco-Challenge Fiji 10 - Porters and Waterfalls

There were about fifteen people in the home staring at Caitlin and Joshua as they laid down. After agreeing on one hour of sleep, Caitlin set the alarm on the watch. Caitlin, too weary and out of it to care, passed out and vaguely remember someone putting a blanket on her. Joshua tried not to laugh at the severely awkward circumstances in which he currently found himself--that of falling asleep to a hovering audience of women and children. Partly loopy from his lack of sleep, he stifled the giggles as best as he could and instead made a game of pretending to fall asleep peacefully, even though he was still wide awake at the thought of the strangers around him watching his every chest rise and fall. His thoughts before he finally gave into sleep were, “Where else would this craziness happen?”

Eco-Challenge Fiji 09 - Mud and Water
Eco-Challenge Fiji 09 - Mud and Water

The mud was so bad the wheels would not roll up OR down the hills. The mud was just caking onto the wheels, adding 40 pounds of weight and preventing any rolling. Joshua, struggling to push his bike downhill, watched as his rear wheel--covered in mud--ripped a saucer-sized rock from the ground as it rolled up. The glue-like mud did not let go of the five pound rock until it rolled into the bike frame, which was struggling to shed the massive buildup of mud, gravel, and other debris from the tires as they roll-skidded along the road.

Eco-Challenge Fiji 08 - A Grizzled, Mountain Woman Caitlin Thorn with an 18-Inch Beard
Eco-Challenge Fiji 08 - A Grizzled, Mountain Woman Caitlin Thorn with an 18-Inch Beard

After a very wet and cold night on the bike they blazed into Camp 2 at 0400. Hot soup and a dry camp was looking really good to them now. As they started searching for their camp among all the tarps and tents, they could not find their own. After a while, Joshua finally found a volunteer to point out where the camp was set up. The volunteer pointed to six bins covered by a sopping wet tarp on the ground with Kevin’s tent next to it. Holy shit. Kevin had not set up their camp yet. Joshua immediately went to Kevin’s tent. “Kevin, what’s going on!?" The response the racers heard from their TAC inside the tent was, “Shit.”

Eco-Challenge Fiji 07 - Stage 2
Eco-Challenge Fiji 07 - Stage 2

The water inside the canyon was pretty intense, and since nobody could not touch the bottom, teams ended up pulling themselves along the edge of the canyon in the water. Backpacks were mostly left on, and used as makeshift lifejackets. Although this provided some buoyancy, it was the race’s first test of teams’ ability to waterproof their gear. Team US Military’s critical gear was already beginning to become waterlogged, including some first aid supplies and food. This would continue to be an issue throughout the race.

Eco-Challenge Fiji 06 - Highway to the Danger Zone
Eco-Challenge Fiji 06 - Highway to the Danger Zone

As they made their way to the mainland, Jesse began to question whether the race’s difficulty was already beginning to take its toll on him when he began to see things in the Pacific waters. When he found the bravery to ask his teammates if they were seeing what he was--small green flickers beneath the water every time his paddle sunk in--he realized he was not yet hallucinating. With each paddle stroke, the ocean was exploding with lime bluish-green sparkles. Bioluminescent plankton were illuminating themselves due to the mechanical stress of the water around them being disturbed by the paddles. Chased by a stream of natural fireworks , the team glided across the Pacific Ocean atop their Camakau. It would be an unforgettable experience for the members of Team US Military.

Eco-Challenge Fiji 05 - 66th Place and Moving Up
Eco-Challenge Fiji 05 - 66th Place and Moving Up

Team US Military, who had three proficient navigators, spent a few minutes studying the map. The next CP looked difficult, and they were trying to decide how to attack it. The villagers indicated the right direction where there was a trail down the way. They took the trail and sure enough, glow sticks were lighting the entrance to the attack point of the CP. Team members were a little put off by the all but neon signs indicating the way, but the navigation would not prove as easy in the subsequent stages of the race.

Eco-Challenge Fiji 04 - Three-Two-One GO!!!
Eco-Challenge Fiji 04 - Three-Two-One GO!!!

In disbelief, Team US Military also continued to paddle while assessing the damage. Their Camakau was not immediately taking on water as the gash was above the water line, but it would not survive the ocean once the team got there. Joshua made a quick decision, “Guys, in the 2002 Eco-Challenge Fiji, Team Playboy Extreme fixed their boat with wood and nails. We are going to pull over and ask the locals for the supplies before we get on the ocean." Caitlin considered the idea. This was the only thing to do if the boat was going to make it the twenty-four hours they would be on the water, so they paddled on until not long later they saw hundreds of local Fijians lining the riverbank next to their village, cheering on the competitors.

Eco-Challenge Fiji 03 - Race Start
Eco-Challenge Fiji 03 - Race Start

At the ceremonial start, country flags surrounded a stage in a semi-circular fashion. All the cameras were in place with drones and helicopters flying over. It was spectacular. Teams quickly learned the race was divided into five stages (Ocean, Jungle, River, Highlands, Island), with racers capturing an iconic medallion at each stage that would serve as the pass that allowed them on to the next stage. In between stages were camps where Team Assistant Crews (TACs) would set up team tents and have hot food waiting. Teams were required by the rules to spend a minimum of ninety minutes at each camp to allow for interviews if required. Additionally, teams had a sleep card rule that mandated they take a total of five sleeps of three hours each at Check Points (CPs) or camps of their choosing along the way. It was another element of strategy to consider during the race. The members of Team US Military were excited and ready to go.

Eco-Challenge Fiji 02 - The Night Before
Eco-Challenge Fiji 02 - The Night Before

Competitors were given a safety brief and told that the Eco-Challenge Fiji medical team could pull competitors off of the course if they felt the athletes were endangering ourselves. Eco-Challenge Fiji medical director Dr. Joe Rowles mentioned some diseases that may preclude us from continuing on--Dengue fever being one of them. It was at that point that Spangler, the emergency room physician on Team US Military, informed his teammates that he would let them know if anyone on the team needed to get the Eco-Challenge Fiji medical team involved. “You only get fever and chills from Dengue fever, and there is nothing you can do about it. You usually don’t die from it so we are continuing the race if anyone gets it.” His teammates knew where Spangler stood about finishing the race, and they were all okay with it.

Eco-Challenge Fiji 01 - Arrival
Eco-Challenge Fiji 01 - Arrival

Instant panic erupted on the group chat. Advice and contingency plans were being thrown around to mitigate the team’s first crisis of many to come during the race. They arrived at the Pullman Resort in Nadi with all gear in tow sans Spangler’s. Team US Military’s initial excitement had been somewhat tamed by the missing gear debacle. As they reunited with adventure racing friends at the hotel, Spangler worked with the Eco-Challenge Fiji competitor relations team and Fiji Airways to try and locate his gear. After failed attempts to reach Fiji Airways all day, the Eco-Challenge Fiji social media manager sent a private tweet to the airline about the issue. Instantly, a response came from Fiji Airways, and the team soon learned that the gear never left SFO…

Caitlin Thorn is a guest blogger here. Caitlin Thorn is an accomplished endurance athlete, with numerous accolades as a distance runner, Olympic and half-Ironman distance triathlete, and adventure racer. Caitlin is a Track and Field Division I NCAA All-American, with numerous finishes in the half-marathon and marathon distances. She has been adventure racing for three years and has earned podium finishes at over 6 races and qualified for the 2019 USARA National Championship. Caitlin enjoys world travel and hiking, and when not pursuing outdoor adventure she serves as an active duty officer and engineer in the U.S. Air Force.

Caitlin can be followed via Facebook @caitlin.aub

Adventure RacingJoshua ForesterEco Challenge Fiji, Worlds Toughest Race, Fiji, Caitlin Thorn, Joshua Forester, adventure racing, Team US Military, Jesse Tubb, Jesse Spangler, Kevin Howser2 Comments