All athletes are accounted for and have left Ken Lake checkpoint. Unfortunately, we had an athlete scratching there. And it’s an unexpected one. Nicole Dörr from Germany could not continue and is being brought out on ski-doo to Carmacks. It should not have been the cold. So, I suspect it’s some kind of sports inury.
For some of the athletes there is now a race against time. And it’s not the deadline for the finish they will worry about. They have to reach Carmacks by 22:30 tonight. That is our cut-off. We will monitor them closely and keep our fingers crossed all of them make it.
Congratulations to all 100 mile finishers
The first few days required us to be 100% focused on what was happening on the trail. That is why I am late in congratulating all 100 mile finishers for a great job done! My apologies for not doing this any earlier. All finishing times are in the race roster and I will do the rankings shortly. I just will finish this general update first.
Only 4 athletes remaining in the 300 mile race
Out of 18 athletes who started in the 300 mile race, only 4 are still on their way. In the lead is Neil Thubron from England. He is on his way to McCabe right now and looked excellent when I saw him here at Carmacks. Next is Daniel Benhammou from the US, who like so many others really enjoyed that shower in the Carmacks Rec Centre, updated friends and family and left as I am posting this. Ryan Shaw and Mal Smith, both from England, are on their way to Carmacks and should be able to make it if they don’t slow down. Although it will be very tight for Mal. I also should add that Mal Smith and Alfredo Dimeo have shown us all the true spirit of the North and helped our Mexican 100 mile competitor Alberto Carlos through a very rough first night. There is a good chance that without their help Alberto would have suffered severe frostbite. So, thank you guys for thinking about others first! Unfortunately, Alfredo also had problems with frostbite and thus could not continue running with his friend Mal.
First 430 milers to reach Pelly Crossing today
I guess in the 430 mile distance we now do have a bit of a race going on between Derek Crowe and Enrico Ghidoni. That is if Derek is actually in race mode. As he is another great example of sportsmanship. When Enrico had problems with his bike in Braeburn he stayed there to help and he then stayed a long time. Of course also to wait for it to warm up. But I am sure that if he wanted to, he could have gone a lot earlier. So, we will see. I would not be surprised if they kind of stay together. Or I am wrong and it will now be a competition between them. I also should say that basically from Dog Grave Lake to Carmacks Enrico pushed his bike rather than riding it. But he pushed his bike as fast as others run … Leaves me speechless, really. So, yesterday thanks to the help of Jonah from Icycle Sport in Whitehorse we got him a new wheel. As you can imagine, he was VERY happy about that. In the bike category Pat Cooke Rogers (England), Tim Sommers (Australia) and Peter Felten (Germany) are still in the race. Both Pat and Tim I saw in Carmacks and they were in great spirits. Tim always is. I guess that’s just the Australian way. Pat is a miracle to me. I am told when she came into Dog Grave Lake she was wondering why so many people had problems. And indeed further back Peter did have technical problems with his bike due to the cold. But he never gave up. He is one tough cookie (I think that’s how you guys say it) and if he makes good speed now, he should make it to Carmacks before the cut-off.
Meanwhile in the foot category, Hanno Heiss from Italy who was in the lead by far had arrived in Carmacks with some problems. His calves were very swollen and he was in quite some pain. Luckily we not only have our medical team here helping but also Doctor Steinach from the Berlin Center for Space Medicine who is conducting a study with some of our 430 milers. He was happy to jump in and take care of Hanno. The Italian left the checkpoint already and hopefully things get better for him. Joel from Spain of course has now been able to catch up to Hanno and I am sure he will try to eventually overtake him. Since Joel does not have any major problems he is in a good position to achieve that.
Next up is Marianne Heading from England. She is still resting and enjoying the company of her partner Mike Thomas who is with us as a volunteer.
Jan Francke from the Czech Republic is the only other 430 mile competitor who has made it to Carmacks so far. He is tire but had a good rest and like so many successful MYAU athletes he always keeps his good mood. Even when very tired.
The rest of the 430 mile field of entrants is now on the way to Carmacks and the support team is here to welcome them. McCabe checkpoint is operational since yesterday and this morning Diane Patrick headed up to Pelly Crossing to open the checkpoint there. Sue and Dale from Pelly Farm, warm up that Lasagne, we are on our way!!!
Our race headquarter at Scuttlebutt Lodge where Jo Davies is still based will be moved to Carmacks later today and then tomorrow move to Pelly Crossing. Thank you Don for being such a great and caring host!
