60 miles in, 200 to go.....

24 hours in and the team are still going strong, despite 23 out of the 100 or so other teams having to drop out - a true testament to the difficulty competitors face this year. The President of the Texas Water Safari remarked at the pre-event race briefing teams "would get a run for their money as this was possibly the toughest race in the event's 45 year history".

The race started at 9am on a bright and sunny Texan day and as out of towners, we were given a position in the starting row of the 100 or so entrants. The first part of the race is renowned for being technically challenging, made even worse by the low river conditions this year. Whilst the bottom of the boat suffered a few scrapes, we were well prepared and negotiated the river and all of its "wildlife" including lots of deadly water moccasins, fire ants and an endless supply of turtles. A lot of time was spent out of the boat as well negotiating what seems like an endless number of log jams! The team gratefully met team captain Charlie and topped up their water supplies (not to mention spirits), passing through checkpoints 1 and 2 slightly behind their anticipated time due to the log jams but well within the allocated deadlines. Some painkillers the team are required to carry on their boat were required at checkpoint 2, however the boys are battling through and doing an amazing job.

The sheer strength needed to portage (carry the boat on the side of the river) isn't to be underestimated. When Charlie and her cousin attempted to lift the boat before the race, they were simply unable to lift, so how the boys are managing to carry it for hours at a time is sheer testament to their grit and determination.

The fearful adventurers continued paddling / portaging through the night as darkness encroached, encountering some huge log jams and loads of dangerous snakes along their way. This resulted in a small time delay to their anticipated arrival time however the weary paddlers had a sleep for an hour on the side of the riverbank and paddled into checkpoint 4 (60 mile mark) in excellent spirits at 5am this morning and have their sights set on the finish line.

The team have generated a huge amount of interest and supporters and fellow competitors keep coming up to the "media darlings" telling them they saw them on television and providing much needed support and enthusiasm. The team also managed to make two of the local papers yesterday (links to the stories below):
http://www.sanmarcosrecord.com/breakingnews/local_story_164143001.html
http://www.news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=243213

Race times for each checkpoint are also updated at the Texas Water Safari website www.texaswatersafari.org/results

24 hours and 60 miles in, the race continues and more updates to follow! Wish us luck, think we're going to need it!