Adventure Racing World Series
presented by Numa Sport Optics

Bull of Africa is mostly wrapped up and teams are home and back at their office desks. Race reports from teams are posted on http://www.ar.co.za/, South Africa's adventure racing website (click on the Reports & Results section).

The one feature tht really stuck me about this event was the short stages. The previous Bull (2005) was criticised for its long slog legs. Later that year I went to Southern Traverse in New Zealand, which had exactly the same thing. Teams sometime didn't emerge from sections for over 30-hours.

I've tried to split the various legs according to race winner Team USNs times. I don't have specific list of TAs and times for the last sections are not available. But, this does give a fairly good indication of the leg durations.

• Hike: 02h20
• Cycle: 0h52
• Paddle Rogaine: 2h47
• Cycle: 1h15
• Hike: 13h24
• Cycle to dam: 4h08
• Paddle: 3h18
• Cycle: 6h05
• Hike: 16h25
• Cycle: 11h28
• Hike: 7h13
• The last section included a cycle (CP36 to CP46), short hike (CP46 and back to bikes), cycle to river (CP51), paddle down river (CP51 to CP52) and hike up the coast to finish (CP56): total time for this section was 19h03 (incl. 1 to 2hrs sleep). I don't have splits on these sections.

Their total race time was 4-days, 1-hour and 56-minutes.

Slower teams do take longer on each section, especially the overnight hikes. On courses where the front teams are spending 30-hours on a hike... this can be doubled for the back teams.

For me, the mix-match of the legs made for an interesting race; and it kept the disciplines interesting for the teams. I've been critical more than once about events that send teams on slog after slog after slog.

When I asked uge.Cyanosis' navigator and captain Nicholas Mulder about the course on Skype post-race he replied, "Very good route, good organisation and superb logistics". As South Africa's top orienteer, an experienced adventure racer and an adventure race organiser, Nicholas' words are indeed a compliment to Bull race director Hano Otto. Like me, Nicholas is critical of events and course planning.

That's it from me on Bull of Africa. Thank you all for following the race and cheering for your teams. I hope to see some of you at Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge in December (I'm racing, not writing! Yippeee!). Please come and say hello. And perhaps I can welcome you to South Africa in the near future. Our South African adventure racing event calendar are hosted on http://www.ar.co.za/; Swazi Xtreme is a 60-hour race in the Kingdom of Swaziland (within South Africa) and Bull is our expedition event. There are also a number of weekend events.

Lisa

By Fred Richardson

McCain Adventure Addicts are to be given a time penalty, which will probably move them back to 5th or 6th place in the field.

McCain failed to clip their passports at a CP between TA10 and TA11. Team captain Graham Bird only become aware of the mishap when he checked his passport shortly before handing it in to race HQ. Race rules are explicit and clear - any team failing to clip a CP will receive a time penalty equal to twice that of the team who took the longest to complete that leg.

The tracking records have been checked and it is confirmed that the team were on the right route; but they just didn't punch at the checkpoint.

Race director Hano Otto is not immune to their disappointment. "I feel for them, but I have to apply the rules or we will just have chaos," he says.

The team are obviously bitterly disappointed but they too understand the rules. We now wait for race HQ to collate all the time sheets so that the penalty can be calculated.

I have just noticed that the date above this post says it is Thursday... it isn't. It is Friday.

22h40: As of 16h00 on Thursday the count of unranked and withdrawn teams - of the 42 that started - was as follows: 12 unranked teams (one or more of their team members have dropped out and the rest of them are proceeding â?? either as a group of three, or with another unranked team that they have merged with) and 6 withdrawn teams. 6 teams were short coursed on Thursday night.

The official cut-off for Bull of Africa is 09h00 Saturday morning. I think some teams are not going to make it; including a number who were short-coursed. Any team still wanting to complete all their remaining CP's will be allowed to BUT they will have an unofficial finish.

Feed The Machine reached the finish shortly after Arena (I don't know what time). They are an unranked team following Sully's withdrawal a few days ago due to a sore knee.

Cosa Nostra (Brazil) and PennyPinchers (SA) are likely candidates for the official 12th and 13th places. They're now only a few hours from the finish.

18h39: Back marker teams using a ferry to cross the river.



11h31: The Russian all-women team Arena have reached the finish. They take 11th place and are the first of the all-women teams. Fred says they came walking through to the finish, chattering away, with flowers in their hair. They're obviously enjoying the beautiful day at the coast. So twelve teams in total have completed the course, including the unranked Trek/Uraguay team.

22h50 - news in from Fred

Teams who have been short coursed at CP30 include:

Dew Point
Falke Sports Ware
Halo
Katberg
Nubi
Thule

They will now cycle from CP30 to CP36 on the shortest possible route. Once at CP36 they resume the course to the finish.

All other teams have been told that the next cut-off is at CP36 (Seagulls) at 08h00 Friday morning. Teams missing that cut-off will be short coursed and they will miss out the CP's 37, 38 and 39.

No other teams have finished since McCain Adveture Fanatics this afternoon. PeptoPro are expected in 2-3 hours.

By Fred Richardson

Update: Blackheart / Bunker Capital finished this morning (Thursday) at about 06h10. They took 4th place

11h32: Lafuma-Sport 2000 finished shortly after 11 o'clock today but they kept the spectators anxious. The last hike from CP52 should take no more than 1 hour but it has one final tricky CP to get before getting to the finish line. It was this checkpoint that almost cost Lafuma a place. They spent a long time looking for the CP as McCain Adventure Fanatics closed the gap. Fortunately for them they found the CP and crossed the line ahead of McCain Adventure Fanatics. Now we wait to see how far behind McCain are. Lafuma complete the Top 5

12h03: McCain Adventure Fanatics reached the finish at noon.

By Fred Richardson

08h17: Dave Joint from team Down Under sustained an injury at the jumar when he was struck on the arm by a rock. He has been transported to hospital in East London. He has a
soft tissue injury not a break. We expect him back at HQ by mid-afternoon today.

By Fred Richardson

The Tracker tracking units have brought the race into the homes and offices of tens of thousands and played a central role in the rescue of Eugene Botha of uge.Cyanosis but they have not been without their problems.

The tracking units are exceptionally lightweight, something that the racers appreciate. But the weight comes with a cost. The units have to be recharged every 8-12 hours. A full charge takes between 2 and 4 hours.

Every transition that has power also has battery recharging facilities. The process is that as a team arrives the marshal will ask for their tracking device and immediately place it on charge. When teams leave on the next leg their units are returned to them with as much charge as they could get. Sometimes that may be as little as 15 minutes, which is really not much battery at all.

The other issue is that the units transmit their information via the mobile phone network and there is no coverage in some of the deeper valleys. In that instance the team seems to stay in one place for a long time and then suddenly re-appear further along the trail.

The units are quite new and this is the first time they have been used in a non-stop expedition race. There have been teething problems but the concensus amongst racers and organisers is that the tracking units are a resounding sucess. The unit manufacturers have taken copious notes and have already begun with design alterations to improve battery life.

08h16: Lafuma passed through CP51 at 7:20am. McCain Adventure Fanatics have reduced the gapbetween them to about 90 minutes after Lafuma struggled to locate CP48. Teams are taking between 3 and 4 hours from CP51 to the finish. A mistake trying to find thetricky CP53 could see Lafuma surrender 5th place to McCain Adventure Fanatics.

Update at 22h19
South African team McCain Adventure Addicts finished this afternoon at 16h15 in second place, 6h15 behind winners Team USN.

Swedish team Bjufors complete the podium. They crossed the line at 19h25.

The Australians of Blackheart/Bunker Captial are expected in next. And then the second McCain team, McCain Adventure Fanatics. Lafuma is also out there somewhere. They'll only reach the finish in the wee hours of morning.

News from the finish is that a cold front is moving in and the night is overcast. Brrrrrr...

Mean while... along the coast, heading South, a lovely race is unfolding. Epitact, Trek/Uraguay, PeptoPro, Arena and Keen Tor'quers are within spitting distance of each other; and these positions could easily shuffle with a slow transition, 10-minutes more sleep or moving slowly.

Fred is going to try to get to Haga Haga tomorrow, to get us more on the ground news. I've got a meeting in the morning - back around noon. So hopefully by then Fred will have more for us. For now, night-night.

10h00 - The South African team USN - John Collins, Martin Dreyer, Ian Don-Wauchope and Jeannie Bomford - have just completed the 2008 Bull of Africa expedition adventure race, held in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa. It took them four-days and two-hours to complete the 600-kilometre course.

Crossing the line, race director Hano Otto gave the team their total race time; Martin Dreyer responded "That's all it takes to break the body".

Ian Don-Wauchope completed the 2005 Bull of Africa, held in the Northen Cape, in last position. This year he'll stand with his team on top of the podium. Martin, always ready with a comment, said, "Richtersveld Bull stone last; this Bull stone first".

The team slept a total of four hours during the race: one hour on the first night, two on the second and one on the third. What is more impressive is that Jeannie managed to complete an interview this afternoon, for SABC news (Sa television; this will be broadcast tonight), in English and Afrikaans.

According to Fred, John Collins looks the worst of the lot. He has no voice as a result of fighting flu/cold. Ian is the "biggest sleepy head" and Martin looks "grizzly". As for Jeannie; she looks like she could do it all over again. At the finish she seemed to suddenly realise that she was amongst civilisation because she turned to Martin and said "How does my hair look?". He burst out laughing. That was apparently her first "girl moment" of the entire race.

07h45: USN are still in the lead after a long night. They are on the paddle down the river. And then it's a 4km walk up the beach to the finish. Ian's wife, Sue, flew in yesterday to meet him at the finish; he doesn't know she's there.

08h15: The Sportstrack people are getting batteries to Inkwenkwezi Boma so that all teams can be tracked from there. That means we'll be able to follow them on the final hike - paddle - hike - finish.

08h46: USN has just passed through the last CP. Only a 4km hike up the beach remains.

The finish at Balugha Bay is getting revved up in anticipation of the arrival of the winners. Bar any errors or mishaps, USN are expected to reach the finish around 03h00 tomorrow(Wednesday) morning - probably closer to sunrise at about 06h00.

McCain Adventure Addicts still look on track for 2nd place with Blackheart / Bunker Capital, Lafuma or Bjufors completing the podium. Nice challenge still out there for 3rd.

I've just spoken to Sonja, who is at the Seagulls Hotel (CP36). McCain left a little while ago. They're about 2hrs behind USN. She said McCain are looking so strong. They've slept about 2.5hrs each night and they're moving swiftly.

Compared to USN... Sonja said USN are looking completely wasted. They're very, very tired. They're in the lead and they should be able to hold on to it until the finish. But, if they make any major errors... their 2hr lead could be gobbled up by McCain.

By the time I wake up in the morning, we should know the outcome - this is like waiting for Santa to arrive.

Thursday - 16h30 (updated 21h50)

Withdrawn

• Adventure World Magazine
• Buff Coolmax
• 4TC - two members have withdrawn, two (Danielle and Lian) are continuing with other teams
• uge.Cyanosis (as of Tues afternoon)

There is a race ruling that there must be at least 3 people in a team (no pairs for safety reasons). Many teams who are losing members are joining with other teams to continue.

Second placed team, Cyanosis, is likely to withdraw; team member Eugene Botha has just been rescued after experiencing extreme breathing difficulty just 2km out of the Mazeppa Bay transition. He has been unwell for a few days. We do not yet know whether the other team members are going to continue.

For more specific news on this, please visit the Bull of Africa blog on the South African adventure racing website http://www.ar.co.za/ (more South African team focused content)

Unranked

• Estoril Portugal XPD (Marcia out - crashed bike)
• Feed the Machine (Sully out with sore knee)
• Kreature.co.za (Ian with ear infection)
• Fifi & the Rear Derailleurs (Fiona Tummon withdrew Tuesday around 19h00, team continues without her)
• Nuhales (dunno?)
• Siyeza (Fred ill and unable to keep anything down)
• Toppie en die Laaities (Shannon withdrew on Monday at Thomas River)

Fred, our buddy hanging out at HQ, has just announced that "Marcia from the Portugese team Estoril Portugal XPD is finally back at HQ after a brief stay in hospital. She is wearing some good African road rash and she lost some teeth. Otherwise she is in high spirits."

Marcia came off her bike on the late-afternoon od Day 1 (Saturday).

Fred adds, "It hurts when she smiles so obviously we try to make her smile as often as possible. The other members of Estoril are still racing strongly."

One of our local guys who withdrew on Sunday due to illness, is at HQ and keeping us in the loop.

He has reported the following (Tuesday, 13h39)

"Buff Coolmax came into HQ looking very sorry for themselves. The did say the course was very nice however they didn't want to hang about for the finish. They told Karina (HQ manager) when she asked why they'd pulled out that it was a mental thing. Buff will not be waiting till Saturday they have changed their flights to leave on Thursday."

Our presumption all around is that there is internal strife within the team.

Fred adds that "race HQ is starting to get busy as retired racers turn up here looking for accommodation, cars and the retrieval of their gear from the course".

News from the ground (from Fred Richardson): 12h09

"Cyanosis activated their emergency signal at around 11h40 this morning (Tuesday). They had just started their trek from Mazzepa Bay. We have no specific news. Emergency services were activated and are en-route.

We are not in the Rescue loop but I'll keep you updated as much as I can."

News from Wayne at CP25, 08h30

At this stage 17 teams have completed the cycle from the dam and are on or starting the second long hike of the race. 13 teams are on the hike; 4 are still in transition. The most recent arrival was Sterling Light (at 06h15). Confirming what Sonja said last night: Sterling are in fine form.

Wayne says that in contrast to the front teams arriving on Sunday night and into Monday morning, the pack of front-midfield teams are looking far, far stronger and better. Where the leading teams looked absolutely exhausted, these teams are better rested, happier and functional.

It seems the vibe from these teams is good; they're all in good spirits and cheery. Most of the teams now on the hike got in last night, leaving in the morning. Most ave slept in the transition - for between 1-4 hours. The only one to come straight in and out again was Trek/Uraguay.

Two members of the Kiwi/Oz team 4TC are ill - flu symptoms. They came in during Monday night and were advised by the race medic to spend the night in transition. This they did but by morning the two were no better. They have withdrawn from the race (apologies, I don't know which two) and the other two have hopped in with another team.

Wayne says a bit of an international team is forming from members of split teams. So if you see a number of tracking triangles together, this is the explanation.

Where the first two days of the race, around the Amatola mountains, was cold, especially the sub-zero night conditions, the weather is now vastly improved. In fact, it's actually a bit too warm in the river valleys. Wayne says the temperatures are about 5-7C at night and into the mid 20's during the day. The conditions are getting warmer and more mild as they approach the coast.

I'm going to try get the marshal at the end of the long hike. I'll get back to you shortly.

News in at 21h10 - 17 teams have passed through CP24 (Kubusi Lodge), the last one before the end of the cycle from the dam (before second long hike).

Sterling Light are currently in transition, eating hamburgers.

USN still lead the race; and they're steadily gaining on the coast as they head for the transition at Mazeppa Bay, where I'm sure they'll be glad to trade their bikes for a session on foot. uge.Cyanosis and McCain Adventure Addicts are behind - still together - and their tracking units are charged again.

Revisiting the first hike... race director Sonja Otto says that the first hike seems to have broken a couple of teams, especially as they hit it at night. Lots of navigational errors happened, costing teams hours in time and wandering around in the dark. She says that the second hike is not as tough. There area number of unofficial teams after the hike.

Team Dew Point and His People are the last two teams still to come off the first hike, which the leading teams completed on Sunday morning. The people at the Thomas River transition have spotted lights and are waiting for the team/s to come through. When you consider that the teams haven't had access to a stash of food since they started the race on Saturday morning... they must be ravenous! Their food crates are waiting at the transition and there's great food at the local restaurant.

So, from Thomas River the teams cycle to the Wiggly Dam, paddle 40km on the dam and then cycle through the Kubusi area to CP25 at the Clifton Grange Lodge.

CP24, where Sonja is currently located, is at the Kubusi Lodge. She says the cycle is quite tough and although they're on hard gravel roads, they will be pushing their bikes up some of the hills, which are steep and difficult to ride.

Feedback from teams on the cycle seems to be all good. They have thoroughly enjoyed the environment and many saw game, antelope, buffalo and friends, on the way to the lodge.

A bit of information on Buff Coolmax and their withdrawal: the road leading down into the Kubusi river valley is steep and very technical. One of the guys came off his bike (no serious injury). They then got lost in the Kubusi river valley and after 3hrs returned to CP24 at the Lodge. Thus the reason for their low morale.

Feed the Machine is ranked unofficial. Eric Sullivan is out with a knee injury. Aside from the this the team is continuing and they are in fantastic spirits. Christian and Melissa seem to have bonded well with their South African recruit, Gerard van Weele.

As for expected winning time...

USN is currently 1.5-2hrs ahead of race schedule. We don't know if and how much they have slept, although I assume that they slept this morning (Monday) before dawn. Race schedule does not take into consideration sleeping time; just stage times. So, if USN sleep for a chunk tonight they'll be right on schedule. The earliest finishing time is predicted at 03h00 on Wednesday morning; so we could expect the winning team any time from then. And the winning team may not be USN... there's still a night, a full day and another night to go; and there are a number of teams out there who have slept each night and are good condition.

Now that I'm not at the race, I battle to keep track of what discipline they're doing and which CPs are transitions. I don't have a sheet detailing this but I have figured out the following from the notes that I received pre-race. This may help you following on the tracking system.

CYCLE - from Thomas River (CP14) to Wriggleswade Dam (CP22)

PADDLE - on Wriggleswade Dam and collect CPs, return to boat house

CYCLE to Clifton Grange Hunting Lodge (CP25) via CPs 23 and 24.

HIKE (45km) from CP25, jumar at CP28 and finish hike at CP30 (Mpotshane Lodge)

CYCLE from CP30 to Mazeppa Bay (CP34) via CPs 31 (Qolora Trading Store), 32 (Ncerana Trading Store) and 33 (low level bridge).

HIKE along the coast, heading South, collecting CP35 on the Jacaranda Wreck (the ship was wrecked in 1971) and finish hike at the Seagull's Hotel (CP36)

CYCLE inland to CP37 (The Gates; have to swim to get the CP - difficult navigation to here), CP38 (Gxara Falls - rope work here too), CP39 (swim across Kei river with bikes to te umThombe Kei River Lodge), CP40 (Kei River mouth; CP past big cross on sand dune), CP41 (Morgan's Bay - tricky location), CP42 (CP at Ninky Noo's pub in Haga Haga), CP43 (guides them through a game reserve and through the Bosbokstrand Holiday Resort back on to beach), CP44 (Viskop farm), CP45 (dunno? but it should guide them past a school) and CP46 (finish of cycle; Inkwenkwezi Private Game Reserve).

HIKE through the reserve, collecting CPs close together (47, 48, 49, 50 and back to bikes).

CYCLE in the reserve, past the lion camp, to the Arena Riverside Resort (CP51).

PADDLE down river to Kwelera River (CP52)

HIKE along the beach to Glengariff Bay, cross Bulura river and FINISH at Balugha Bay

That's the rest of the route.

News at 13h40 from Wayne at CP25

Buff Coolmax have withdrawn from the race. They made a major navigational error and are battling low team morale. They made a team decision at the end of the cycle to withdraw.

McCain Adventure Fanatics (the second McCain team) reached CP25 (end cycle/start hike) at 13h35 and are reported to be looking very strong and comfortable.

I just received a delightful call from the marshal at CP25 (TA: end of cycle, start of 2nd long hike).

As expected USN were the first team to complete the cycle. They checked in at 21h42. They had initially planned to sleep in transition but instead decided to push on and sleep through the hours before dawn. It seems that they are all looking very, very tired, especially Ian, who had battled flu going into the race.

The team lost about 45-minutes between CP24 and the transition as they couldn't find a road. They were all frustrated by this, especially as a few little mistakes had happened in the last few hours. Bear in mind that the team hadn't slept a wink since the start of the race.

They were out of the transition 45-minutes later - at 22h27.

This next hike is 45km in distance and the terrain is harsh. Lots of cliffs (not always evident on the map) and thick thorn scrub. The marshal said that gaiters are essential on this section.

When the marshal last checked with CP28, the jumar, USN hadn't arrived. Looking at the tracking now, it looks like USN are there now (11h02).

Expected completion time to reach CP30 (end of hike) - including jumar and without stopping to sleep - is 13-hours. Considering that USN did much of the section during the night, possibly made a few errors and certainly slept for a few hours, we could be looking at longer than 15-hours (ETA after 13h30).

The next teams in were McCain Adventure Addicts and Cyanosis at midnight and only 3-minutes apart. They both slept for a few hours, woke up at the same time and were out of the transition 7-minutes apart (Cyanosis first at 03h09 and McCain at 03h16). This puts them 4.5hrs behind USN at the start of the hike.

Both teams were looking wasted - very sleepy and tired. Cyanosis' Eugene Botha is not well. He's battling with a tight chest and cough. He hasn't got anything to take and the marshal suggested that Eugene would have been better off "slugging a half bottle of cough mixture".

Bjufors were next, at 06h20. They had slept at the end of the paddle (CP22), before starting the cycle. Apparently they were looking strong and focused and much more rested. They left at 07h17.

Lafuma came in at 06h27 and left at 07h18. They think Lafuma has made a big error because they started the hike completely in the wrong direction. The one guy in particular isn't doing well. When he came into transition he was so tired that he almost fell off his bike; he then just sat there for 10-minutes staring into space. You know how it goes...

The sixth team to reach the end of the hike by 11h00 today (Monday), were the Australians of Blackheart/Bunker Capital. They had about 4hrs sleep during the night and they are looking very good. They left the transition to start the hike at 10h28.

That's it for now. I'll try to get some news about teams further back.

The current status (at 07h30) regarding withdrawn and unranked teams:

Withdrawn
Adventure World Magazine

Unranked
Estoril Portugal XPD (Marcia came off bicycle)
Feed The Machine (reason currently unknown)
Siyeza (Fred Richardson ill)

It has been a bit of a slow day for us after this morning's excitement at the end of the Night One hike. I left Thomas River just after 15h00 and until I left only 9 teams had completed the hike.

The last time I checked in I mentioned that Blackheart/Bunker Capital were in (11h40). McCain Adventure Fanatics and French team Epitact came through just before 14h00 (I'm open to correction) only seconds apart.

We sat around waiting for the teams to leave, following McCain on sections of the cycle to Wrigglewade Dam. We thought Epitact would leave transition no more than 30-minutes after McCain but when we started driving back, waiting at a good spot for the team, they had not come past. So either we missed them... or they took longer than we anticipated.

We got the dam just after 19h00 - pitch black out there. When we arrived at the dam the car's temperature gauge read 8C. At 19h00! Imagine what it will be at 22h00... and 02h00...

Three teams had completed the paddle, which I believe to be around 40km. As per the order this morning, they are my three South African angels - USN, Cyanosis and McCain Adventure Addicts.

For reference:

USN got to the dam at 11h42, taking 4-hours on the cycle stage from Thomas River to the dam. They spent 18-minutes in transition and took 3h18 to do the paddle, locating two CPs on the dam. They were out, on their bikes again, within 16-minutes.

McCain Adventure Addicts reached the dam at 12h57, two minutes ahead of Cyanosis and only 1h15 behind USN. They spent 19-minutes in the transition before climbing onboard their boats. They spent 3h23 on the water and were on their bikes 20-minutes later.

Cyanosis checked in at the dam at 12h57, just behind McCain. They spent 19-minutes in the transition and were on the water for 3h24. Their transition time on to bikes was 23-minutes.

While we were at the dam, 4 teams were on the water (in order of check-in time): Buff Coolmax (14h42), Bjufors (15h17) and Lafuma (15h43) and Blackheart / Bunker Capital (16h37).

To put some of this into perspective...

Seven teams have been on the dam. Three made it off before dark. Four will get off an hour after dark (hopefully). Every other team will paddle in the dark - unless they sleep and paddle at first-light in the morning.

It is COLD out there - and you know what it is like paddling at night, on a sit-on-top, in the coldest of coldest hours. And it will take teams slower than these fastest teams more than 3h30.

The marshals at the dam transition said that yesterday the teams had come off the other dam (Seymour) in the night and had been freezing. Apparently the temperature was sub-zero (-2C) out there. The marshals have built a fire, like they did last night, to warm the racers when they complete the paddle. Brrrr...

I have had no further news - many, many teams (like 30 of them!) still had to complete the hike by the time I left the hike-end TA at 15h00...

My guess is that these teams will do the cycle tonight and will be very tempted to sleep for a good few hours tonight to do the paddle at dawn. Most did not sleep on night one so they'll take advantage of the opportunity to sleep at the dam. There is a big house-like wooden building on the shore (new boat club being built perhaps) where they can sleep on the floor. Better than being out on the water.

I'm flying back to Johannesburg in the morning so that's the end of on-site observations from me. I do anticipate having news phoned through to me throughout the week so I'll aim to keep you all informed.

Till tomorrow,

Lisa

There is online tracking of this event.

Go to www.sportstrack.net and click on "Current Events"

On the tracking map, when you put your mouse over the triangle (team) it gives a time. The time indicates the last time the tracking unit sent data to the server.

So if the time says 11h23 and it is currently 13h12 real-time, it means that the team's location - as indicated by the triangle - was last transmitted to the server at 11h23. Since almost 2-hours have passed since the last transmission, you can assume that your team is further ahead - they are not staying in one place.

Batteries on the units last a few hours so if teams are out for way long, then the battery of their unit could die; in which case their unit will not transmit their location until they get into transition where the batteries are charged.

Transmission will also have a gap when mobile phone signal is lost. The unit will then transmit location once signal is regained.

Just so you know - don't panic if your team seems to stay in one place for hours. They will come back online.

News just in...

Adventure World Magazine left the Hogsback transition (start of the hike) at 22h00 last night (Saturday). They returned to the transition 11-hours later at 09h00, unable to find the Hogsback hiking trail. They'd eaten all their food (food crate only here at the end of the hike) and had been out for hours.

They wanted to sleep and chill for the rest of today (Sunday) and go again in the morning. Starting again tomorrow will put them very, very behind schedule. The marshal tried to convince them to sleep for a few hours and go out in the early afternoon while it is still light. It's only 13h30 and I have yet to receive news of their decision.

Day 1: Bull Coolmax in the lead up Mitchell's Pass

Day 2: Hano Otto (race director) watching for Team USN

Day 2: A building in Thomas River

11h41 - Blackheart/Bunker Capital have just completed the hike.

They said they had an ok night, making some errors. I asked whether they stuck to trails or took a straightline. they replied that they did a combination of both and that the trails were hard to find.

They did not sleep. They are looking quite tired and sleepy but as the day is now warming up quite nicely, they should perk up. They'll probably be here for an hour or so, taking time to eat and prepare for the biking stage to Wriggly Dam.

To give you a bit of information on the places the teams have been through since Saturday evening.

The all-night hike started from the Hogsback village. The area is famed for its forests and hiking trails; a fabulous outdoor vacation destination loved by South Africans. Unfortunately most teams wouldn't have seen the area in its glory (neither did I) as they would have been through this under the cloak of night.

The region surrounding the village of Hogsback is watched over by three ridges, said to resemble the bristles on a hog's back. Thus the town's name. Another theory suggests that the village was named after a Captain Hogg, commancer of Fort Mitchell. Whatever the origin, hogsback has become a geological term to describe the rock formation typical of these ridges.

Check out this website should you ever been keen for a hiking holiday in this area - www.places.co.za/html/hogsback.html

The hike takes the teams past the Kettlespout Falls (lots of falls in the Hogsback area). The water flows down the falls through a natural spout in the rocks and, when the wind picks up, the water arches up in a feathery plume. This region is very, very dry at the moment so there ain't no kettlespout happening.

The finish of the hike is in the village of Thomas River, where I am sitting right now. It is a one-horse village, decorated with only a few buildings.

The village was named Thomas River in 1801, after an English deserter, Thomas Bentley. He was killed by a poisoned arrow - shot by a San ("bushman") while crossing the river. The original railway station was established in the late 1870'sand a new station was built in 1926. Sadly, the town welcomed its last train in 1948 when a new railway line was opened.

The village was subsequently deserted, falling to ruin. The silver lining to this tale is that the town was bought in 2003 and most of the buildings have been restored. The town can sleep about 30-people. It's is a divine weekend getaway; quaint and charming. And I can highly recommend the chicken lasagne.

Sunday, 11h00 - The female team member of Estoril Portugal, Marcia Rusga, fell off her bike this morning on the way up Mitchell's Pass. The medics are transporting her through to this transition. It seems that she fell on her face is is quite cut up - lip split, teeth loose and nose and face injured. I assume her team mates are continuing, but I am unsure.

The village of Thomas River is rocking this morning - six teams have passed through the transition.

The South Africans of USN checked in at about 06h30. They spent just over an hour in transition to assemble bikes, change clothing and consume toasted sandwiches and hot drinks from the town cafe. They left at about 07h45, getting out before the next teams - Cyanosis and McCain - came in (08h05 and 08h07 respectively).

As a South African, I'm a bit biased when I write that I'm thrilled to see my friends in the top three teams at the beginning of Day 2. Yes, there is still a long way to go and places are certain to change. But still I'm proud of our teams.

We then saw a few teams at the last CP before the transition. It takes less than 45-minutes across fabulously open terrain - very runnable ground - to get to the TA.

Buff and Bjufors were together, passing us at 09h10 (transition ETA at about 09h45). Lafuma were next, completing the Top 5, at 09h30.They got into transition at 10h15. At this time Buff and Bjufors were still here.

It seems that there is now a big gap to the next team, Epitact.

The front teams are now on bikes to Wigglesway Dam, which I'm tempted to call Wiggly Dam (sounds better don't you think?).

Long paddle there. And there are CPs, but all are located on the shore. There are sections where they can portage the boats, exchanging slower paddling time for faster foot time.

Other news snippet:
The Portuguese team (Estoril) spent the night at the Police Station in Seymour, the paddle/rogaine section. As of 07h49 this morning (Sunday) they were the only team not yet at the start of the hiking section (town of Hogsback). All other teams were through and there are no withdrawals. The South African team of Siyeza (Fred Richardson's bunch) has one sick person - I don't yet know who or what they're doing (carrying on with three?). The South African all-girls team, Dew Point, was sleeping at the start of the hike; planning to do it in daylight.

Regarding the hike... for reference, it took USN about 14-and-a-half hours to do the hike. They would have only had daylight for the first 2-hours and the last half-hour.
Apparently this Night One hike is the longest stage of the whole race.

News just in - 23h45

South African team USN have leapfrogged to take the lead on the overnight hike. John Collins, the team's navigator, is staying off the hiking trails to take the team on a direct A to B route. This is in true John Collins style and hardly surprising.

Lafuma are not far from USN (I don't know how "not far"). Both teams have overtaken Buff Coolmax.

This move, if successful, will put USN about 4-hours ahead of race schedule. They are expected to reach the end of the hiking stage, at Thomas River, between 03h00-05h00 (Sunday morning).

I've posted a few pieces on my South African AR website blog. I've got a slow internet connection so upload is only just happening.

Please follow these links for news from Day 1. I'll aim to upload some images of your friends shortly - if the connection holds.

Day 1: Update on top 11 teams

Day 1: How Buff got the lead

Day 1: The time difference between front and back teams

It is now 07h35 and the teams are at the start - at the golf course clubhouse here at the Katberg Eco Lodge. They have just arrived by bus.

Start is at 09h00.

Their bike boxes are here - and they have to assemble them before the start.

The sun is up, sky is clear and the conditions are fabulous for a perfect adventure racing day.

I arrived in East London on Friday afternoon to the frenzy of teams packing their bike boxes and three food/gear crates; getting them ready to hand over to race organisation. Most participants have been at the event since Wednesday and the comments all around were, â??We just want the race to start nowâ??.

Their wish will be granted in less than twelve hours.

Iâ??m currently at the start venue, the Katberg Eco Lodge. The teams are spending tonight at venues outside of East London. Theyâ??ll meet at 03h00 at the registration venue, Balugha Inn, where theyâ??ll catch an event bus to the start. The trip should take just under three hours, so weâ??re expecting to see them at about 06h00.

As for the race route â?? I still have not yet seen the maps but I can confirm that theyâ??ll start with a 10km run from the Katberg Eco Lodge. The start could be as late as 08h00. There are five checkpoints (CPs), which they have to locate in order; and it seems that to get to the first one theyâ??ll have to go up, up, up. As Geoff Hunt said this evening; â??That will sort out the pecking orderâ??.

Of interest, just up the Katberg Pass is the historical Piet Retief Outpost. It was established as a military stronghold in 1836 and named in honour of Piet Retief, the Voortrekker leader, on whose farm it was built. This Katberg area was important during many of South Africa's great conflicts. There are also many trails in the mountain foothill, which were used by San people (â??bushmenâ??), Boer and British soldiers and the Scottish settlers.

The teams run back to Katberg Eco Lodge, hop onto their bikes and head off into the hills for a mountain bike ride. I think the distance is around 30-40km. Pleasant.

This will take them to the Kat River Dam, where theyâ??ll be greeted by brand new, plastic, double sit-on-top Fluid kayaks. It seems to be a bit of a Rogaine-paddle, where they can pick up CPs in any order; and they will have to get out of the kayaks to run on land to access some of them.

Then theyâ??re back onto their bikes and up Mitchellâ??s Pass to the town of Hogsback. In this area, rivers tumble steeply downwards, creating small, spectacular waterfalls.

By sunset the lead teams will be ready to start the all-night trekking section. Yes, fifteen hours of hiking that will see them through to morning.

To put the race location into perspective...



Port Elizabeth and East London are cities. The other places are small towns that you're likely to find on tourist maps online.

Bull of Africa starts on Saturday morning and the teams are already assembled and progressing through registration and kit checks. I only arrive at the race tomorrow (Friday) lunchtime, so I really have no idea what is happening down there (I'm in Johannesburg). Nonetheless, I'm delighted to welcome you to South Africa, and especially to the beautiful Eastern Cape (EC) Province, through which the race passes. I'll be at the race over the weekend - reports will continue via other people during next week.

Although I've been running regularly in the Witteberg Mountains on the southern Lesotho/EC border, I haven't been to the magnificent coast for some years. And magnificent it is. Forests, waterfalls plunging off cliffs straight into the sea and rivers in abundance.

Here is a South African word for you to learn - kloof. Sounds like roof. It involves a shallow river and the action of following the river - either up or downstream. The discipline we call kloofing. You'd probably call it canyoneering. Same thing. It's the kind of discipline where it is fun for the first two hours, tolerable for the next two and miserable for every minute that follows. Climbing over rocks, scrambling under branches, wading (or swimming) through small pools, sliding along the watercourse... I have a keen recollection of a 13-hour period I spent kloofing, mostly at night, in an Eastern Cape river.

The coastal area North of East London is known as the Wild Coast; for good reason. Rough seas and the rocky coastline made a recipe for boating disasters and shipwrecks were abundant. Wild? On a bad day. Breathtaking? Definitely.

The area inland of East London is famed as the birthplace of former South African President, Nelson Mandela. He was born in the hills of the Transkei (the Transkei and Ciskei were independent homelands; they are now incorporated into the Eastern Cape Province). So too was current South African President Thabo Mbeki and many other prominent political leaders.

Inland racers will find flat, open areas dotted by rural settlements and mountains (Amatola and Winterberg; the latter are the highest at up to 2371m). I enjoy passing though the rural settlements, not only in this region but throughout South Africa (including Swaziland). 65% of the Eastern Cape's seven-million population live outside of the major towns and cities in rural settlements.

Here footpaths, animal tracks, cattle roaming free, clucking chickens and huts are abundant. This does make navigation tricky as only a fraction of the paths (if that!) are represented on the 1:50 000 topographical maps. The roads are fairly reliable but the paths are not; they come and go almost with the seasons.

To reassure all the foreign readers with friends and family participating in Bull: South Africa gets a lot of bad press regarding safety and crime. Recently there were even tourist advisories issued to tell travellers to stay away; this was during the refugee attacks (long political story suffice to say that I saw next to nothing of this - and not an inch of violence - with my own eyes).

The participants will be safe and sound, especially as they're an anomaly; teams running and biking across the landscape. And you can be assured that theyâ??ll come home with stories of the amazing places theyâ??ve seen and the notorious friendliness of the South African people.

Bull's race directors, Hano and Sonja Otto, have competed in two expedition events in the Eastern Cape. They did a coastal multiday adventure race (end 2002) and Iâ??m sure they did the one in the Craddock area in mid-2003.

As the race starts from XXXXX. If I was planning a race around East London I'd want to take teams along the coast and through the Winterberg forests and along the hiking trails. About 40km ESE, as the crow flies, is the Hogsback area. My "Exploring the Natural Wonders of South Africa" raves about Hogsback for the hiking, fauna and flora and waterfalls (as do people who have been there). Apparently "Lord of the Rings" author J.R.R. Tolkien based the magical atmosphere of the forest scenes on the Hogsback forests, which his son visited and described.

Either they'll start on the coastal side and move inland or on the mountain and forest side and move towards the coast; though how and when I cannot presume. All will be revealed in good time.

Until tomorrow - Lisa

P.S. Our time zone is GMT +2

Lisa de Speville is the owner and editor of www.AR.co.za, South Africa's adventure racing website. She used to regularly cover international events for us, until she accepted a full-time work position. She's back for Bull; and this time she's on home ground.

A list of the 42 participating teams and members is below:

1. Adventure World Magazine, USA/Canada, Premier Mixed
   Dominique Drouin, Julie Ardoin, Dave Poleto, Doug Cousineau
   
2. Arena, Russia, All Ladies
   Anna Burlinova, Maria Plyashechko, Irina Safronova, Elena Bondar
   
3. Blackheart/Bunker Capital, Australia, Premier Mixed
   Damon Goerke, Kim Willocks, Rob Preston, Richard Mountstephens
   
4. Bjurfors Adventure Racing, Sweden/Denmark, Premier Mixed
   Mats Andersson, Sia Svendsen, Neil Jones, Per Vestling
   
5. Bloed & Omo, South Africa, Premier Mixed
   Abel vd Merwe, Tania de Muelenaere, Laura Forster, Jan Bezuidenhout
   
6. Buff Coolmax, Spain, Premier Mixed
   Benjamin Midena, Anne Simon, David Rovira, Francisco Costoya
   
7. Comor/John Henry Bikes, Canada/Australia, Premier Mixed
   Adam Smith, Megan Rose, Graham Tutti, Adrian Rothwell
   
8. Cosa Nostra, Brazil, Premier Mixed
   Marco Alcantara, Andreia Koetz, Marcelo Santos, Charles da Silva
   
9. Dark Horse, United States, Premier Mixed
   Thomas Smith, Mary Misiaszek, Luther Papenfus, Douglas Guertin
   
10. Dew Point, South Africa, All Ladies
    Lauren Greeff, Kelly-Joy Botha, Daleen van Staden, Tamryn Taylor
    
11. Down Under, Australia/SA, Premier Mixed
    Judith Mulhuijsen, Ian Grace, Rob Jessop, Dave Joyce
    
12. Energy, South Africa/USA, Premier Mixed
    Trevor Ball, Melissa Cabrera, Ugene Nel, Mark Loftus
    
13. EPITACT , France, Premier Mixed
    Bruno Rey, Stéphanie Chevrier, Cyril Margaritis, José Rosello
    
14. Estoril Portugal XPD, Portugal, Premier Mixed
    Alexandre Silva, Márcia Rusga, António Rusga, Frederico Tiago
    
15. Falke Sportswear, Netherlands, Premier Mixed
    Fokko Hoeksma, Sophia van der Linden, Pepijn Paap, Jacqueline van Os
    
16. Feed The Machine, United States/SA, Premier Mixed
    Christian Burke, Melissa Coombes, Eric Sullivan, Gerard van Weele
    
17. Fifi & the Rear Derailleurs, South Africa, Premier Mixed
    Stijn Laenen, Fiona Tummon, John Edwards, Neil Hart
    
18. Haglöfs Team Finland, Finland, All Ladies
    Noora Sinisalo, Riitta Siltanen, Ulla Silventoinen, Päivi Linna
    
19. Halo, United Kingdom, Premier Mixed
    Guy Chessell, Karen Hathaway, Gareth Brown, Nicola Thompson
    
20. Extreme Outdoors, South Africa, Premier Mixed
    Rodwell Sims, Jennifer Trow, Courtenay Woodin, George Thom
    
21. His People, South Africa, Premier Mixed
    Alec Averinos, Thursia Hardenberg, Clinton Harderberg, Bennie Prinsloo
    
22. Katberg Golf Estate, South Africa, Premier Mixed
    Garth Flores, Merilene Janklaas, David Bruiners, Werner Jonkers
    
23. Keen Torq'ers, Australia, Premier Mixed
    Luke Haines, Delyth Lloyd, Stewart Cowey, Grant Suckling
    
24. Kreature.co.za, South Africa, Premier Mixed
    Tony Huglin, Elsie Bezuidenhout, Ivan Keeley, Ian Adams
    
25. Kubusi, SA/Norway, Premier Mixed
    James Williamson, Leigh McCluskey, John Williamson, Anette Bjerve
    
26. LAFUMA-SPORT2000, France, Premier Mixed
    Jacky Boisset, Myriam Guillot, Sylvain Montagny, Anthony Rabeau
    
27. McCain Adventure Addicts, South Africa, Premier Mixed
    Graham Bird, Tatum Prins, Hanno Smit, Andre Gie
    
28. McCain Adventure Fanatics, South Africa, Premier Mixed
    Jeannette Walder, Alex Wagner, Garren Soutar, Cobus van Zyl
    
29. Nahuales, Guatemala, Premier Mixed
    Julioandré Piedra-Santa, Gabriela Molina, Edgar Quan, Andres Fonseca
    
30. Nubi, South Africa, All Male
    Eugene Kelly, Chris Pretorius, Jacques Booysen, Benedictus Kok
    
31. Pennypinchers, South Africa, Premier Mixed
    James Stewart, Jo Mackenzie, Chris Crewdson, Jeff Willcox
    
32. PeptoPro, South Africa, Premier Mixed
    Stephan Muller, Heidi Muller, Donovan Sims, Garth Peinke
    
33. New Balance/The Real Thing, South Africa, Premier Mixed
    Quintin Smith, Katia Rebolo, Sean Hutchinson, Sebastian Davies
    
34. Siyeza Pure Adventure Wear, South Africa, Premier Mixed
    Fred Richardson, Theresa Styles, Tim Deane, Steve Butler
    
35. Sterling Light, South Africa, Premier Mixed
    Adrian Saffy, Ina van Tonder, Craig Powell, Deon du Preez
    
36. Supreme Auto, South Africa, All Male
    Richard Starr, Jeandre Theunissen, Tiaan Fullard, LJ Fleetwood
    
37. 4TC, New Zealand/Aus, Premier Mixed
    Grant Burke, Danielle Winslow, Liam Drew, Matt Koerber
    
38. Thule, South Africa, Premier Mixed
    Russell Olsen, Katarina Bova, Brett Olsen, Damon de Boor
    
39. Toppie en die Laaities, South Africa, Premier Mixed
    Roland Pearce, Shannon Kirkhoff, Coenraad de Bruin, Nathan Thompson
    
40. TREK/URUGUAY, Uruguay, Premier Mixed
    Ruben Mandure, Romilda Porrini, Daniel Pincu, Jorge Aznarez
    
41. uge.cyanosis, SA/Canada, Premier Mixed
    Nicholas Mulder, Jen Segger, Clinton Mackintosh, Eugene Botha
    
42. USN, South Africa, Premier Mixed
    Martin Dreyer, Jeannie Bomford, John Collins, Iain Don Wauchope