Our runners know as soon as they read the race pack that each of them downloads when they first take interest in the event, that not every step of this race takes place in the deep jungle. Today they found out why. Not one of them crossed the line today without a story to tell about the stretch of jungle they passed through today. Slick with mud, chokingly humid, peppered with biting insects, but still utterly beautiful.

Today’s stage started at 0730. The first half of today’s course is a steadily descending half marathon on hard parked roads that wind through local villages. Our corredores are a curiosity for the local population going about their business on a Monday morning. Once they reach CP2, they take a hard left straight into the thick of it. From that point until CP3 they are under the canopy, fighting their way through the mud.

Tonight’s camp is a new addition to the race. Previously we camped outside the ranger station at Tono. Tono Alto is a few kilometres further away but is an obvious improvement on the last camp. 4 rangers, working for the national park, live here and use it as a base of operations. They were kind enough to open up their home to our runners and we are extremely grateful. They even provided a shower for the runners to use, though most elected to head down the nearby river to soak their tired feet instead.

The first runner in was, once again, Jon Shield. Jon blazed through Stage One without seemingly exerting himself. Today, even Jon had to push past the point of comfort to complete the stage. As Jon noted, the jungle section was really tough, but emerging from it onto a sun-baked, exposed, stretch of 4×4 trail was another challenge directly afterwards. Many runners arrived today looking worse for ware and our medics have been keeping a close eye on the shakiest.

The 2nd and 3rd to arrive were Sergey Shcherbakov and Bert Gossey. The first woman over the line was Rebecca Emslie who finished 5 minutes ahead of her running partner from yesterday, Sheila Sanei who claimed 2nd. Rebecca is taking part in her first multi-stage ultra. She crosses the line each day in high spirits and talks energetically about the challenging experiences along the way, but she is clearly not overwhelmed and arrived at the line today in very strong condition. Her lack of experience does not show.

The 3rd woman to arrive at Tono Alto was Veronique Levein who has formed a strong running partnership with Johann Eyolfson,the 2 have supported each other so far almost every step of the way.

Despite the obvious difficulties the runners faced today, all who started finished. Rena Mutaguchi was the last over the line, arriving after dark as the late afternoon rain turned to a downpour.

That downpour has somewhat abated now but the rain is still falling and their hammocks will be tested again tonight.

Tomorrow morning, the runners have a short trek just to reach the unconventional start line. The day begins with a zipwire across a white water river to reach. They’ll travel in small groups and as they reach the other side their start time will be noted and they will head into our brand new Stage Three course.

P.S. 3 more snake sightings today.

Stage Two Times:

Overall Times: