EVERY YEAR, INTERNATIONAL teams of four men and women gather in a remote region to take part in the Eco-Challenge, a gruelling test of physical endurance. This year's teams are in Fiji, paddling, navigating, mountain biking and using their problem-solving skills to cover 500km of wilderness during the 12-day race, which ends on Saturday.
The first team to cross the finish line with all four team members will be declared the winner. And while physical strength is obviously necessary to complete the race, mental toughness and strong teamwork will determine who comes out on top.
What started in Utah in 1995 with 50 teams from six countries, has multiplied to include 76 teams from all over the world. This year's Eco-Challenge offers a slight variation from previous events. There is more of an expedition aspect to the race. Fewer tools will be provided or allowed, such as kayaks, horses and tents, and racers will have to rely more on what the environment provides. The founder of Eco-Challenge, Mark Burnett, says: 'You must think like an explorer, not just like an expedition racer.'
Most participants will have prepared physically for the race. Before it begins, tests are done to ensure that all racers are physically able to compete. But the real competitive advantage lies with gauging the strengths and weaknesses of their team-mates. How one reacts to a situation will differ from another.
A team's dynamics go a long way in deciding the outcome of the race. Every member must contribute and cooperate. Inevitably, the stress of a demanding course, lack of sleep and food, and a relentless clock, catches up with many teams. Whether a team can overcome these obstacles becomes the major factor that differentiates adventure racing from an Ironman triathlon (an endurance race of swimming, bicycling and a marathon). A triathlon is a structured and controlled endurance race, whereas adventure racing forces competitors to deal with the unexpected. Often the teams that feel they'll have a perfect race are the ones that collapse. And those that believe they have the wherewithal to overcome problems are the ones that triumph.
The Eco-Challenge attracts a certain type of personality: people who love high-risk adventure and can repeatedly push past their physical and mental limits. Four such people are Patty Lee (hotel property consultant), captain of the team; Justin Shave (policeman); Andy Cummings (climbing and kayak instructor); and Mark Haymon (policeman). They call themselves Team No Limits and they represent Hong Kong in this year's Eco-Challenge.
Both Lee and Shave have competed in previous Eco-Challenges in New Zealand and Borneo. Team No Limits has also completed another adventure race called the Raid Gauloise in Vietnam earlier this year and managed to finish the 1,000km in 11 days, putting them in 32nd place out of 57 teams. All four members of Team No Limits have the same goal in this year's Eco-Challenge: to finish in the top half. As Shave puts it: 'We want to race, we want to finish as friends and feel proud about what we've done.'