Six slices of toast and two cups of coffee later, Durand Sport's Vincent Meunier is feeling much better.
Yesterday, Meunier dropped out of the race because of bursitis in his feet. This was Meunier's first expedition race.
"I have no blisters," he says. "But we bought new cross-country ski boots, and they killed my feet."
In the living room of the Villa de Charlevoix where Meunier spent the night, an impromptu workshop in expedition racing is taking place. Massa Takahata is a Japanese expedition racer who is traveling with Samuraï Spirits, but not competing at this year's Ukatak Raid International. He sits with Meunier, and through a translator, offers tips and suggestions for Meunier's next race.
"Navigational error can do the most damage," Takahata tells Meunier. "Once you make that kind of mistake, you are really in trouble."
Meunier's team made two navigational errors early in the race. The team also committed the cardinal sin of expedition racing: packing too much gear. Meunier's pack weighs 50 pounds. The four backpacks of the Finnish team don't weigh much more than that combined.
"Especially in winter racing, you have to balance comfort in terms in warmth and in terms of weight," says Takahata. "Being warm has its advantages, but so does carrying less weight."
Takahata also says the key to surviving this kind of race is the right mental approach.
During his first Eco-Challenge, it was Takahata's experienced teammates who helped him get through the best bits. "They kept saying to me, other teams are hurt, other teams are tired. You are not the only one feeling this way." At times, he says, his teammates even carried his pack to make his journey easier.
By contrast, none of Durand Sport has ever done an expedition race of this length — and Meunier only met two of them just days before the race. The day before the race, the team was still missing mandatory climbing gear.
Menunier need no translation to understand what Takahata is saying when he taps his head with a forefinger. "It's so much mental strength," he says.
Strategy is crucial. Takahata says Samuraï Spirits' members are always thinking, plotting and strategizing: when should they sleep, when should they eat, should they pass a team or stay behind.
For example: "They know they cannot ski faster than Yetï," he says. "But they have a strategy to beat them throughout the course." Not that he is willing to reveal the team's strategy, however. "I can't tell you everything," he says.
Meunier may or may not do another expedition race. But if he does, these hours in a small chalet in the Charlevoix region of Quebec will prove to be the best training and preparation he could ever do.
– Susan McKenzie, Ukatak Raid International Correspondent
