As they approached camp last night, the runners and race team entered the most remote area of this race. Updates are hard to come by from this point but our team in Namibia were able to give us an update on the weather: ‘Stinking hot’.
It reached 53°c on the course and our Race Director and Media Team spent their time scouring the course and dousing all the runners they passed in water to cool them down.
It’s easy to see the short distance on Stage Four and assume it will be an easier day. However, the team in Namibia say that most runners found this short, sharp, shock of a stage to be the toughest test yet.
The results from Stage Four, plus the overall standings, are below. As you can see, Shane Thrower and Steve Williams further tightened their grips on 1st and 2nd positions. Ellie Milnes remains 1st female and is in 3rd overall. However, there are only 22 minutes between Ellie and the runners in 4th and 5th position overall so that spot on the podium will be fiercely fought on Stage Five.
STAGE FOUR RESULTS:
| Position | Race Number | First Name | Surname | Time of Finish | Finish Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | Shane | Thrower | 14:47 | 3:17 |
| 1 | 33 | Steve | Williams | 14:47 | 3:17 |
| 3 | 6 | Ellie | Milnes | 14:56 | 3:26 |
| 3 | 30 | Kim | Mortensen | 14:56 | 3:26 |
| 5 | 5 | Craig | Hamilton-Smith | 15:12 | 3:42 |
| 6 | 22 | Robin | Imthorn | 15:29 | 3:59 |
| 6 | 26 | Sheila | Sanei | 15:29 | 3:59 |
| 8 | 18 | Massimiliano | Augusto | 15:39 | 4:09 |
| 9 | 32 | Ronan | Minvielle | 15:42 | 4:12 |
| 10 | 31 | Sherief | Elabd | 15:44 | 4:14 |
| 11 | 15 | Katie | Hislop | 15:48 | 4:18 |
| 11 | 19 | Muriel | Filliers | 15:48 | 4:18 |
| 13 | 9 | Gary | Chapman | 16:02 | 4:32 |
| 14 | 2 | Andy | Delderfield | 16:17 | 4:47 |
| 14 | 21 | Riana | Scholtz | 16:17 | 4:47 |
| 16 | 8 | Emmanuel | Valenti | 16:19 | 4:49 |
| 17 | 14 | Katherine | Holdstock | 16:22 | 4:52 |
| 18 | 17 | Marie-Louise | Pharaony | 16:27 | 4:57 |
| 19 | 13 | Jules | Bardwell | 16:32 | 5:02 |
| 20 | 11 | Jenny | Hall | 16:33 | 5:03 |
| 20 | 16 | Kenneth | Donaldson | 16:33 | 5:03 |
| 22 | 3 | Barbara | McNulty | 16:36 | 5:06 |
| 23 | 28 | Tanja | Braun | 17:52 | 6:22 |
| 23 | 29 | Yuko | Oe | 17:52 | 6:22 |
| 4 | Calvin | Barnard | DNS | DNF | |
| 12 | Jon | Shield | DNS | DNF | |
| 24 | Sara | Curtin | DNS | DNF | |
| 27 | Silvia | Czaja | DNF | DNF |
OVERALL STANDINGS AFTER STAGE FOUR:
| Position | Gender Position | Race Number | First Name | Surname | STAGE ONE | STAGE TWO | STAGE THREE | STAGE FOUR | TOTAL | DIFFERENCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1st Male | 25 | Shane | Thrower | 6:51 | 6:58 | 5:20 | 3:17 | 22:26 | |
| 2 | 2nd Male | 33 | Steve | Williams | 7:01 | 6:58 | 5:20 | 3:17 | 22:36 | +00:10 |
| 3 | 1st Female | 6 | Ellie | Milnes | 7:48 | 8:09 | 6:29 | 3:26 | 25:52 | +03:26 |
| 4 | 3rd Male | 22 | Robin | Imthorn | 7:49 | 7:47 | 6:23 | 3:59 | 25:58 | +03:32 |
| 5 | 4 | 5 | Craig | Hamilton-Smith | 7:48 | 7:56 | 6:48 | 3:42 | 26:14 | +03:48 |
| 6 | 5 | 32 | Ronan | Minvielle | 7:40 | 8:27 | 6:50 | 4:12 | 27:09 | +04:43 |
| 7 | 2nd Female | 26 | Sheila | Sanei | 8:06 | 8:26 | 6:41 | 3:59 | 27:12 | +04:46 |
| 8 | 6 | 9 | Gary | Chapman | 7:40 | 8:22 | 7:54 | 4:32 | 28:28 | +06:02 |
| 9 | 7 | 31 | Sherief | Elabd | 8:57 | 8:50 | 7:11 | 4:14 | 29:12 | +06:46 |
| 10 | 3rd Female | 19 | Muriel | Filliers | 8:31 | 8:42 | 7:43 | 4:18 | 29:14 | +06:48 |
| 11 | 8 | 18 | Massimiliano | Augusto | 8:54 | 9:55 | 6:48 | 4:09 | 29:46 | +07:20 |
| 12 | 9 | 30 | Kim | Mortensen | 8:22 | 9:50 | 8:11 | 3:26 | 29:49 | +07:23 |
| 13 | 4 | 14 | Katherine | Holdstock | 8:48 | 9:37 | 8:07 | 4:52 | 31:24 | +08:58 |
| 14 | 10 | 13 | Jules | Bardwell | 7:43 | 9:50 | 8:55 | 5:02 | 31:30 | +09:04 |
| 15 | 11 | 16 | Kenneth | Donaldson | 8:54 | 9:20 | 8:18 | 5:03 | 31:35 | +09:09 |
| 16 | 5 | 15 | Katie | Hislop | 9:57 | 9:52 | 8:09 | 4:18 | 32:16 | +09:50 |
| 17 | 12 | 8 | Emmanuel | Valenti | 9:37 | 9:40 | 8:23 | 4:49 | 32:29 | +10:03 |
| 18 | 13 | 2 | Andy | Delderfield | 10:42 | 11:03 | 10:09 | 4:47 | 36:41 | +14:15 |
| 19 | 6 | 21 | Riana | Scholtz | 11:26 | 11:01 | 10:10 | 4:47 | 37:24 | +14:58 |
| 20 | 7 | 11 | Jenny | Hall | 10:02 | 11:13 | 11:09 | 5:03 | 37:27 | +15:01 |
| 21 | 8 | 17 | Marie-Louise | Pharaony | 12:09 | 11:47 | 10:22 | 4:57 | 39:15 | +16:49 |
| 22 | 9 | 28 | Tanja | Braun | 10:43 | 12:17 | 10:27 | 6:22 | 39:49 | +17:23 |
| 23 | 10 | 29 | Yuko | Oe | 11:22 | 12:17 | 11:41 | 6:22 | 41:42 | +19:16 |
| 3 | Barbara | McNulty | DNF | 11:03 | DNF | 5:06 | DNF | DNF | ||
| 4 | Calvin | Barnard | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF | ||
| 12 | Jon | Shield | 5:35 | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF | ||
| 24 | Sara | Curtin | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF | ||
| 27 | Silvia | Czaja | DNF | 9:44 | 8:32 | DNF | DNF | DNF |
