Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

From the moment the rain began to fall, to the moment that Rui (the  
rider from Portugal) got his completion nod from the vets to be the  
8th completion (marking the 40% completion goal), to the moment when  
everybody realized that not just 40% of the riders would complete,  
but more like 70%, ... the words I kept hearing were 'amazing',  
'unbelievable', 'incredible'.

It seemed that with the torrent - with the craziness of the rain, the  
lake that was once a crewing area, the rivers that were once trails -  
came a settling of the nerves, and tension turned to laughter.   
Unbelievable! And the rain was warm, and it almost didn't matter how  
wet one got because it was warm, and stayed warm, and as soon as you  
got dry you'd just get wet again anyway.  The riders came in off the  
first loop blinking and dripping and laughing. HRH Mizan arrived and  
his attendant met him with an umbrella - he laughed and declined.   
Crews began pouring buckets of water over sopping wet horses to cool  
them and get the pulse lowered for presentation to the vet - that  
seemed funny. And the buckets of water, lined up in the crewing  
area... they looked silly too. Harumi san met Hasume san with 2 big  
fluffy towels to dry him off while the rain was pouring all around -  
they both laughed at that too.

And so the night went. The lead changed off and on during the night,  
some riders got off trail, some sped up, some slowed down. In the  
dark and the never ending rain it was hard to tell who was on the  
trail with you. Some rode with bright headlamps, others didn't and  
were virtually invisible to other competitors. The pace was steady,  
and horses were coming in and pulsing down very quickly. They were  
staying fairly cool with the constant rain pulling the heat off their  
skin. The riders were in good spirits, but the wet tack and clothing  
started causing a few rubs - a new experience to be so totally  
soaking wet for so long.

Crews were getting sleepy. waiting and waiting with the rain, and the  
dark. It was almost impossible to go out on the trail to meet rides  
at the crew points - deep deep mud, a real likelihood of getting  
stuck - and a hazard for the horses on the course. This venue is not  
conducive to on-trail crewing, and only a few checkpoints are even  
remotely accommodating to the zillions of rigs and people that one  
often sees at crewpoints during the WEC's. There has been talk of  
eliminating crewing points - allowing for people to send stuff out  
with authorized staff, or only allowing crews to go out in authorized  
rigs. we'll see - safety is most important - and with 7 phases, 6  
vetchecks and long holds, perhaps crewing on the trail, or at  
checkpoints isn't even necessary.

While the riders rode and the crews waited, all the OC stuff was  
still going full bore. A DJ was positioned on the walkway above the  
ingate - keeping everybody entertained, and amused with his music  
choices - plenty of  'who'll stop the rain' and the 'umbrella song'  
and all sorts of obscure music that matched the mood. The GPS  
tracking guys were hopping. The units were working fine, but the data  
pipe wasn't big enough and their software kept crashing. They were  
able to view the tracking points manually at times (such as when a  
rider was perhaps lost?) or questions arose about riders off course.  
But the original plan of projecting the riders positions on a big  
screen didn't work.  Tony and Charbel with their timing system were  
also hopping - printing off vetgate status for crews and press and  
the curious. Updating the system as riders came through with vetgate  
times (recovery times) - they did a very good job. When we need ride  
status info, it was there. The system ran smoothly. The live video  
guys from Germany were filming and filming. Again, the data pipe at  
the venue was too small, so the 'real time' video broadcast was  
reduced to archive clips - downloaded when possible, but the filming  
never stopped. The vets never stopped - standing in their stations,  
riders coming and go. waiting for riders to come, talking with each  
other, laughing at the rain. resting with chin on chest. The in  
timers never stopped - though I did see a few fall back in their  
chairs now and again. The officials worked the night through.

I really don't think anybody expected such an unbelievable event,  
such an unbelievable outcome. It really did feel other-worldly at  
times. Dato Salleh (chair of the WEC OC) said that his grandfather  
was a 'medicine man' (the Malaysian equivalent) and his powers were  
strong. Salleh said he was going to look for a medicine man for this  
event - he'd ask for perfect weather and good luck. I'm not sure if  
he was joking or not, but perhaps he did ask, and did get the perfect  
weather (and a little magic) - just not what anybody anticipated.

Two USA riders (Crandell and Brunjes) finished in 5th and 6th place -  
galloping in together, looking fantastic. The USA was back! Four USA  
starters and 3 finishers, and 2 in the top ten - finishing with the  
world's best.

After Rui finished, the 8th completion, after it was final - the 2008  
WEC would be held in Malaysia, the DJ got into the festivities and  
the music cranked up a notch, Malaysians were dancing (by now it was  
morning and the sun was shining), everybody was grinning. Salleh  
grabbed a flag and he and a few others from the OC did a victory lap  
around the cooling area - laughing, running with the flag streaming  
behind - it was a great moment!

And the riders kept coming in, and kept completing. The first  
Malaysian rider finished to great fanfare, and a flag to ride in  
with, and cheering. He and several other finished in CoC time - great  
spirits, horses looked good. Magic.

HRH Mizan finished along beside Australian Paul Brown who was riding  
one of the Royal Stables horses - they didn't arrive in CoC time, but  
they completed, proudly, and with horses looking great.

That night there was a wonderful dinner and prize giving ceremony at  
the Terengganu State House - delicious food, a festive atmosphere,  
all finishers being recognized and applauded (not just the winners).  
Traditional music before and during dinner, and after dinner and  
prize giving we were treated to a fantastic world fusion band -  
Shajara, who came from Bali - they had celtic singer and fiddle,  
asian drums, trumpet, the long pipe played by the Australian  
aborgines - dithery-do? - it was an incredible mix of world sounds  
and very talented musicians. They played their last set and people  
started heading home - buses taking most people back to the hotels, a  
handful of us hung around a little more - and Azrin came up to me  
saying - you need to stay! the Crown Prince (the King's younger  
brother) just called, he wants to come hear some of the music because  
he heard it was so good. The band came back, and started playing  
again - this time the room was mostly empty, some tables were cleared  
to make room for a little dancing, the caterers were taking down  
decorations from the high ceiling walled and huge room, lights were  
going out, decorations, chairs, tables hauled out, and the band kept  
playing and we danced a little and listened to the music and enjoyed  
it immensely. magic.





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