The Last Desert Stage 3

Stage 3:It was quite clear following the end of Stage 2 which was run on the Antarctic Mainland that the race was going to hot up during Stage 3. We lined up in a freezing cold blizzard on a small island covered once again in penguin rookeries and the course laid was a 1.3km loop out and back along the shoreline. We started off and the snow was again over 2 foot thick. I trailed Dean Karnazes for a lap and Paul was in front of him and put 200m on us in the first lap which was crazy. Dean let me past after the first loop which I found strange as he had said he felt much stronger that morning. It turns out I don’t think he ever felt comfortable with his gear and therefore the running for the whole day as it was colder and wetter than it had otherwise been. After 4 hours of running Paul was still exactly the same distance ahead of me, 200 metres. We would pass each other on the out and back within yard of the previous lap. The penguins would sometimes wander right onto the course which meant we had to stop for them to move off rather than run them over but once we were into a running groove it was actually a much easier day despite the distance being increased. In the end the stage ended after around 5 hours and Paul was pleased with his win but felt tired as Evgeniy and I had pushed him hard. I lapped Dean 3 times in the end and he didn't really explain why he had let it slip so much. I guess it had been a long year for him or that the conditions didn't suit him out there that day. Team Trifecta spent some time diving around in the snow tackling each other and it did occur to me I might have been better enjoying this race a little more by slowing down and taking in the scenery/ wildlife etc. Nevertheless I enjoyed pushing the limits again. Back to the ship for 10:30 pm where we were told to eat and sleep as the wake up call would be at 0415 for stage 4. The importance of sleep in these races cannot be underestimated if you are able to get some. That is the period in which your muscles take a break and start repairing themselves, it recuperates your energy levels and blisters have a chance to die down. It also meant there was no chance for kit to dry out. Racing stages so close to one another is not good for any of us but Paul and I suffered more than most the following morning....