01x02 - We Can’t Go Back, And We Can’t Go Forward

[bunniefuu]

[ crowd cheering ]

[Bear Grylls] Previously,

on The World's Toughest Race

- Go!

- [ sounding shell ]

66 teams of adventure racers

from all around the globe

departed a small village in Fiji

for the craziest adventure

any human could undertake.

♪♪♪

This grueling, five-stage, eleven-day race

clocks in over 671 kilometers,

consisting of a multitude

of technically-challenging disciplines

over some of the most rugged

and unforgiving terrain in the world.

The World's Toughest Race is underway.

[ shell sounding ]

[man] Yeah, woo!

[Grylls] Right away,

American team Bend Racing

unexpectedly took the lead

Dan, you OK?

- No.

- No.

and they quickly paid the price

[Jason Magness] Hopefully,

we can just get him into the night.

[Grylls] leaving an opening for

Team New Zealand to slip into first place.

And close behind, in second place,

long-time rival and previous champion

Mike Kloser, of Team Out There.

Good pace out there, Nathan.

The Kiwis are old rivals. Beatable.

We've done it before.

[Grylls] Father-and-son duo

Mark and Travis Macy of Team Endure

are currently in 49th place,

as they stare adversity in the face,

despite Mark's diagnosis

of early-onset Alzheimer's.

[Travis Macy] To do this race

with my dad is a priceless,

once-in-a-lifetime experience.

[ drum beats ]

Woo!

[Grylls] As the first night sets in,

the back-of-the-pack teams

are just fighting to stay in the race.

Team Unbroken, the wounded warrior team,

coming in dead-last,

has made a tough trek even tougher.

My instinct at this point, we go back

until we follow a path that we know.

And with the collapse

of their strongest team member, Dan,

Bend Racing's entire quest is in jeopardy,

as they've slipped from first to 58th place.

For the hardcore adventure racers,

it's a contest for the podium,

but for many, the goal is just to survive.

[ crickets chirping ]

Currently at Checkpoint 4,

Bend Racing has made it

to the top of Ovalau,

the apex of the ocean leg.

So, guys,

let's take stock of the water.

Dan got heat stroke, and we went from,

like, first place to 58th place

in a matter of an hour.

We just slowed down and turned the event

into, like, can we survive now?

Any water we have left,

other than like a sip or two,

let's make sure he has it.

We want to keep him

hydrated, but we want uh

make sure we don't, you know

we've got to have enough to get down.

Do you want your emergency blanket to lay on?

When he's going fast, it's just like,

we're riding his wake,

but when he slows down,

it's a lot of weight--

[Jason] It takes all three of us to carry him.

- A lot of weight to carry.

I'm just trying to figure out

how to not let it get worse.

[Grylls] As countless teams pass them,

Bend Racing is getting

further and further behind.

They could miss the ocean leg cutoff

on day 3 and be eliminated from the race.

This leg of the journey

has been just punishing.

[ woman cries out ]

- So, we're going from here.

- Yeah?

- And we're gonna--

- We were here, right?

[ coughs ]

- You ready?

- I'm ready.

Alright. When you guys are ready.

Up, up, and away!

[Grylls] While the majority of the teams

are suffering their way

through the jungles of Ovalau

having all retrieved the ocean medallion

in the pitch-dark of night,

the group of lead teams are neck and neck

as they brave the open waters of the Pacific

back to Fiji's main island of Viti Levu.

The race is in the late hours of day one,

and the lead teams have traversed

almost 100 kilometers of the race course.

- [man] Bula bula!

- [all] Bula bula!

We like the nighttime.

[Grylls] Team New Zealand scarcely maintains

their first-place position

as a pack of hungry teams

are nipping at their heels,

including decades-long rival

and Eco-Challenge vet Mike Kloser,

of the American Team Out There.

[Kloser] Ah, there's some strong teams.

There were seven teams together

for a while, maybe six teams.

I'm a three-time Eco-Challenge champion,

long-distance orienteering champion.

It'd be great to leave on a high note

and be this athlete or role model

that people look up to.

New Zealand was one of our rivals

for many years,

and if I had to pick a favorite personally,

I'd pick the Kiwis,

but I don't want to count us out either.

We're pretty excited.

And scared.

A lot of teams that could be

on the podium at the end.

It's only 12 hours

from the beginning. It's nothing.

There is some fun

There is some suffering

there are some dark places that you go.

What could be better?

[Grylls] Twenty kilometers

behind the lead teams,

triathlete team Iron Cowboy has managed

to navigate to the buoy,

marking the first medallion.

They must retrieve it before they're allowed

to proceed to the next leg of the race.

James, the Iron Cowboy himself,

who completed

50 Ironman competitions in 50 days,

is their designated diver.

Don't fail me now.

[ Sonja laughing ]

[Sonja Wieck] You saw where it is?

Well ish.

The medallions are located

between the anchor and the island.

The island is which way?

- To your left.

- [James] To which way?

[Sonja] To your left.

- That way.

- [James] That way?

[Sonja] No.

- [James] This way?

- [Sonja] No.

- [James] This way.

- [Sonja, laughing] No.

- [James] This way.

- [Sonja] Oh, my friggin' god.

[ dramatic music ]

[Sonja] I'm just over this boat.

My name's Sonja Wieck,

I'm on Team Iron Cowboy,

and I have done zero adventure races.

I cried this morning.

Like, I cried this morning. I'm scared.

We've got James Lawrence, the Iron Cowboy,

who did 50 Ironmans in 50 days in 50 states.

It's the essence that he brought to the 50

that is what Iron Cowboy means to all of us.

We saw the promo for this race,

and it was calling us out

as Ironman athletes.

It said it was going to eat us for breakfast.

And I thought, "Well, then, I'm gonna find

a whole bunch of Ironman athletes,

and I'm gonna come here

to try to see if that's true."

[ splash ]

[James] Woo! I got it.

One step closer to turning in

this friggin' boat.

[Grylls] Fifteen kilometers behind,

on Ovalau,

the back-of-the-pack teams

are still trekking the jungle

in the pitch darkness.

We've been climbing

at like a 12-degree slope for 2 hours.

They must make their way around

the circumference of the island

before they can get back

to their outrigger canoes.

I'm a little bit sweaty, that's for sure.

I think the humidity's high.

[Katie Hancock] For my first adventure race,

I had a little bit of a realization.

You've got to be insane to do this.

You've got to be absolutely insane.

[Danelle Ballengee] That's where we are,

but I was just trying to look for someplace

that we could set elevation.

I'm just asking for-- Oh, yeah.

My team captain is Travis Macy,

who happens to be my-- my son.

- Vovoni?

- [man] Yeah, it is vovoni. Vovoni unverified.

Yeah? It's vovoni? Okay.

Five minutes to the checkpoint.

I was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease

approximately a year ago.

I'd known for many years that I had problems

with word finding and stuff like that,

and a lot of people think

that's just normal, old-guy stuff.

But it's not.

Hey Dad, you want to chug some of that?

- Chug some of what?

- That water.

Drink a bunch, and I'll fill it up.

[Danelle] Oh, he's going

to fill up the water.

Macy, Macy, stay with us.

I've raced with Team Stray Dogs

since the first Eco-Challenge,

and I was gonna race with Team Stray Dogs

in this race as well.

But my son Travis decided to have a team.

He asked me if I wanted

to be on a team with him,

and, of course, you know,

I'm happy to be on a team with my son.

He's been watching

Eco-Challenge tapes on TV

since you know,

he was just a little boy, you know.

Now, his little boy and his daughter,

you know, my grandkids,

they love to watch Eco-Challenge.

If they're staying at our house, I tell them

Eco-Challenge stories before they go to bed.

It cracks me up.

They hear 'em over and over and over again.

They love 'em.

Stray Dogs. Yeah, they're here.

I haven't seen them.

I don't know how they're doing, or

[Grylls] Trailing just one hour

behind Mark Macy,

his former teammates on Stray Dogs

are arriving at checkpoint 3.

[ all singing ]

[ applause ]

[man] You are team number

- Fifty-nine.

-Fifty-nine, okay.

[Bob Haugh] I'm Bob Haugh

of Team Stray Dogs.

I'm also known as Dr. Bob,

because I'm a doctor.

[ chuckles ]

Our team, Stray Dogs, is made up

of team members all over 60.

I'm 68, Marshall Ulrich is 68,

Adrian Crane is, I think, 64,

and the youngster, Nancy Bristow, at 62.

That's my claim to fame in this event,

I think, is that, I'm not the fastest,

but at least I'm the oldest.

So my buddy is on Team 52, Mark Macy.

[man] Mm-hmm.

Endure how'd they do?

- Team 52, you said?

- Yeah.

Mark, uh, has raced nine Eco-Challenges--

eight Eco-Challenges with me.

They came in around 8:00.

Just before 8:00.

I wanted to see how he was doing. He's

You know, I'm sure you guys know

he's got dementia.

He's with his son, and his son's

So

- He's doing well.

- Good.

It's almost like

there's a part of me missing,

because we're so intertwined.

We're hoping that we'll bump into him

on the course.

[Shane] Mace, you're killin' it, man.

- [Danelle] Yeah.

- [Shane] Good pace.

Dad's just cranking it up this hill.

I'm literally barely keeping up.

Man, this seems like yesterday

that I was here.

- [Travis] Yeah?

- Yeah

[Haugh] You know, Mace is so excited.

[ stammers ]

This part will choke me up.

It's, uh

It's great to get to race with Mace

for the, you know--

this is going to be the last time.

If you think you could outrun him

up a mountain, though, forget it.

He can still outrun you

up a mountain, but, uh

this will be great.

Sorry. [ chuckles ]

[Travis] That was amazing.

That's the only thing I can do,

is run up hills.

It's the only talent I have.

[man] Team 52 over here?

Right here. It's these two.

Okay.

[man] He went super fast, didn't he?

Oh, I was so impressed.

I'm proud of him.

If he could just keep doing this,

we'll be good.

[Grylls] Way ahead, across the ocean,

the lead teams have dominated

the last ocean leg at a breakneck pace.

With the New Zealanders, Americans,

Spanish, French, Estonians, and Australians

all in the front,

this truly is the Olympics

of adventure racing.

Going nonstop now for over 15 hours

without sleep and very little food,

can the frontrunners keep up this pace?

- Bula!

- Bula!

[Grylls] They don't know it yet,

but what they've just accomplished

is as easy as it's gonna get.

- Water's there.

- Okay.

- Paddles can go here.

- Okay.

We've got medics in the back.

- Checkpoint?

- Yeah, checkpoint. Checkpoint 7.

[Grylls] Here, at Verata Point,

the teams transition

to their standup paddleboards.

They must plot a course

to the island's interior

using one of the many rivers in the area.

And they must do this entirely in the dark,

without sleep.

[Bob Miller] The teams were pretty tired

after paddling for that long,

and then to have to paddle more on the stops,

it was kind of like

Ugh! Are you kidding me?

We've got to do this

for another six, seven hours?

You never know,

what could play out,

you know, which surprise is going to happen.

When you are going

deeper and deeper to the race,

you have to focus more on your team.

Now, in the beginning, everyone has energy,

so, you just look around

and see the teams, how are they.

But after the second or the third day,

it will be

how can we survive?

If we need, take caffeine.

What do you want to do?

[Emma] Grid reference 613.

[Grylls] Successful navigation here

is crucial.

The teams must take great care

to plot their course with intention,

because locating the mouth of the river

at night will be no easy feat,

and the slightest miscalculation

could send a team up the wrong river.

It's gonna be a long night,

and probably a long morning.

Put it on.

[Grylls] Back on Ovalau,

the wounded warrior team, Unbroken,

is dead last, departing checkpoint 3.

They are now over seven hours

behind the lead teams,

and Captain Hal has just decided

to avoid the steep ascent to checkpoint 4

by taking the long way

back around the island.

It feels a little strange to backtrack,

but I'm responsible for a group

of important people that mean a lot to me.

I don't know. Right now, my common sense

is telling me to chill out at checkpoint 2.

Would you rather just stop

here in one of these villages?

I mean, at the end of the day,

it's a team race,

and it doesn't matter

how good I feel or you feel,

it matters how the team feels.

You know, whatever decision you make,

I'm on board.

- What about this?

- Works for me.

[Dr. Anne Bailey] We, uh, are trying

to respect the elements [ laughs ]

and appreciate the fact

that we're really new at this,

so we wanted to err on the side

of safety and caution.

The injuries

that we came to Eco-Challenge with,

somebody would have gotten hurt.

Gretchen told us when we left the States,

she said, "Everybody comes home."

And that means a lot to her

as a military person.

She used to say that to her troops every day.

So, she says that to us,

and it means a lot more.

[Grylls] As Team Unbroken settles in

for the night,

it's the early hours of the morning,

and Team Bend Racing has managed

to get Dan into their outrigger.

[all] Hey! h*!

Despite having a man down,

they've actually increased their standing

by 11 positions, into 47th place.

How are you doing, buddy?

Slowly

coming back.

[Melissa Coombes] When one person

goes down, we rally around that person.

You know, we cannot keep doing this.

We've got to come out of that dark place,

and we've all got to work together as a team

to get to where we're going.

So, hopefully, we can give

him another rest now.

[Grylls] While Bend Racing tries to make up

for the lost time,

the lead teams have been paddling

up a dark, dangerous river

for almost six hours,

into the heart of Viti Levu.

It's been a long night, navigating

the many twists and turns upstream,

for over 30 kilometers.

Noticeably missing from the front pack

is former Eco-Challenge champion

Mike Kloser, of Team Out There.

At the last checkpoint,

they were in second place,

right behind Team New Zealand.

But now, they've disappeared.

Guys, we made it!

- [ all chuckling ]

- Thank you.

[man] Okay, great job.

- [Rea Kolbl] How was the paddle?

- Pretty punishing.

[Grylls] Here at checkpoint 8

is Sote Village,

where the lead teams can drop

their paddleboards.

Across the village, they'll transition

to their mountain bikes,

which they must use for the next leg.

The first mountain bike segment

will be an arduous and unforgiving

56-kilometer ride.

But the long night is finally over.

As the lead teams set out at first light,

they anxiously anticipate

the end of the ocean leg at Camp 1.

♪♪♪

[ drums beating ]

[ Fijian w*r cry ]

[Grylls] Here at race headquarters

on the main island,

I'm able to closely monitor the racecourse,

the weather conditions,

as well as the position of all 66 teams

throughout the course

by their GPS transponders.

Alright, legends.

Who slept?

- [ man blowing raspberry ]

- No one.

[ woman laughing ]

[Grylls] Okay, so, what has gone on

with this team?

We thought they were going for a shortcut,

but they went all the way back

and basically doubled their distance.

This whole zigzag going backward

and forward, is Unbroken?

That's right.

They got CP3, they turned around.

I think they were looking for an easier path,

'cause on the map, it does look steep,

but that trail, if you follow the terrain

properly, you can get there efficiently.

So, that's the team with

the deaf American veteran, Gretchen.

Wow. That's going to be so challenging.

Last place, lost in the dark,

and in total silence.

Wow. I've got so much respect for her.

Out There?

Team Out There, yeah.

They took a wrong turn.

Hold on, so, this is what they've done?

They've just bowled down there?

[Kloser] So, we've got to go up a channel

a little ways.

I think we got to go check things out.

This is Mike Kloser who,

if anyone can catch Nathan, it's him.

- And they're struggling to catch up.

- Ugh, that's heartbreaking for them.

He's gonna be really pissed.

We spent three and a half, four hours

wasted last night.

To see the things kind of slip through

our fingers the first night,

especially after being up in the front

with the top two or three teams,

was a little bit disappointing--

I should say,

more than a little bit disappointing--

to have lost that time.

[Grylls] Meanwhile, way back at checkpoint 5,

still on the island of Ovalau,

Team Endure is currently in 54th place,

more than 10 hours and 100 kilometers

behind the lead teams.

Dad, I'll put this stuff on your back.

Okay.

I'm stuff-- I'm stuffed.

- What? You're stuffed?

- I'm stuffed.

Okay. You can stop eating, then.

[Travis] We got some good, restorative sleep.

We were all out for a solid five hours.

[Shane Sigle]

Alright, g*ng, let's do this, huh?

- [Travis] Yeah, I think we're about ready.

- We are ready.

I think the biggest challenge for everybody

is tackling Alzheimer's

and understanding that that is not Mace.

He's a highly-intelligent, highly-skilled,

highly-experienced person out here,

but the Alzheimer's has taken a lot of that

away from him.

Do you want your food bag?

[Shane] He can't zip up his jacket.

He can't put on a pair of gloves.

He can't tie his shoes.

And so, taking those moments

when it's pouring down rain

and zip up his jacket

or, you know, help feed him,

um that's the hard part.

The reality is, we can make a difference

by supporting somebody like Mace

and Travis and the path

that those two are on.

It's an honor, is the bottom line.

♪♪♪

[Grylls] And just a little behind,

at checkpoint 4,

Unbroken is dead last,

as they finally arrive at the top of Ovalau.

Yeah, checkpoint 4.

- Whew. Finally.

- [ laughs ]

- We made it.

- [Kloser] Thank you.

- [Bailey] Thank you.

- Welcome.

- Thank you.

- Good job, dude.

Thank you.

[Hal] We made it this far.

Get back to 5

and try to get on our boat.

♪♪♪

[Keith Knoop] Just got to trust the captain

at this point,

but, you know, you make

too many wrong turns,

you're not making up that time.

We've got a two-and-a-half-day cutoff,

and we can't have too many errors like this

in terms of navigation.

[Hal] Just taking a moment

to get everybody reset here.

I was thinking a 7-minute power nap.

- [Bailey] Resources are short.

- Resources are short.

We don't have a good recent history

with jungle navigation.

[ laughs ]

You say that with such poise.

[ laughing ]

A good recent experience

with jungle navigation.

I'm not even reading lips very well

right now.

[ laughs ]

[man off-camera]

How is your knee feeling, Keith?

[Keith] It's actually my good knee,

my left knee,

my right knee being really messed up.

On my second tour in Iraq, back in 2009,

it was a scout vehicle, an MRAP,

doing convoy security.

And, uh

got caught in an ambush.

The vehicle was hit by an EFP.

Basically a homemade anti-tank ram.

Punched straight through

on my side of the vehicle

shattered my right femur

uh, snapped my knee joint.

I fractured my hip socket and ankle.

Knocked me out for a good period of time,

left me with a traumatic brain injury.

Pretty high tolerance for pain, 'cause

dragged me out,

and then I put a tourniquet

on my shattered femur,

with no pain K*llers.

- [ Hal chuckling ]

- Let me tell you, that sucks.

And, uh

Yeah, spent the next two years recovering.

I have a lot of hardware in the knee.

Thirteen screws. A plate.

For about six months,

they thought I'd lose my leg.

So, uh

So, yeah, the left knee's

not hurting too bad, comparatively.

[ Hal laughs ]

[Keith] Yeah, but

[ sighs ] You know, I'm out here doing this

for some friends of mine

who didn't come home.

They can't be here, you know?

They'll never have this opportunity, so

You know, I do this for them.

You know

I'm also here to prove to myself that

you know

I'm still the man I used to be.

You know, despite my injuries,

and despite everything that happened,

I can still go out here and run

the World's Toughest Race, and

keep plugging away.

You know, I won't let it stop me.

Shall we knock off a few more?

- Another click?

- [Keith] Yeah, I'm good.

[ dramatic music ]

[Grylls] Seventy-five kilometers ahead,

at Sote Village,

day 2 is in full swing at checkpoint 8

as the rest of the teams switch gears,

to their mountain bikes.

[man] Emma, how are you this morning?

Tired but happy

to take out all the water section.

It was crazy.

[Grylls] They've been going

for over 24 hours,

traveled a distance of 120 kilometers,

and have done this all without sleep

or a proper meal.

- Bula, bula!

- Bula, bula!

[Grylls] It's still the same pack

of lead teams,

with the New Zealanders, Spain, Australia,

Canada, and Estonia.

But noticeably absent

is the American Team Out There,

who've slipped from the top ranks.

Team Out There, who was in second place

before their critical navigation error,

finally arrives

at the mountain bike transition.

How far down are we?

Five hours?

Five maybe?

[Kloser] Five and a half behind New Zealand?

We had a little mess-up.

We decided to unintentionally,

to take a-- a shortcut on the river.

It looks like we're about

five and a half hours out of first,

which is Team New Zealand.

And those guys are pretty tough.

You give 'em a lead, and you got to hope

that they make a mistake at this point.

[ helicopter whirring ]

So, we're now heading to Camp 1,

and, already, they've done long ocean legs,

long paddling

Aah!

long treks, and they've been

on the paddle boards,

and now, they're on their bikes.

They are now exactly 24 hours into this race.

What you've got to remember

is that they're only coming into Camp 1.

They've got five of these legs to do.

It's only day 2, and they're still

almost 500 kilometers from the finish line,

with nine days to go.

To win this is gonna take a whole lot

of heart, determination, and endurance.

There will still be a few of the frontrunners

who are muscling it,

but by the end of this, in ten days' time,

there won't be.

But we're gonna see.

It's gonna be interesting.

This is Camp 1, next to Naivucini Village,

an oasis for the weary adventure racer.

Here, they'll have access

to race management, medical,

and the leader board, where they can see

their standing amongst the teams,

representing over 30 countries.

Go, Fiji, go!

Bye! [ laughter ]

All teams must pass the threshold

of these totems by tomorrow's cutoff time,

at 4 p.m., signifying completion

of the first leg of the race.

As soon as they've done so,

it's only at the camps

that they'll be reunited

with their assistant crew member,

the unsung hero of the team.

Hailing from around the globe,

these assistants provide their teams

with a shelter, a hot meal,

fresh clothing, and whatever gear

they'll require for the upcoming leg.

Teams must take

a mandatory 90-minute stop here,

where they'll receive information

about the upcoming leg

and plot their course.

Good job!

[ all cheering ]

[Nathan Fa'avae]

This stage of the race for us,

we don't really feel like we're racing yet.

We're pretty much just ticking off

the stages.

Our sort of philosophy

in adventure racing is that,

for the first sort of 60 to 70%

of the course,

you've just got to be looking after yourself

and making sure you've got

four healthy people.

Our biggest fear at the moment

is not the other teams at all.

It's the course, and the environment.

[ applause ]

- Hi, guys.

- [ all saying hi ]

Where's the line? Hi!

That's what I'm talkin'. Let's go.

What do you need?

- Food.

- Food! Hungry. Thank you.

[woman] Do you guys have your medallion?

[ cheering and clapping ]

[man] ¡Está bien!

[woman] So, you guys have to stay

for 90 minutes between the two totems.

- Good job!

- [man] Emma!

I'm Emma Roca.

I'm the team captain of Team Summit.

I'm too old.

[woman] No! You are k*lling it, Emma.

- [Emma] No way.

- Yes!

[woman] Emma, we're cheering you on, babe.

No, no. I am better at home

with my three kids, not here.

No more races.

Adventure racing is too hard. [ laughs ]

I have three kids.

I am finishing my PhD in biochemistry.

I have three businesses.

I'm a professional firefighter.

"Don't put me in such stuff."

But then you realize, why not?

I'm clean!

After 30 hours, I'm clean.

It's life, and they have to grow also,

like this,

look and see their parents competing

and having these experiences.

During all the years that I've been

as a firefighter

or competing in many races,

always I was a minority as a woman, always.

There were few women.

From here, I ask more women, more girls,

just to have the opportunity,

if they can be a team captain

in an adventure race like this, why not?

[ cheering ]

My name is Silver Eensaar.

I am team captain of Team Estonian ACE.

- We're satisfied.

- Thank you.

I think we're doing good.

One of the reasons that I got

into adventure racing at all,

Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union,

and we all grew up in the end of occupation.

And in '91, we got freedom.

Then we got some foreign television

and set up satellite television,

and we saw the Eco-Challenge show there.

It was absolutely amazing.

- Jungle leg.

- [woman] Good job, guys.

- Good job.

- Good job.

[Silver] You love it, and you hate it.

This is just a dream race,

because it takes you

into very special places

and puts you

in very especially hard situations.

Wa-ha-ha!

[Grylls] After a brief fuel-up

and resupply, the lead teams press on.

Leg 2 is the jungle leg,

spanning almost 100 kilometers

of Fiji's rugged terrain,

and it will employ three separate

but distinct disciplines.

First, the canyoneering trek

through Waiga Canyon

is a grueling, upriver slog going a distance

of over 12 kilometers.

From there, it's 45 kilometers

paddling down the Wainimala River

on bamboo rafts

built by the teams themselves.

From the rear village, the teams transition

to mountain bikes for their last section,

a 40-kilometer, punishing ride

across the main island,

all the way to Camp 2,

which they must arrive to

by the cutoff time on day 5.

[ guitar playing ]

For the middle-of-the-pack teams,

this won't be today.

[ singing in Fijian ]

Still dealing with leg 1,

most teams are just now making it

to terra firma,

with gratitude and a renewed spirit.

[ men singing ]

- Bula!

- Bula!

[Courtney Home] You know, you come in

off a paddle like that after a long night,

and the first thing here is like

this beautiful, like, harmonious singing.

It's awe-inspiring, you know.

You go down there, and you see their smiles,

and they're so welcoming, like,

a part of you wants to cry,

but then a part of you goes,

"Oh, my gosh, these people are just

some of the most beautiful people

you'll ever meet in the world."

[ cheering ]

[Tyson Mayr] My name's Tyson Mayr,

I'm the team captain of the Mad Mayrs,

and I'm from Australia.

For the past 10 years, I've traveled through

90 different countries,

and I have this community on Instagram.

There's about 85,000 people that get to share

this experience with me.

[ singing ]

The last decade of travel,

there's so many little bits and pieces

that you learn about the way

you deal with locals, you know.

Instead of just rushing past a village,

I'm hoping there's going to be a lot of

little elements like that that will help us.

Bula vinaka!

[all] Bula vinaka!

[ cheering ]

[man off-camera]

Team Stray Dogs, how are you doing?

Pretty good. Yeah.

It's just, it's better to lie down

than stand up, so

[ laughs ]

[ speaking Fijian ]

So, yeah, we've got to figure out some way

for him to snap out of it.

Like, if he just stayed like

there's no way.

We can't pull Dan through Eco-Challenge.

Like it just can't happen.

Like, so, if he doesn't want to race it,

I don't know what to do.

It's really difficult to be, like,

the person in the hole.

And my team has just been taking my weight,

pushing me, pulling me.

I have no idea how they were able to do it.

So, I really tried to, you know, stay focused

on, like, wanting to be out here.

I'm gonna be on the mend

for the rest of the race,

so it's just a question of how to play

the edge between digging myself in,

digging myself out, and performing

to try to get as much ground

under us as possible.

Hey, you did awesome, eh?

- Hunkered down?

- No.

You're good.

That was so hard.

That was hard.

It was a rough, rough paddle

for teammate Sonja.

Super high, and then really, really low.

And when the low hits,

it really affects the team.

I didn't get to, like, barely eat or drink

since we got back on the boats.

I've just been trying to get us

where we needed to go.

We've got to rally and just get her quickly

and high as possibly we can,

because it just-- it hits us all hard.

[Dr. Thorne] We took her temperature.

It's okay at the moment.

We put her in front of the air conditioning.

Put water over her head.

Slightly high heart rate,

feeling a bit dehydrated.

So, we've already discussed with Sonja

about the fact that--

to seek medical attention early

if she starts feeling dizzy at all.

[Sonja] In 2014, I was trying to win

my age group

of the Ironman world championships in Kona.

I had been trying for five years to win.

I had pretty much been sacrificing every

single thing I had in my life to get there.

About two years ago,

everything came to a head,

and I had a panic attack

that sent me to the hospital.

I really went from being one of the top

female Ironman athletes in the world

to in bed for days and weeks at a time,

contemplating ending my life.

We're gettin' there.

We're gettin' there.

[James] She hit the top,

the pinnacle of our sport.

I mean, Kona six times, winning races,

and tops in the world?

That's a big deal,

and then to lose everything mentally,

this race-- I think it's her comeback story.

She's the heart and soul of this team.

Better.

[ dramatic music ]

[Grylls] Just past Camp 1 is the gorgeous

but equally dangerous Waiga Canyon.

The teams are gonna have to make their way

up this river canyon,

14 kilometers of this.

Sometimes up to here.

There are medallions

hidden throughout this course,

and the teams are gonna have to find one

to complete each leg of it.

There you go, medallion number 2.

And with that, they can move on.

[ Fijian singing ]

[Nathan] When we got down to the canyon,

that was amazing.

We were going up there, just blown away.

It was very narrow, it was gorge-y.

We were having to swim in places.

But we were thinking,

this will be epic in here if it rains,

and there'd be no way through.

Like, you just wouldn't be able

to get through there.

[Grylls] Team New Zealand has just found

their medallion

and now must navigate

the tricky and winding terrain

of Waiga Canyon to get out.

Somewhere.

Um somewhere.

Somewhere along here.

Who knows.

[Nathan] You've got to be willing

to take some risks.

I sort of figured, "Well, this is

what we think will be the quickest route.

There's only one way to find out."

So, we just went back to what we normally do.

We got amongst it and went jungle-bashing.

[Grylls] Nathan and his fellow Kiwis

have taken a risk

in popping up above the canyon.

Going off the prescribed path

is an unconventional choice

that could prove costly.

[man off-camera]

Sophie, do you know where you are?

Uh, Fiji.

Definitely Fiji.

There's a big hill up there. Look at it.

[Nathan]

It was quite a thick jungle up there,

and it was quite slow going,

and once we got into the thick of it,

we realized that that probably wasn't

the intended route.

[Grylls] Trailing just moments behind

Team New Zealand,

the pack of lead teams are all neck and neck

as they locate the second medallion

and make their way out of the canyon.

Back on the open water of the ocean leg,

many of the last-place teams

are still struggling with their paddle,

just getting to the first medallion.

And with an incoming tropical storm,

race management steps in to investigate.

Are you guys okay?

[woman] No!

We've been trying to get to that island

since 11:30.

There's a pushing tide, and we can't get

through the pushing tide

sailing, paddling, anything.

Nothing can get us to that island,

and that storm's coming.

Guys, this is the story.

If you want assistance with the boats,

you're all done.

That's the end of the race.

Weather prediction, this wind

is only going to get stronger.

You've got about two hours 'til it gets dark.

How long 'til that gets here?

[man] Your guess is as good as mine.

You guys have got to decide

if you're pulling the plug or not.

We're done.

[Grylls] Sadly, Team Nika is not alone.

Team Peak Traverse also makes the tough call

to remove themselves from open water

before the storm arrives.

Thank you.

Back at checkpoint 8,

Team Bend Racing has completed

the standup paddleboard segment.

They've simultaneously reclaimed

much of Dan's health

while elevating themselves

another eight positions, into 26th place.

Retreat!

Alright!

[Jason] We're just happy to have Dan

feeling a little bit better.

So, as long as he keeps improving,

we're in a good spot.

I'm still quite hot, so I'm still trying

to figure out how to make everything work.

It's been tough for Dan

with the heat both days in a row.

But he loves mountain biking,

so, hopefully, this will help everybody.

Hopefully, we can give him something

to focus on other than his misery,

so he can bounce right out of it.

[Grylls] Done with their trek

around the island of Ovalau,

Team Unbroken has not yet made it back

to the dangerous ocean crossing.

[Gretchen] We've overcome many challenges.

This day and a half

or almost two days, I guess,

on this island, has really-- if nothing else,

has cemented who we are as a team,

and that we're not quitters.

[Grylls] With tomorrow's cutoff

at 4 p.m. looming,

team captain Hal makes another tough call.

We're not going out at night.

We're going to set up camp, get some rest,

and as soon as possible in the morning,

we'll get out there and get going.

So, that's the plan.

Okay.

[Gretchen] This was a hard day today.

It was a hard two days.

So, we're going to get

a good night's sleep tonight,

get up in the morning,

and tackle this ocean again.

I think your decision not to go out

in the dark might be a good one.

Thank you so much.

[Gretchen] We're not going to quit.

Someone's going to have to walk up to us

if that happens and say,

"You have to leave the course."

[ laughs ]

And then, we may even get a little indignant

and try to convince them otherwise.

[Grylls] Unbroken is a full 24 hours

behind the lead teams.

With an overnight on Ovalau,

by the time they make it back

onto open water,

they'll have less than 10 hours

to make it all the way to Camp 1

before tomorrow's 4 p.m. cutoff.

The tropical storm

which has been threatening all day

is beginning to sweep the island.

[ laughter ]

[ children laughing ]

The skies are opening up,

and the torrential rains are making

tough conditions even worse.

Teams are spread out over 100 kilometers

throughout Fiji,

ranging all the way from Ovalau in the east

to the main island's interior

of Waiga Canyon.

[ applause ]

Team Out There has shaved off

almost 90 minutes of their lost time

as they finally arrive to Camp 1.

Their proficiency at riding has helped them

advance their positions three spots,

to 11th place,

and they're now just four hours

behind first place Team New Zealand.

- You okay?

- Yeah.

Good job. Good job.

I know you've had some battles out there.

But you know what?

All I can say, you're gonna make

some mistakes.

We got it out of the way early.

Hopefully, that's all we have.

Good for you. Good for you. 'Cause that is--

You've got to look at it like that,

haven't you?

What did it cost you, 8K?

- Well, it was the time, really.

- How long, do you think?

- Four hours.

- Yeah.

4:00 tomorrow, then it's the cutoff.

They'll either come through here after 4:00

- or we'll hear on the radio

- Right.

maybe they've, you know

They're back a ways?

- But, you know

- A couple hours back.

We'll see.

It's the first time I've really tried to get

all of the support groups together,

because the waiting is really hard,

and really looking out for each other,

and that's a huge part of what

the World's Toughest Race does,

it brings people together.

Who's never done this job

as a support crew tack before?

Okay. It is such a hard job

for you guys here.

You know, the lack of information

is difficult.

The conditions turn, and you think,

"Oh my God, what the hell

are the teams going through?"

But all I say is, this is normal. You know?

This is normal.

You're on the World's Toughest Race.

This is okay.

Alright? In the canyon, around there,

it does get gnarlier.

Okay? I was out there earlier today,

and the water level was like ooh.

to here in some places.

So, the water level will be going up.

But we're monitoring it, and it will be fine.

If it gets to a level where it's dangerous,

we'll assess, and we'll adapt.

3 p.m. tomorrow is the cutoff for being here?

No, 4 p.m.

You know, it feels like a long way away,

but that time will race along, you know?

So, I would say Unbroken will need

a little bit of a miracle.

Despite their navigational struggles,

Team New Zealand is the first to emerge

from Waiga Canyon.

But the lead they had built up

has been reduced to only minutes.

Over the course of the next 10 days,

the lead teams will struggle

with these kind of mistakes,

as their bodies and minds are broken

by the grueling conditions of the race.

On the river's edge here

at Navuniyasi Village,

the teams must now construct

two bamboo rafts

which the locals call "bilibili."

They've been using this mode

of transportation for generations,

and the makeshift pontoons must carry

the teams all the way to the next checkpoint.

[ Fijian song ]

♪♪♪

They said build a raft.

Should be interesting.

- Under this one.

- Oh, like this.

[Grylls] If they choose, the teams can source

the locals' expert knowledge

to assist in building their rafts.

What could go wrong with a few

sticks lashed together?

Yeah. It's going to be fun.

[ cheering ]

[Grylls] The lead teams press on,

under constant threat of being overtaken

by the teams left in their wake.

They've been going strong for over 30 hours,

with almost no sleep and even fewer calories.

And the hunt only intensifies, as they become

more and more depleted.

Emma Roca and her Spanish Team Summit

have overshot the bilibilis by 2 kilometers,

costing them an hour of race time,

as they must now double back up-river.

[Emma] We knew that we had the mistake

with the navigation.

You feel like, "Okay, Emma.

Let's try to gain some 10 minutes?"

Who's going to help me?

Will you help me?

So, I just asked the local people

if they could help us,

and they were happy to answer,

and I said, "Perfect!"

[man] One, two, three, go!

¡Muy bien!

You are strong! My goodness!

¡Muy bien!

[man off-camera]

So, Emma, was it your idea to build them

in the water, as opposed to on the shore?

They say that it's better,

because you can put this rope under the water

and pass through the bamboos.

So very clever.

- Yeah. thing to move.

- [Emma] in the water.

- In the water, yeah.

- [Emma] Because you told me. Yes.

Vinaka!

I know that I love to suffer,

and do the sport, and finish this race

- [man] Go in front.

- More in front?

[man] Yeah, yeah, more, more,

more, more.

[man] More in front. Right!

but, above all, you need these experiences

with the locals,

because you are in a fantastic island

with a people that you will not see

perhaps again.

- Thanks a lot!

- [man] Thanks.

Thank you!

[man] Thank you! Bye-bye!

[ dramatic music ]

[Grylls] Just a few kilometers back

in Waiga Canyon,

the last of the lead teams find themselves

in a precarious situation.

[Silver] Under normal circumstances,

you don't want to go into a canyon with rain,

because the level rises.

And the speed of the water is getting

larger and larger all the time.

It's intense, because you have to watch

your every step,

and then the water

started dramatically to rise,

and then there was nothing to hold onto.

I realized that if we get loose,

then we get swept away downstream.

We decided to camp out

and decide what to do.

In the beginning,

the climbing was manageable.

In a half an hour, the water rose,

and now we're kind of stranded here.

We can't go back, and we can't go forward.

It's about 5:00, and I've been following

the Estonian team.

So, they've set up a tent, but I think

There aren't any other teams coming up,

because it's just gotten too dangerous.

So, we may have to spend the night here.

[Grylls] Race management has been tracking

Team Estonian ACE's GPS transponder

and has sent a chopper to offer assistance.

Delta Echo.

To the guys with the two green bags

will you require a rescue?

Do we need assistance?

Do you need assistance?

Or do you want to try to

We can try, but maybe it

starts raining again, then

This is Pablo. I'm with Team Estonia

and we cannot get to CP11

because it is too dangerous.

So, we'll spend the night

till the water levels go down.

[Silver] At that point, we weren't

in a dangerous place,

and we choose not to airlift us

out of there,

but to just leave us there and wait it out.

They were just taking shelter

under there, under their tarp.

They're relaxed, no waving

or anything. Just a thumbs up.

[man] Copy that.

So we'll stand down on the helicopter rescue.

Standing down.

[Grylls] The bad weather has forced our hand,

and a tough decision has to be made.

Okay, thanks, guys.

Well done gathering everyone.

So, we are going to stop the race

for a few hours

whilst these storm conditions

are coming and going,

because we've got people

spread out in ravines,

on the ocean, in rivers, in jungle,

and if the weather goes the wrong way,

it can turn into a disaster super fast.

So, to get to the next checkpoint,

they're going to be stopped down there,

4 a.m. we reassess everything,

and 90% likely everyone just continues on.

- [ all talking ]

- Okay, good.

Until 4:00, no more moving.

A brief pause in the rain has given them

a small window of escape.

Unaware of the course shutdown,

Silver and his team are going to attempt

to improve their position

and maybe even escape the rising waters.

[Silver] Obviously,

it's a dangerous situation right now.

But this is yeah, this is Eco-Challenge.

Nature kicks in.

Kicks in hard.

[ dramatic music ]

♪♪♪

[ roaring ]