At 2pm yesterday (30 Nov), all competitors gathered at the ship's lounge for a briefing. We had finished a 2.5hr course on Dorian Bay and were expecting to do a 2hr run in the afternoon. Most of us were showing signs of fatigue from the morning run. Our shoes, jackets, gloves were wet. Conditions were definitely not ideal for a tough afternoon run.
 
Imagine our initial reaction when Mary Gadams said that we have arrived at Paradise Bay and wanted us to prepare for a 6hr run. Silence everywhere. Kah Shin asked a quick question to start food rationing for future runs. Paul Low started preparing himself mentally for a long hard race. Louise Cooper reconfirmed that we are going ahead with the 6hr run. More silence. Tough news but that's what we signed up for.  
 
Imagine our next reaction when Mary broke the news that she was kidding. All competitors will have the option to rest on ship, go on a Zodiac cruise around the Paradise Bay, or kayak in the Antarctic waters. Carlos Dias, the Brazilian "Croc-man", was the first to break out in Hallelujah and raise his arms in 'victory'! Paul Liebenberg, the race leader, walked towards Mary and gave her a big hug. Cheers of relief abounded in the room. 
 
After the cheers died down, I took a moment to reflect on the scene that took place earlier. This is probably one of the toughest footrace experienced by all racers. Elite runners such as Dean Karnazes and Paul Liebenberg could have easily covered two or three times more distance on 'regular' terrain. It is not an understatement to say that every single competitor was drained of energy after yesterday morning. But at Mary's initial bluff, everyone took the news in his or her own stride. No complaints, no nothing. These bunch of folks just don't give up easily. You can feel everyone's silent determination to carry on.
 
That period of silence was the defining moment for me. I knew, at that stage, no one could break our spirit. You can drain us of our energy but nothing could break our will. All twenty six of us. Amazing. Awesome. That is what Paul and I signed up for. We are honoured to stand in the midst of heroes.
 
- Paul Low and Kah Shin -

Yesterday was the longest stage since the start of the race. It was a 4.5 hour course...and arguably the best course to date. Penguins were all over the place, crossing our paths, sliding next to us on their bellies, and making 'clucking' noises all the time. Do you know all competitors have to obey an important rule: if penguins were to cross our paths while we are running, we have to stop and let them pass before we can continue with running!
 
It was a good running and both Paul and Kah Shin are feeling good. However, we didn't have much time to rest and recover as the race ended around 9:30pm and we have to wake up at 4:30am the following race for the next stage. Apparently the last 2 days will be tough stages, so we hope to persevere and continue trudging on!
 
- Paul Low and Kah Shin -

Saw a real-life penguin egg at the Neko Harbour stage yesterday. That's the highlight of the day!
 
Neko is a much tougher stage than Cuverville Island. The slopes were steeper and the duration was longer (3.5 hrs vs 2 hrs). In addition, we were already tired out from the morning run. Running in the snow is really a new ballgame. You feel almost like a hamster running in a wheel-like treadmill, where your legs are moving hard but you don't gain much distance. Also, because the ground is so soft, it is hard to get a proper solid footing, especially when running downslope. Kah Shin is suffering from a swollen left ankle as a result of that.
 
Today is Day 2 of the race. We just anchored near a Ukranian research station on Peterman Island and will be going onshore to say hi...and get our passports stamped with a Ukranina custom chop! Cool ya?
 
After the research station visit, we will set sail for the mainland for the 2nd day of racing. Heard rumours that it will be a very long stage this time. Hope those ankles hold up.
 
P.S. We would like to thank Graham for equiping us with fabulous gear. The mammoth winter Crocs are welcome sight after each race, and the Asics Artic shoes are fabulous. Unfortunately, both our gaiters have already given way (straps broken) after one day of hard racing. Not cool to accumulate ice inside our shoes, but the Sealskinz are working well so far.
 
P.P.S. Kah Shin would like to thank Chee Meng for the fashionable red Arc Teryx softshell jacket. It is the subject of envy among some competitors. He would also like to thank Clarence for the super-warm sleeping bag, which will serve him well if the competitors get stuck onshore during a blizzard.
 
- Paul Low and Kah Shin -

We started the race at Curverville Island. It's a wonderful day of many "firsts". It was the first time we saw icebergs, it was the first time we sat in Zodiac boats, it was the first time we saw wild penguins, it was the first time we set foot on an Antarctic island!

 
The landing scene is impressive, with Zodiac after Zodiac of runners in full gear landing in rapid succession, almost like a Antarctic version of the Normandy landing. Penguins were there to greet us on shore. Penguins are the most hilarious and cutest animals. They are very curious to see humans landing near their colony and some actually came up as close as 1m.
 
Upon landing, we immediately grouped up and headed for the plateau on the island, which happens to be the highest point. It was a strenuous hike. Plenty of snow everywhere and our legs kept sinking to knee-deep level. After about 30min of hiking, Anjali the ship scientist ordered a turnaround because she found a possible crevasse near the plateau. It will be a silly risk to take if we hike on, so the RacingThePlanet team decided to form a race course midway. As you can imagine, it is a difficult course since it is carved out on a sideways slope - half the course is hardcore up-slopes.
 
It is a shocking but welcome start for Paul and Kah Shin. Racing through the course is difficult. It is very easy to lose your balance and twist your ankle. Ice kept finding ways and means to get into our shoes, giving us very cold feet. But nothing beats the feeling of running next to penguins and taking in the breathtaking scenery of ice, sea, mountains.
 
We will be attempting our 2nd course for the day at Neko Harbour. This will mark our first step onto the continent of Antarctica itself. Keep a watch out for our updates later.
 
- Paul Low and Kah Shin -

1. The barnacles that we saw on the whale this morning are not barnacles at all. The resident ship scientist Anjali, explained that they are part of the body, something like facial hair for male humpbacks!
 
2. Whales eat krill, and apparrently humpbacks can make "bubble-nets" to surround and trap krill (these small creatures can't swim through air bubbles). Smart whales!
 
3. The high-tech life-jackets we will be wearing on the Zodiac boats automatically inflates upon contact with water! How idiot-proof...perfect equipment for Paul and Kah Shin :)
 
- Paul Low and Kah Shin -

This must be the highlight of our 2nd day. In the late morning, the expedition leader Delphine, announced sighting of 2 whales over the PA system. Everyone rushed out of their cabins almost instantly, trying to catch a glimpse of these elusive animals. The captain stopped the engines and turned around the ship so that we can get a better view. Initially, the whales were a distance away. We could see spouts of water shooting out of the water surface, but couldn't really see their bodies. Imagine our luck when one of the whales decided to 'investigate' us! This must be a very curious whale, because it came right next to the starboard side of the boat, so near that we could see the barnacles on his body. We took quite a few good shots of him. It must also be a playful young whale, because it dived under the boat and came out from the port side, paraded itself by spouting some water and flipping its massive tail fin, then dived back under the boat to emerge from the starboard side. It was a hilarious scene, because everyone on the deck looked like Lemmings running back and forth the opposite sides of the ship following the playful whale. Apparently, this is the first time in 3 years of the Antarctic Race that whales were sighted, and at such close proximity too!
 
The rest of the day on the ship is boring. If all goes well, we are supposed to see icebergs around midnight, sight land (Antarctica) around 2-3am, and reach land around 5-6am. Can't wait for the race to start having sat around doing nothing but eat, sleep and read for almost a week.
 
- Paul Low and Kah Shin -

We finally set sail. They found a hole (2cm) in the hull on the day we were supposed to leave, so we had to wait for a day for repairs to be made. So far, the Drake Passage crossing has made 7 of us sea-sick, and Kah Shin is not doing too well either. The solution he came up with was pretty simple and straightforward: sleep. You can't get sea-sick when you are unconscious, so he has been sleeping 80% of the time. Not too bad for life, but it gets quite tiring to force yourself to sleep all the time!

Paul is very excited about the race. It takes 2 days of sailing to reach the race place. Waves are very rough. We sleep, eat and attend lectures on Antarctica related subject all days.
 
 
-Paul Low and Kah Shin-

Spent the last 2 days in Ushuaia doing nothing except eat, sleep and watch TV. The town is absolutely boring; you can finish walking the whole town within 1 hour. We finally decided to pull our asses out of the hotel room and go for a jog this afternoon. 40 minutes into the run, it started hailing. It was a painful yet exciting experience to run when lumps of ice are falling on you. It definitely gave us a good glimpse of what to expect in the Antarctic (just imagine it being 10 times worse).

After the run, we realised that we are both very sensitive to the cold, so we are going to do some last minute shopping tomorrow. Paul is going to get thicker gloves, while Kah Shin will get warmer headgear.

We had a course briefing this afternoon in the hotel. A few things we got out of it:

1. Last year, the average temperature during the race was -5 to -10 degrees celcius. The coldest it got was -20.

2. Almost every competitor experienced seasickness on the 2-day crossing from Ushuaia to Antarctica. Just search for "Drake Passage" on YouTube and you will understand why.

3. We are going to see lots of penguins during the race.

4. There are 23 hours of sunlight in the Antarctic.

5. We will set off at 6pm tomorrow (24 Nov).

Looks like we are going to be in for lots of trouble...and lots of fun!

-Paul and Kah Shin-