 Photo credit: Poby/Amazon Studios Welcome to our series of interviews with American adventure racing teams who participated in the World's Toughest Race Eco-Challenge: Fiji! This 11-day adventure race took place in September 2019 and will premiere on Amazon Prime on August 14th, 2020. Check out USARA's dedicated Eco-Challenge: Fiji page for interviews from other teams and additional material concerning the race! Please introduce yourself! My name is Brett Gravlin and I race with Team Curl (#50). I live in Santa Cruz, CA and I am a recruiter. What was your adventure racing experience prior to Eco-Challenge: Fiji? Have you participated in previous Eco-Challenges or other adventure races? Prior to the Eco-Challenge, I had never done any sort of adventure race. I saw it on TV way back when and that was my only exposure. How did your team come together, and how did you train for Eco-Challenge: Fiji? Years ago, I applied to the Eco-Challenge when I was in college and actually got in. Unfortunately we couldn’t come up with a corporate sponsor so we had to walk away. Years later, I must have been on a mailing list and got the notification that they were bringing it back. It was always the dream to do, so I got in touch with the craziest person I knew, Justin, and asked him. A week went by with no word. Another week went by and he finally called me up and said let's do this. From there he told me he knew a badass ultrarunner (Jen) and I grabbed my good friend Steven who is generally good at whatever he touches. For our Team Assistant Crew (TAC), Justin knew just the right fit with Jeff who is a paramedic and has experience with these long races. Training for us varied by individual. None of us lived near each other so we spent most of the prep time solo. About once a month we would all get together somewhere and have an adventure either mountain biking, whitewater rafting or outrigger canoeing. My individual training consisted of mountain biking, surfing, crossfit, beach volleyball and walking a really steep hill near my house in the middle of the night. What were you most looking forward to at Eco-Challenge: Fiji, and what scared you the most?I was most looking forward to suffering with my team and completing something extremely hard. The thing I was most scared of was the climbing and repelling. I don’t have much experience in that arena and add sleep deprivation to it…I was really worried. What was your favorite piece of gear and/or clothing and/or food? My favorite piece of gear was definitely my sleeping bag which I got to get in at major checkpoints. It felt like staying at the Ritz! So warm and cozy and safe. As for food, I fell in love with cheese quesadillas with rice. It was warm and wholesome and everything I needed. Unfortunately, we could only get those at major checkpoints as well. Describe a favorite moment of Eco-Challenge: Fiji, or one where you suffered the most. My absolute favorite moment of the race was on the bili-bili. Steven and I were sharing a boat and he was trying to sleep. I accidentally steered us straight into a rock and he woke up with absolute panic on his face. He had no idea where he was or what he was doing. I laughed so hard I cried. He paid me back for that later on in the evening. We were bili-biling in the dark and he steered us into a rock and I went face first off the front of the boat. He pissed himself from laughter and didn’t even ask if I was ok. Delirium had definitely set in at that point.  Photo credit: Corey Rich/Amazon Studios After Eco-Challenge: Fiji, would you do another adventure race? Would you do the Eco-Challenge again?
I definitely am hoping to do the next Eco-Challenge. Literally the day the race ended, I started my campaign to be let into the next. So here I am saying PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE race organizers, let Team Curl in! What internal struggles did you experience during Eco-Challenge: Fiji? Did you experience any moments of self-reflection and/or growth? I definitely had a moment of “I can’t do this” in the race. Self doubt crept in and started eating me up. Luckily my team wasn’t having any of it and they picked up my slack and encouraged me to get over the hump. Having them there was the most fulfilling part of the race. As far as self reflection and growth after the race, I feel I learned how to communicate my needs better and really try to understand what my teammates needs are. Sleep deprivation is intense and operating with people nonstop is tough so communication was key. What was re-entry into civilization like, both after the finish line in Fiji and back in your home country? That depends on who you ask. My wife said when I got back I was extremely short, low on patience and running high on testosterone. I of course had a different opinion. I was tired, hungry and happy to see my family. This is still up for debate in my family. One thing for sure that helped with the transition was immediately after the race, we went to New Zealand for a vacation and camper vanned all over the island with the kids. That was a good transition back to normal life. Once back home, it was hit the relax button, surf a ton and contemplate the adventure we just had. I’ll admit though, I did become more direct in dealing with people right after the race. Beating around the bush and politicking wasn’t appealing to me when I returned home. Tell me what you want and I’ll tell you what I need. How would you like fans to interpret your participation in Eco-Challenge: Fiji? Did you set out to inspire another group of people and do you think you accomplished that? Fans of Eco-Challenge should know that I had the dream vacation! You have only one goal to accomplish which is the task directly in front of you. There is no technology, no noise to get in the way and your body and mind are being pushed to the max. Every movement you make has purpose and you get to do all this with an awesome team. Add to all that, you’re in FIJI! I mean what more could you want? As a fully fledged member of Team Curl, we set out to inspire curly haired folks to get out there and share the tangles. I definitely think we maintained our curls the entire race and looked fabulous in the process. We showed the world you don’t have to have straight hair to be an adventure racer. Stay tuned for more from USARA! Visit www.usara.com for more information on adventure racing in the United States.
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 Photo: Poby/Amazon Studios Welcome to our series of interviews with American adventure racing teams who participated in the World's Toughest Race Eco-Challenge: Fiji! This 11-day adventure race took place in September 2019 and will premiere on Amazon Prime on August 14th, 2020. Check out USARA's dedicated Eco-Challenge: Fiji page for interviews from other teams and additional material concerning the race! Please introduce yourself! My name is Sylvia Greer, I am the token female competitor of Team Sundance Kids (#61). I live in a small ski town called Eden, Utah. My occupation is Mother!! As well as the coach and creator of Greer Endurance Coaching, and track coach for the local school in the spring. What was your adventure racing experience prior to Eco-Challenge: Fiji? Have you participated in previous Eco-Challenges or other adventure races? Nada!! Me, nor anyone on Team Sundance Kids had ever competed in an adventure race prior to Fiji!! We are all endurance athletes, but had never experienced a race of this magnitude!! We are still perplexed as to why we were chosen =) How did your team come together, and how did you train for Eco-Challenge: Fiji? The original team that submitted an application in January was not the team that set out on the course in September. A husband and wife duo who initiated the application dropped out in May, leaving two of the four original team members (Chase McMillan and Aaron Smith) scrambling. They wondered if they would even be able to compete, or wondered if they even wanted to, now that they were short a male and female competitor. Scott Ward was contacted, as a long time friend, and ski buddy that had gone on many adventures with Chase, and agreed to join the team. They were still in need of a female competitor, which proved to be difficult to find. Scott Ward contacted me through a friend of mine who knew that I was an ultra runner and had done multi-day races on the trail. I joined the team in late May, just in time to submit the final roster to the Eco-Challenge: Fiji organizers! For the next four months we trained together as often as busy parents with jobs, spouses and children allowed!!! We trained on our own, and made it a point to get in some of the skills required, as much as we could. We met weekly on Zoom calls to check off the team spreadsheet and get organized!! It became a part time job prepping all the gear and getting what we needed to fly across the ocean to Fiji!! The gear prep felt just as difficult as the physical preparation that we were doing! In August, a month before we were scheduled to fly out to Fiji, we entered a 24 hour adventure race in Colorado. It was the first time we had competed together. We were late to the start line, and didn’t know which way to go at the first turn, haha. We knew we had our work cut out for us in Fiji. What were you most looking forward to at Eco-Challenge: Fiji, and what scared you the most? Our team was most looking forward to the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the culture and the jungle that we had heard about and seen so many beautiful pictures of! None of us had ever been to this part of the country and that excited us. It is absolutely opposite of where we live, in the high desert mountains of Utah. The thing that we were most uncomfortable with would be the sailing! We trained in a lakel! You can not mimic ocean sailing in Utah. It was so very foreign to us, and seemed to have the biggest consequences if not done correctly. What was your favorite piece of gear and/or clothing and/or food? Out of the 5 page gear list, it is hard to choose our favorite piece of gear! I would have to say our Katadyn be-free water filters. We couldn’t have made it without them. Or I should say, we would have been a lot sicker without them!! . Our favorite foods were our Progenex bars, spring energy gels and the gnarly grapefruit electrolyte mix.  Photo credit: Gillies/Amazon Studios Describe a favorite moment of Eco-Challenge: Fiji, or one where you suffered the most.
One of our favorite moments of the Eco-Challenge: Fiji was riding through the villages. We were always welcomed with such glee and excitement. In particular we came across a school during the day on our bikes. We were immediately surrounded by singing, clapping, hugging, laughing and total admiration from the Fijian children!! It brought us to tears! They made us feel like the biggest super heros on the planet. All the villages, no matter the time of day, showered us with pure happiness. The generosity and kindness of the Fijian people is truly like nothing we have EVER experienced anywhere in the world!! Mentally, our team suffered the most during the bili-bili raft section. It was not physically exhausting, but was such a mental head game to finish this section!!. It was slow, tedious and inefficient to paddle with the bamboo sticks that we had. We could not find a way to make paddling the bamboo rafts more efficient, although we tried. Looking over at the banks, we could see that we were “crawling" in the water. It felt like the longest 12 miles of our lives. It took so much determination to not want to quick right there! After Eco-Challenge: Fiji, would you do another adventure race? Would you do the Eco-Challenge again? After a much needed winter's nap, we would!! We would most certainly do another Eco-Challenge again. The things that we gained and experiences that we had during this adventure are one that we will never forget. Given the opportunity to do an Eco-Challenge again, we would jump at it!! What internal struggles did you experience during Eco-Challenge: Fiji? Did you experience any moments of self-reflection and/or growth? Internally you fight with your mind through the physical exhaustion, the physical pain, the mental stamina, and the doubt that you will ever be able to last out on the course!! When we would make it to a base camp we were thrilled that we found our way. But we were also terrified what we would find on our next set of maps. We would call it “Fool’s Christmas”. It felt like Christmas when we made it, but like April Fool’s Day when we got our envelope with the next set of maps! It was hard to imagine that we could keep going, when you had done everything you could to get to the point you were at at that moment. Only to realize that it was not the end, and that there were still hundreds of kilometers left. You have to try to figure out a way to quiet the inner demon/doubt inside that says, you can push this button on the radio and it can all stop and the suffering can end here. I think it would be impossible to compete in a race of this magnitude without experiencing moments of self-reflection or growth. You are challenged on all levels physically and mentally. When you get through a section that you feel is physically or mentally impossible, you find in yourself a new level of achievement. You can’t help but have growth when accomplishing something that some people only dream about. Coming together as a team to get through some of the world toughest tasks creates in you a feeling of empowerment and capability. It is something that you can pull from for the rest of your life! What was re-entry into civilization like, both after the finish line in Fiji and back in your home country? It was thrilling to be back in civilization and home to see our families and friends again - the people that you think about when you are out there racing. These are the people that pull you through the moments of doubt. The loved ones that you are doing this for. To reconnect with them is joyful!! And, oh the joys of laying on a bed and being able to sleep for a regular amount of time =) Your body and mind can finally quiet itself and reflect at that point. The anxiety is gone and where the ticking clock once was is the reflection of a grand adventure that you never could have imagined!! How would you like fans to interpret your participation in Eco-Challenge: Fiji? Did you set out to inspire another group of people and do you think you accomplished that? Truly, the people that we care most about influencing are our children and nieces and nephews. Life’s unknowns are scary and intimidating!! We want our children to jump in feet first and give it all that they have to accomplish the things that matter to them! No matter what that looks like! This race was truly intimidating to even start! So many unknowns. But we did it because there was a desire to go into the unknown. Because deep down we knew this experience would change us, and would be one of the biggest adventures of our lives. We would have regretted passing something like this up, regardless of how intimidating it was on paper! And regret is something we don't ever want our children or nieces or nephews to live with!! We hope that when they see us suffering, scared and doing hard things, and what can be gained from it, that it will inspire them to do hard things too!! Stay tuned for more from USARA! Visit www.usara.com for more information on adventure racing in the United States.  Photo credit: Poby/Amazon Studios Welcome to our series of interviews with American adventure racing teams who participated in the World's Toughest Race Eco-Challenge: Fiji! This 11-day adventure race took place in September 2019 and will premiere on Amazon Prime on August 14th, 2020. Check out USARA's dedicated Eco-Challenge: Fiji page for interviews from other teams and additional material concerning the race! Please introduce yourself! My name is Heather Flebbe and I am the Team Captain of Team SuperFighters (#62). I am a Professor of Exercise Physiology at Cal State University, Los Angeles as well as the proud owner of my gym, Kaia Fit Santa Clarita. 4 of our team members call Santa Clarita, CA our home. Our TAC, Danny Trudeau, is lucky enough to live in the mountains of Pine Mountain (Frazier Park area), CA. Cary Flebbe, my husband, is an LA County Fire Fighter and Cancer Survivor. Sean Martin, Cary’s best friend of 25 years, is a Ventura County Deputy and Cancer Survivor. Michael Nicolaides, AKA “Nico”, is an LA County Fire Fighter and former professional cyclist. What was your adventure racing experience prior to Eco-Challenge: Fiji? Have you participated in previous Eco-Challenges or other adventure races? I, Heather, was a former member of Team Revo. We competed professionally in the Hi-Tec and Balance Bar Sprint and 24 Hour Adventure race series across the United States. I raced with Team Revo from 2003 - 2006. I always dreamed of competing in the Eco-Challenge but the series ended before I had the chance. It was a dream come true to be selected to race in its return to Fiji! Cary and Sean had raced in previous local adventure races together. This was our first adventure race together as a team. I knew well the demands of being the only female on a team with 3 incredibly fit men. I knew the challenges ahead of me, but I absolutely love being stretched and challenged and molded, no matter how stressful at the time. Our team spent every moment preparing for the extreme demands of this race. We sacrificed a lot to make sure we were ready to endure. With all of us having full-time jobs, this was very demanding but we knew this experience would be unforgettable and one so many people would never imagine taking on. How did your team come together, and how did you train for Eco-Challenge: Fiji? My friend Renee forwarded me the email about the return of Eco-Challenge, the World’s Toughest Race. I did not hesitate and knew immediately that I MUST be a part of this. I immediately told my husband Cary that we will get a team together and we will do this. Of course, he had his hesitations after only finishing his cancer treatments one year ago and now living with only half of his right lung. I was not going to give up on this dream. We had very limited time to get a team together and make a video to submit. But how do you find 4 people crazy enough to race for 12 days straight through the jungles and rivers and mountains and all the unexpected adventures? And..., we had to find someone that wanted to take 3 weeks out of their life to just come attend to all of our needs as the Team Assistant Crew (TAC)! We called and texted and coerced and pleaded. We had me, Cary, and Nico but we could not find a 4th racer. We had 1 night left to submit our video and we were starting to lose hope. We called Sean in the middle of his dinner with his wife and begged him to come over to just be in our video. We told him we could replace him if he didn’t want to do it, just be in our video so we could submit. See, Sean also had his hesitations. As a cancer survivor as well, he had lost a lot of function of his tongue. He was worried he would be able to eat and drink enough throughout the 12 days to sustain his energy to race. But how incredible would it be if these two best friends and both cancer survivors could cross that finish line together after all they have been through? We submitted a crazy video and our hope grew with this team we had pulled together. We started envisioning us actually winning this race. Well, I envisioned winning. See, I like to believe the impossible is always possible. My teammates kept urging me to believe that just finishing an extreme challenge like Eco-Challenge was a huge accomplishment. I still remember the moment that we got the call that we were chosen. It was around 9pm at night. I was getting ready for bed. Cary was at work at his station. I almost didn’t answer because I didn’t recognize the number. I’m so glad I did! My heart stopped when I heard the words, “Your team has been chosen to compete!" I ran through the house waking my 12 year old daughter up and busting into my 19 year old son's room to cheer! I called Cary and shouted the news to him. He didn’t believe me! It took him a few days to actually believe it. I quickly told our other 2 teammates, “You better start training because this is for real!" We trained as a team, on our own, with our friends and co-workers, every second that we had. Long mountain bike rides, long nighttime trekking, hours of paddling in the oceans and lakes nearby, a whitewater rafting trip, many days of rock climbing to get me and Nico over our fear of heights, orienteering/navigation events and coaching, meeting competitive outrigger teams to train us, training in the blistering heat of Santa Clarita, traveling for weekend training “camps.” We committed to doing whatever it would take to be the best we could be and the most prepared we could be. My daughter heard a lot of, “I’m sorry. I have to go train.” She was so understanding and patient. My son stepped up to help out with her any time we needed. All of our friends and family were there to help out with anything we needed and cheered us on every step of the way. We are so lucky to have such an amazing network of friends and family. Their support and confidence in us meant everything and truly fueled us to give it our all. Almost a year of our lives was committed to training for this race. We found as many experts as we could and we are so grateful to each one of them and the time they gave to teach us. We lived, slept, ate, and breathed adventure racing. What were you most looking forward to at Eco-Challenge: Fiji, and what scared you the most? As a team, our strongest event is mountain biking. We were looking forward to experiencing the exciting trails of Fiji and utilizing our strength during these legs of the race. We thought we knew what to expect. As we learned every step of the way during the World’s Toughest Race, you never know what to expect! Imagine the hardest thing and somehow, Eco-Challenge: Fiji was able to make it even harder! Each member of our team would have a different answer for what they were most scared of. Cary, as our lead navigator, was most nervous about getting us lost. He had a lot of anxiety about this responsibility. He was also scared that his limited lung capacity would hold the team back. Sean was scared that he would have the time he needed to eat and drink the necessary fuel and hydration he would need. With the effects of cancer still dramatically impacting his life, it takes him longer to eat and he requires a lot of water with his food. Nico and I were most scared about how high we would really have to go when rock climbing. We watched the videos of the previous Eco-Challenge races and those climbing scenes made our hearts miss a beat. What was your favorite piece of gear and/or clothing and/or food? Our team agrees that our Black Diamond Rain Shell was critical in our survival. I think we wore that rain shell for at least half of the race. It was lightweight, rolled up to a small ball, the perfect amount of warmth, and kept us very dry. We had planned to sleep in our hammocks and maybe sleeping bags but it turned out our bivy sacks were the perfect lightweight sleep sack that kept us so warm we were almost sweating. A good headlamp in the dark was crucial to keeping us safe as we trekked, biked, and paddled at night. We chose the Black Diamond Storm. Our Ibis DV9 hardtail mountain bikes helped us rip through the bike legs. My favorite food was Fig Newtons. After endless bars, chews, and nuts, the Fig Newton felt like sweet heaven. I had a small bag of skittles that I rationed throughout the race. They really perked me up right when I needed it.  Photo credit: Pondella/Amazon Studios Describe a favorite moment of Eco-Challenge: Fiji, or one where you suffered the most.
Our favorite moments of the race was anytime we would pass through a Fijian village. No matter what team you were, or what place you were in, the entire village would erupt in applause and cheers and shouts, always asking, “what team?” We would say U.S.A. and they would shout back “USA, USA, USA!” They would run up to fences, or out from their homes onto the path, many times offering food, fresh coconut, or a place to sleep. They were truly excited to see these insane racers coming through their village. They invigorated our team every time. We were offered homemade donuts, cake, pancakes, fresh squeezed juice, coconut and even pizza! PIZZA! My favorite food! Made my day. A special moment for me was the day then turned into night that we chose to ride horseback up a long climb into the pitch black. I have a little anxiety about horses because I used to own horses growing up and I had been thrown many times in my life. To this day, their power and strength makes me a little phobic. Sean really wanted us each to have a horse. I quietly whispered to Cary that I didn’t think I could get on a horse. I was really afraid. Because of this, a Fijian man named Kali offered to ride horseback with me. He lead the horse and I wrapped my arms around his waist. Kali proceeded to tell me all about his life and how he fell in love with one of the female racers from New Zealand. He serenaded me up the mountain with his beautiful singing voice. It was such a special moment to just listen and understand what was important to him and what he and his daughter needed. It took my mind off my weary, tired, broken body. We even galloped up the hill, flying past my teammates. I was so happy to have been forced to get "back in the saddle" again. It was one night that our team felt lighthearted and joyful and carefree. Cary and I and my kids would later go back and visit Kali after the race. He wanted my headlamp so bad. I had to go give it to him. A moment of suffering? We suffered a lot! From Heather having a fever of 101.3 early in the race, to Nico battling heat exhaustion, to Cary getting an infection in his leg, and later Nico getting a bad infection but not telling the rest of the team, to jungle rot on Heather and Cary’s feet, suffering was the name of the game! We suffered and never gave up! After Eco-Challenge: Fiji, would you do another adventure race? Would you do the Eco-Challenge again? We would MOST DEFINITELY do the Eco-Challenge again!! It was a life-changing experience that will stick with us forever. You cannot get this kind of learning experience anywhere else. We learned so much about adventure racing, efficiency, teamwork, ourselves as individuals, the right gear to carry, how to adapt, and especially, how to persevere. How can we not use what we learned to come back even stronger and better?! What internal struggles did you experience during Eco-Challenge: Fiji? Did you experience any moments of self-reflection and/or growth? As the female on the team, there was a lot of pressure for me to be tough, don’t cry, keep up, be strong, take care of myself, don’t get emotional, and maybe I put that pressure on myself. My teammates never said those words to me and they definitely offered much assistance. My teammates also believed I was fully capable and strong enough to take care of myself. I am a perfectionist and never satisfied so internally I struggled with how I was doing. I wanted to be tough and strong and not cry and represent women well. But man, that race was hard! I didn’t want to let it defeat me. Sometimes, I felt defeated and weak and disheartened. Sometimes, I felt like superwoman and in complete awe that we were in the World’s Toughest Race! I told you that I totally believed we could win this race. I didn’t want to be the one responsible for holding us back. It was a lot of pressure I put on myself. The entire race was all about self-reflection and growth. All you had was time to reflect as you trod along for hours and days through the jungles and mountains. I spent many an hour reflecting on how the people of Fiji were transforming my soul. The people of Fiji seem to have found the magical answer to true happiness. I saw them give so selflessly and without hesitation, time after time, with such consistency. They were happy because they just give. It was as simple as that, give. Give when called upon to give. They don’t think about all the other things they have to do, or all the other ways they could spend their time. They just give. They welcomed strangers into their homes and villages and all they wanted to do was share with us. As I witnessed this key value embedded in their culture, I hoped I could bring this back with me. I hoped I could spread this same joy and kindness throughout the United States. I’m still working on it! But I will never forget the lessons they taught me. I know that Cary would tell you that the Eco-Challenge: Fiji was the hardest race he has ever done. As the lead navigator, he struggled with the pressure to lead us the right way. It was a lot of weight for him to bear to have us completely reliant on him the entire race. He really never got to rest or zone out. His mind was always going, always finding the path. It was extremely exhausting for him. Even when we would come into camp, he couldn’t rest and prepare his gear like the rest of us could. He had to eat quickly and sit down with the maps to mark out our next course. Danny, our TAC, would sit with him and help but Cary still always felt like he didn’t have enough time for himself at the camp. With only half a lung coming into this race, Cary also struggled with the fear that he wouldn’t be able to breathe, or keep up, or have the stamina he used to. This was a big worry for him throughout the whole race. These doubts about his capabilities are a big reason why I wanted us to enter this race. I hoped as Sean and Cary saw what they could overcome after defeating cancer that any doubts about their athletic potential would be wiped clear from their minds. I hoped they would complete this seemingly impossible adventure and gain the confidence back they had so proudly boasted about before their adventure with cancer. FROM SEAN: “For me, the internal struggle or challenge was keeping something positive in mind to keep the motivation going to keep moving forward. My self-reflection of my lowest lows in my cancer struggle to realizing that we were on our way to finishing Eco-Challenge: Fiji. I am till reflecting and still growing from the experience." What was re-entry into civilization like, both after the finish line in Fiji and back in your home country? After the race was over, our team was in a bit of a shell shock for a while. We went through a lot! We didn’t speak very much for the first 24 hours. That could have been from extreme exhaustion. Sleep was of utmost importance. After spending so many days together, we definitely needed our own space to reflect on what we just went through. After some rest and recovery, we were able to start reliving it again with each other, like we almost couldn’t believe what had just happened. We all experienced many nights of night sweats and very vivid dreams. We ate A LOT! Cary and I were still limping from the jungle rot on our feet. Nico was nursing a bad infection. Sean spent a few scary nights in the hospital with major stomach issues. Our adventure was definitely not over! Our team spent 5 weeks in Fiji! We arrived early to acclimate ourselves to Fiji then, our families joined us for an additional 10 days after the race. We really soaked up the Fiji culture. Fiji has such an incredibly positive vibe, it was very hard to leave. Arriving back in the USA was exhilarating because we had been away from our friends and family for so long. We wanted to share our experience with everyone we knew! Hours and hours of stories we had to tell. Coming back to the hustle and bustle and demands of the modern world was a little sad after seeing the simple happiness of the Fijian people. How would you like fans to interpret your participation in Eco-Challenge: Fiji? Did you set out to inspire another group of people and do you think you accomplished that? Our hope was always that people watching our team would see that ANYONE can overcome any obstacle in their way. Everyone has the power within them to conquer any mountain they are confronted with. Life truly is an adventure race. Enduring is a mindset that believes in the impossible. Cary and Sean triumphed over cancer and did not allow their limitations to stop them. They raced to prove they can still overcome the World’s Toughest Race. Cancer will not defeat you. It may change you, but you will find that you have gained a superpower from the battle. We hoped to inspire all those battling cancer or living with the aftermath of cancer to keep moving forward and look forward to more adventures. We also hoped to get the message out to men about the importance of going in for their regular health screenings. Men tend to avoid doctors, even if they think they have a serious health problem. Had Cary gone in for his lingering cough or a regular health screening, he may have caught the tumor in his lung before it was so large his lung had to be removed. Putting off seeing the doctor can lead to more serious health issues. I hope our mission was accomplished but I guess we will have to wait and see the show! Stay tuned for more from USARA! Visit www.usara.com for more information on adventure racing in the United States.  Photo credit: Poby/Amazon Studios Welcome to our series of interviews with American adventure racing teams who participated in the World's Toughest Race Eco-Challenge: Fiji! This 11-day adventure race took place in September 2019 and will premiere on Amazon Prime on August 14th, 2020. Check out USARA's dedicated Eco-Challenge: Fiji page for interviews from other teams and additional material concerning the race! Please introduce yourself! MW: I’m Mikayla Wingle representing Team Peak Traverse (#57). I currently live in Tampa, FL and I am a bartender/trainer. DB: Team Peak Traverse (#57) is: ● Daniel Bussius (me): CEO at Built by Love Agency. San Diego, CA ● Steve Morrow: Chief Financial Officer. Los Gatos, CA ● Tim Cannard: Advertising at Reach Local. Los Gatos, CA ● Ryan Opray: Construction. Los Gatos, CA ● Mikayla Wingle: Bartender at Hard Rock Hotel. Tampa, Florida What was your adventure racing experience prior to Eco-Challenge: Fiji? Have you participated in previous Eco-Challenges or other adventure races? MW: I was a rookie to adventure racing! I have done some other wild marathon challenges as well as competed on survivor but nothing compared to the World's Toughest Race! DB: Each of our team members has had past experiences at a competitive level. Tim is an amateur mountain bike racer on the racing team ZZ Uber. Ryan raced motocross and was on the television show Survivor. Mikayla is a competitive body builder and also was a contestant on Survivor. Daniel is an all around rock climber, cyclist and extreme sports junkie that was always creating his own outdoor adventures. Steve, our Team Assistant Crew (TAC), has a deep background in camping, hiking and operations and logistics for a myriad of things including Burning Man. How did your team come together, and how did you train for Eco-Challenge: Fiji? MW: Ryan called me and said he had something I would be interested in, he started explaining it and I said, “Holy smokes! What is that!?! I’m in!!!” So Ryan and I were previously on Survivor so we understand how you have to be mentally tough to make it through. The other 3 teammates Ryan has known over time and picked them to join us. DB: Our team truly was a ragtag bunch of people that came together from all walks of life. Ryan knew Mikayla from Survivor and Tim from his hometown of Los Gatos. Ryan knew Daniel from living in Los Angeles doing hiking and rock climbing excursions. Ryan truly was the glue that brought the team together originally, From there, we forged our friendships by training in the high desert of Joshua Tree, through the mountains of Santa Cruz, rivers of Columa and, along the coastline of San Diego. What were you most looking forward to at Eco-Challenge: Fiji, and what scared you the most? MW: I was most looking forward to the adventure and accomplishment. There is no better feeling than crossing a finish line and being able to say I DID IT!!! What scared me the most was the thought of trench foot and infections. In past Eco-Challenges, you saw how quickly a little cut turned into a huge infection and could knock a competitor out if not taken care of. So the team has to be on top of everyone’s scrapes etc. I know a lot of our teammates were scared of heights but for me, heights were exhilarating, they get the blood pumping and give you that sense of adventure and made you step out of your comfort zone and that’s exactly what we came there for. DB: We were looking forward to the rafting section. We knew that the rafting section would give us time to let the river move us and for each team member to get some rest. As for what scared us the most, it was the jungle. The thickness of the canopy, the humidity inside the jungle and the limited line of sight was terrifying. What was your favorite piece of gear and/or clothing and/or food? MW: My favorite piece of gear was my dry bag. I never knew how much a dry pair of socks could change your life!!! By far my favorite food was the PB&Js Steve would send us off with. It was like heaven in the middle of the ocean when you opened your bag and instead of a GU packet, you had one of those bad boys! DB: Your feet are the most important part of your body when you are adventure racing. If you don’t take care of your feet, you’re doomed. Each of us tested numerous shoes training in different environments and selected the ones that worked for each team member’s feet. Shoes are what we wore nearly every minute of the race and so, shoes would be our most favorite clothing. Describe a favorite moment of Eco-Challenge: Fiji, or one where you suffered the most. MW: One of the toughest moments for me on Eco-Challenge is when we were caught in the middle of a storm and had to set a flare off in case we capsized. Part of our boat had taken on water so we were beginning to capsize the opposite way, so I had to hold on to the mast to get my weight to the other side of camakau. Then once help came, two of our teammates quit because they felt it was too unsafe. That was heart-breaking. We trained for this. We knew it was going to push us to our limits and they were ready to bow out instead of waiting out the storm however long it took. DB: One word: camakau. I think we all still have nightmares of that floating wooden fortress of pain. We trained rigorously for every discipline in the race except for sailing. Little did we know that sailing this traditional Fijian boat would be our ultimate demise. The race began navigating this boat by manpower through the river and then into the open ocean. From that point, we were to raise the sail to maneuver to different island checkpoints. However, there was no wind and we had to paddle for over 18 hours fighting the sun, heat and ocean currents all by muscle. In the end, this kammaku got the better of us. Strange enough, during the toughest times spent in this boat is where we experienced the most breathtaking scenery, peace and awe of the Fijian islands.  Photo credit: Poby/Amazon Studios After Eco-Challenge: Fiji, would you do another adventure race? Would you do the Eco-Challenge again?
MW: Yes! I would absolutely take part in another Eco-Challenge!! This time I will have a say in the team! I want redemption so bad after how our team ended. I need redemption. DB: The thrill of adventure and shared experiences with others from around the world while enduring the elements of nature make this an experience of a lifetime! Steve Morrow, Tim Cannard and myself (Daniel Bussius) are submitting to race in the next Eco Challenge to show the world no matter who you are or where you come from, you can do the impossible with the right team and mindset. What internal struggles did you experience during Eco-Challenge: Fiji? Did you experience any moments of self-reflection and/or growth? MW: An internal struggle I had was having to slow down during the race when we should have been full speed ahead. A couple of our teammates were tiring out quickly and wanted to relax/regroup and all I could think about was the next checkpoint. It was hard to know that the clock was ticking and we had to get a move on it. It felt like the finish line was slipping through my fingers. I hated that. I wanted to see the course, see all of the disciplines that were ahead of us and be part of the competition . This is a team event though so “you are only as strong as your weakest link” has never been so fitting. DB: Who needs counseling or self improvement books when you can just sign up for The World’s Toughest Race and find yourself looking deep into your soul fighting your mind and body as it tires while pushing your limits without sleep. The little voices that creep into your head as the sun bakes you from above and the wet jungle drenches you from below... You have plenty of time to think. To think about the world, what’s important, who’s important and to detach from the daily grind we find ourselves in. You are out there surviving in nature. Things slow down, peace comes over you and through the pain, the challenges and the beauty of the paths less traveled, you find what matters most to you - you find your true self. That will stay with you and change your perspective forever. We are forever grateful for those lessons. What was re-entry into civilization like, both after the finish line in Fiji and back in your home country? MW: Re entry back into the real world was honestly a bummer.. I wanted to come back scraped up, beaten down and had the aches and pains of so much more then we were able to go through. Those pains let me know that yes. I did it . Unfortunately I didn’t have anything on me , that’s how I know how bad I want to go back and feel that sense of accomplishment and those pains from DB: Once you are done racing the first thing you want to do is shower. After that, you begin to feel a bit more human again. Everything seems a bit off, like you don’t fit into the world anymore. Life seems to move at a slow pace. You start to think about things like “time” whereas when you are racing, you don’t stop. Everything is fast paced, there is no such thing as time. Your reentry into the real world has this sense of mundane-ness to it. It takes about a month for that to wear off. It’s addictive. You crave that adrenaline rush and that’s why we are submitting to race again! How would you like fans to interpret your participation in Eco-Challenge: Fiji? Did you set out to inspire another group of people and do you think you accomplished that? MW: I would like fans to interpret my participation on Eco challenge as a girl who continually achieves crazy goals. I’ve played in a women’s full tackle football league, I’ve competed on Survivor, as of 2018 I was 1 of 26 women in the world to complete 7 full marathons in 7 consecutive days, on all 7 continents. I’ve done all these crazy things to inspire people. Listen, I never ran a day in my life aside for punishment from sports coaches, but I’m going to put my mind to it and do it. I may not be the best. But you better believe the fact that I’m going to finish! Eco-Challenge: Fiji for me was something out of my comfort zone. So I loved it already. I love the outdoors but unfortunately in Florida it’s hard to do a lot outdoors with the Everglades nearby flooded with reptiles so training with my teammates in California gave me a new obsession with the outdoors. I want to keep competing and learning and pushing my body to the max in the world of adventure racing! There are so many things to learn for this competition and I done ever want to stop learning! DB: So many people doubt themselves. They watch other people take risks and achieve their dreams but they say to themselves, “I could never do that. I am too [fill in the bank].” That’s not true. Every person out there no matter your age, your skill level or where you reside, you can do the impossible. You are just as amazing and capable as anyone who entered this race. Never tell yourself otherwise. Our team are not professional racers, we all come from different backgrounds. If we can enter The World’s Toughest Race and come out alive you can do it too. Whatever your toughest challenge is, go after it. Life is too short to doubt yourself. That’s the message we would love to share with all the viewers. Stay tuned for more from USARA! Visit www.usara.com for more information on adventure racing in the United States.  Photo credit: Poby/Amazon Studios Welcome to our series of interviews with American adventure racing teams who participated in the World's Toughest Race Eco-Challenge: Fiji! This 11-day adventure race took place in September 2019 and will premiere on Amazon Prime on August 14th, 2020. Check out USARA's dedicated Eco-Challenge: Fiji page for interviews from other teams and additional material concerning the race! Please introduce yourself! I am Jeff Bates, the team captain for Team Nika (#54). Team Nika is made up of ultra-marathoners, a jiu-jitsu champion, and CrossFit athletes. The team lives in DeLand, Florida with one member residing in Arizona. We are healthcare workers, first responders, a banking executive, and a gym owner. What was your adventure racing experience prior to Eco-Challenge: Fiji? Have you participated in previous Eco-Challenges or other adventure races? I have been doing adventure races for a few years including multi-day events. But other members had very limited racing experience prior to the Eco-Challenge: Fiji. This is the team’s first Eco-Challenge and first time ever competing together as a team. The first time some of the members met face to face was just a few days prior to the race start in Fiji. How did your team come together, and how did you train for Eco-Challenge: Fiji? I pulled the team together from my friends and people I knew in my hometown. My teammate Keria and I began dating while training for the race and got engaged before the race began on the beach in Fiji. We are now planning a wedding for later in 2020. What were you most looking forward to at Eco-Challenge: Fiji, and what scared you the most? We were looking forward to competing in all the new skills we learned to get ready for the race including whitewater rafting and rappelling. The aspect of the race that worried us the most was the sheer length of this huge expedition race; the distance, the sleep deprivation, the amazing terrain.  Photo credit: Ruji/Amazon Studios What was your favorite piece of gear and/or clothing and/or food?
We got some great bikes from Salsa Cycles for the race and we were looking forward to riding those in the race. Describe a favorite moment of Eco-Challenge: Fiji, or one where you suffered the most. Our favorite moment was going through a Fijian village in the middle of the night and the entire village was still awake and lined the road, cheering us on. The Fijian people were amazing. After Eco-Challenge: Fiji, would you do another adventure race? Would you do the Eco-Challenge again? Keria and I will definitely do more adventure racing in the future and would love to be part of a team that competes in another Eco-Challenge. It is an incredible event and a true test of will power and endurance. What internal struggles did you experience during Eco-Challenge: Fiji? Did you experience any moments of self-reflection and/or growth? Coming together as a team was a struggle as we had never competed together before this race. What was re-entry into civilization like, both after the finish line in Fiji and back in your home country? Some members of the team stayed in Fiji for a few days after the race was completed and had an amazing time experiencing the country. How would you like fans to interpret your participation in Eco-Challenge: Fiji? Did you set out to inspire another group of people and do you think you accomplished that? We hope that our participation inspired all the fans out there that have never done a race like this that they can do it. This was our first time ever doing anything like this and it was an amazing life changing experience. The Eco-Challenge community is a great group of people from all over the world and full of so many inspirational athletes. Stay tuned for more from USARA! Visit www.usara.com for more information on adventure racing in the United States. |
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