Team adidasTERREX/Prunesco rests to refuel during a trek on the 2011 Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race
Bruce Duncan and Mark Humphrey returned chasing a hat-trick of victories after two victorious trips to the Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race in 2009 and 2010 – but they had with them a different team and a different name after regular team-mates Nicola MacLeod and Andy Wilson chose not to race this year.
The newly named adidasTERREX-Prunesco, formerly Helly Hansen-Prunesco, drafted in experienced adventure racer Nick Gracie and rookie Fiona Spotswood, the girlfriend of Wilson, and in the end it was mission accomplished.
Here, the four of them reflect on their triumphant success …
Q: This is the ‘three-peat’ for two of you – how’s it feel?
Mark Humphrey: For most people to come here and win it just once would be quite an achievement, but three times for me and Bruce, it’s just incredible.
Bruce Duncan: It’s been awesome coming back three years in a row to do it. It’s been incredibly tough, this year the trekking was the toughest ever, and it’s good it’s been a bit harder at times this year, and I think three times in a row is pretty good. So I’m putting my hand up and bowing out! Three times in a row, I am very happy.
Q: Is there any point during the race that you feel was crucial for your victory this year?
Nick Gracie: After the first kayaking on the first day, we got to the transition about 10 minutes ahead of gearjunkie and we had a super quick transition, raced out of there and left them behind. That was the start of our lead really. Bruce is a top navigator, he’s been doing it since he was seven years old, so you don’t want another team to latch onto you and follow. Even though it was only a 10-minute gap at that point, that could turn into a five hour gap. Especially at night, if a team latches onto you and can see your head torches they can gain a lot. I think it was crucial that we arrived ahead there – if we had arrived with the other teams they may have stuck with us. And we just ran that first bit to get a bit of a lead.
Q: How was that first trekking section?
Fi Spotswood: There were no trails at all, all bushwhacking, and at one point we stopped for a quick sleep and woke up and just saw all these icebergs floating on the lake. It was absolutely magic, the best sunrise ever. But if you were expecting a race where you can move on foot at three or four kilometres per hour it would have been a real shock to people because it’s so much slower than that.
NG: Just after a river crossing between PC4 and PC5 we climbed up into the mountains and that is where I had the most incredible view I have ever had in my life. There was a huge blue glacial lake, glacier going into it, big steep cliffs, avalanches everywhere. It was amazing. Then after that we climbed down into this huge Jurassic valley and the only thing missing was dinosaurs!
Q: The kayak after that, through the Fjordo de los Montanas was pretty stunning too?
NG: We kayaked down this amazing fjord, past about eight glaciers – it’s not your normal day of kayaking! We just kept going ‘oh my God, oh my God!’ and we then set up camp beside a glacier, slept and got up at 5am so we could get off at first light and it just continued. And we saw dolphins, which was great.
Q: The next section, the second trek, was certainly changed the pace of the race…
NG: One thing I have always wanted to do in an adventure race is to have two checkpoints really, really far apart where you have to make huge decisions and you are really committed to it. This was it. From 9 to 10 was 76km of bush and we didn’t know what we were going to face. We set off and it was the start of a really epic journey. It took us 56 hours to get between two checkpoints – some adventure races don’t even last 56 hours!
BD: It’s the hardest trek we have had to do in one of these races in the last three years, but a stunning place. Amazing.
Q: And what about the decision to shorten the race at PC11?
NG: The rivers were getting pretty big and we looked at the map for PC11 to PC13 and there were at least five or six river crossings, and one of those rivers could really cause a problem. We were going into really, really remote areas, so any rescues could only have been done by helicopter. The race organisation made a really smart decision. It was going to be too dangerous to put people out there, the weather conditions were getting worse and worse, the rivers were getting bigger and we were all very happy with that decision – we’d been on our feet for five days and so we were quite sore.
Q: Before then, gearjunkie took some daring tactics by swimming in cold water to take short-cuts and catch you up – what do you think about that?
NG: I love the idea of it, but I think in a race like this it’s dangerous. The most important thing to do is look after your body and you may make a short gain – they had a great leg where they made up four or five hours on us – but at the end of the day they may not have finished the race by making decisions like that. If you get to the finish line of these races you’ll do well, so just plan to get to the finish line. We were thinking about doing things like that, but we decided to play it safe. Spending time in water zaps energy out of you.
FS: Those guys are amazing, and their enthusiasm for the sport is infectious, but I don’t think it would have worked for us. It wasn’t team adidas, but that’s what makes this game so interesting – different approaches.
Q: How did it feel to get to the finish?
FS: Seeing the tips of the Wenger flags peeking over the top of the crater we got a surge of happiness. ‘We’ve made it!’ it was a fantastic feeling. A great sense of satisfaction. It was my first international big expedition race and it was a fantastic experience. Patagonia is the most beautiful place I have been to in my life and I wouldn’t have wanted to do it with a different team. They knew exactly what they were doing – and that’s good for someone who’s such a rookie!
NG: This is my 23rd expedition race in the last nine years, including five world championships, and without a doubt this is the most beautiful race I have done. It’s challenging, but Patagonia is an amazing place, the natural beauty of it, the terrain, the people, I would recommend anyone to come and race here. You would have to do a lot of preparation, get your kit right, train a lot but it is an amazing experience.
Q: So after this amazing experience, what does Patagonia mean to you?
FS: For me, Patagonia has been the biggest challenge of my life and it means completion. I knew I was biting off more than I could chew when I was asked to join the team and it is pretty amazing to have got to the finish.
MH: Racing here three times I have had three special journeys. There’s not may people who can say they’ve raced nearly 1,800 kilometres across Patagonia. Each journey has been so special, different regions, weather, ranges, it’s just been brilliant. I will be back, although I am not sure if I will be racing here again! It’s such a nice place and I have literally only just touched the iceberg of it.
NG: I can honestly say I have probably had six days of high points. I was always looking forward to going to Patagonia and it completely exceeded all my expectations. I felt like a tourist in a way – I spent the whole time saying ‘that’s amazing!’ I’ve done a fair bit of travelling, and this is the best place I have been to in my life.
