ExpAfrica: Tecnu’s report

Expedition Africa is gaining a reputation as one of the premier ARWS events. This year Tecnu joined other top ranked teams Seagate and Silva and 15 other international teams to fill the roster at 40 total teams.

Experienced South African teams including Merrell and Painted Wolf were bound to be the toughest competitors out of the local squad. Even Donovan Sims, who was sidelined at last year’s world champs after being diagnosed with cancer, was there to represent his homeland. That’s another inspirational story that needs to be told, especially after Merrell’s gutsy performance.

Tecnu had our work cut out for us this year and we were excited to experiment with our recent speedy and strong additions including Mari Chandler and Rob Preston from Australia. Last year’s teammate Bob Miller is taking at least a year off to get married, and Karen Lundgren has been racing around the world with Peak Performance.

Stephan Muller, the race director sounded a vuvuzela and 160 people hurled themselves at one of the toughest beach breaks in Port Edward. Kyle and I got out to a ripping start powering through the oncoming swell. The teams that were left in our wake suffered a brutal onslaught of waves, reminiscent of the chaos and carnage of an ancient Roman battle. Some teams made it through, others retreated to the beach for a second go.