NEWS ENGLISH

Robert Hodges and James Binks from England did not sign up as a team. But they sure are a great team! At 19:55 they reach the finish line in Pelly Crossing. This means they are in 4th place. Both finished the 100 miles in 2012. Now they are 300 mile finishers, too! They agreed that the dark is not the issue. “It’s the cold that scares you”, James and Robert said. After having eaten, they will now rest and tomorrow we will drive to Whitehorse.

This leaves only John and Eliot in the 300 mile competition. Glenn and Spencer left some minutes ago to go and check how they are doing.

Gabriela and Pietro are also stil on the trail but they are unranked as they did not get to Carmacks before the cut-off.

Brian really impressed us all with his steady pace and the fact that he crossed the finish line in great shape. Tired of course but no blisters to speak of or other major pains. He reached the finish in 3rd place in our foot category. Brian also gave us some quotes which I think I will put on future YAU t-shirts, like: “It’s further than you think!” or “It’s not just around the next corner”. I am sure all athletes from this and previous years can relate to that.

While Glenn and Spencer were in Pelly Crossing last night, the entire rest of the remaining support crew went to Pelly Farm. It was great there! More news about it later. Now we are back in Pelly Crossing and waiting for Brian Bell to cross the finish line.

John and Eliot, James and Robert, Gabriela and Pietro are travelling as teams and all are good. John is in a lot of pain due to blistered toes. So, it will be a slow journey now for them. But they have got plenty of time. We will check on them again later today.

Around – 40° C in some spots last night …

Photos and more detailed news will follow later on.

One of Torben’s knees is hurting and he still has got shin splints. I have always had the impression it would not stop him and I was right. He arrived to a warm welcome by the crew, 300 mile finisher Johnny and fellow racers Stefan and Jorgen (who came up all the way from Whitehorse to see Torben finish).

Torben is now resting and will drive back with the others to Whitehorse tonight. Safe trip everyone!

Meanwhile Brian is still at Pelly Farm and I am sure enjoying the great hospitality there. All other athletes are on their way to the farm. Soon Glenn and Spencer will be back and I will know how they are doing.

The temperatures last night went down to – 40 ° C in some places on the river. I can’t say it often enough. I am very impressed how they are all handling these low temperatures. Still no frostbites.

Gary and Josh checked on all athletes on the course just now. They are all doing good. Their SPOTs are working. So, you can follow them on their final stages to the finish line.

Eliot and John were the last ones arriving into Pelly Crossing this early morning. They were knackered but fine. Still making lots of jokes. Although I think when Diane treated John’s bilsters there definitely was no smile to be seen. They alread left for the next checkpoint.

James and Robert are on their way to Pelly Farm. The rest in Pelly Crossing did them good. Robert’s back seemed better and I am sure they will like the experience on the Pelly River today.

Brian Bell from Ireland was also feeling good and enjoyed to talk to the guides on the trail. He will have a great time on Pelly Farm. I hope he does not get too comfortable, though.

Mei who is our first participant from China and finished the 100 miles went on to volunteer afterwards. She did a wonderful job and now is on her way to Pelly Farm. On foot. As she wants to gain a bit more experience and hopefully come back in 2015 to do the 430 mile distance.

I will now bring Anais and Laure-Anne to Pelly Farm to help there with arriving athletes. Nic will come back to Pelly Crossing with me. On the way out we will see Torben and cheer him on. His friend and 300 mile winner Johnny and also Diane are there to congratulate him when he crosses the finish line.

Gabriela and Pietro from Italy who continue their race unranked are on the Pelly River now, too. They will get some beautiful footage for their video/TV project.

Temperature were very cold last night and continue to be cold. I would not be surprised if it got close to – 40 in some spots on the rivers and lakes. Still everybody is handling this challenge really well.

Danish athlete Johnny Andersen arrives at the 300 mile finish February 4th at 14:10. Not only does this mean he won the race but with this time he also broke the record for the foot category by more than 2 hours. And that is not even taking into account  the time he was held at McCabe. So, we all congratulate him. That was an incredible achievement. Apart from the shin splints which are not too bad he is fine and now resting at Pelly Crossing.

Torben is still in pain with his legs but he endured it to here and I am sure he will have enough motivation to reach the finish. Right now he is at Pelly Farm where Nic and Dale take care of him.

Earlier today I saw Brian Bell arrive in Pelly Crossing. He was still going strong but he did admit that he is getting a bit tired. He is currently resting.

The last athletes to reach Pelly Crossing were James Binks and Robert Hodges. Robert has some back problems. James is fine. They will have a rest and then head out to the farm.

Eliot and James who form team Eliot Edward Endurance are on their way to Pelly Crossing. When I saw them this morning they were fine. Tired but fine. Those two have a great humor. It’s really fun to see them at the checkpoints because they may have had a really rough time on the trail but they keep their positive attitude. And that’s key.

Gabriela and Pietro were driven to McCabe and continue their race unranked. They both actually are in great shape. I guess they just misjudged their speed a bit. And I am sure their filming project cost them some valuable time, too (they are filming their experience for Italian TV).

All in all I am really impressed about how the athletes are handling the – 30 degree temperatures. No signs of frostbite so far.

Johnny did not have spare batteries. That is why his SPOT stopped working. He made it to Pelly Farm, slept there and left early this morning. He wants to get to the finish by 3:00 PM which means he would break the current record.

Everybody else is doing fine. We will close the Carmacks checkpoint now and move up North.

Temperatures are now at – 30 ° C. However, so far all athletes seem to cope well. Ali did get a bit of a scare yesterday on the way to Ken Lake. He thought he went past the CP, back tracked, got cold fingers and then his stove did not work. It all worked out in the end but he sure won’t forget that. Because of the Carmacks time limit and not having Linda there with him, Ali decided to scratch.

I brought Linda, Ali, Jorgen, Tim and Stefan back to Whitehorse and drove up to Carmacks again.

Everybody who still had been here is now on the way to McCabe or already arrived there. The only two athletes who had not made it to Carmacks were Gabriela and Pietro from Italy. Unfortunately, they came 1 hour and 20 minutes late. It is tempting to say, “forget about the time limit and just go”.  The problem is it would be unfair to all athletes who had to stop their race because of it in the past. And the time limit is there for a reason. It helps to prevent the field spreading out so much that we can’t really support everyone. Furthermore, we have found that athletes who arrive after the time limit have a very hard time to reach the 300 mile finish within the 8 days.

In the meantime Johnny left Pelly Crossing and Torben arrived in Pelly Crossing. Still the same problems of shin splints but going strong anyway. Brian Bell arrived at McCabe and so did Robert Hodges and James Binks. All doing fine.

John and Eliot are about half way to McCabe. They had a good rest at Carmacks. That helps dealing with the very cold temperatures.

John and Eliot arrived in Carmacks at 03:20 AM. They are tired but overall I would say in very good shape. “You learn a lot of lessons out there” Eliot said as he sat down. “About the race and life in general”, he added. I am sure every athlete could not agree more. They are eating now and will have a good rest.

James also made it safely to Carmacks. He arrived a short time after Robert. Some athletes get more tired as the race goes on. With James it seems to be different this year. He is feeling better and better every day.

Still did not hear from Gary and Josh in Pelly. I will let Johnny go at 5 AM. That gives me enough time to drive up to Pelly and see what the problem may be.

Robert Hodges arrives in Carmacks at 23:22. He is feeling good and I would say he also looks like it. James Binks is not far behind and after him Eliot Caton and John Greenslade. Meanwhile at Ken Lake the crew is waiting for Ali, Gabriela and Pietro.

Johnny is at McCabe and ready to go again. However, we have to hold him there as Gary reported problems with the trail near Pelly Crossing. So for his safety and rather than maybe having to stop him on the trail we decided to ask him to stay in McCabe until we are sure it is okay. He will be credited the additional waiting time.