Blackheart lead the race through Midcamp

After the infamous "stinging tree trek" yesterday teams had to complete a 130km mountain bike with a 10km orienteering course toward the end. Teams had to get 5 out of 6 cp's before continuing on to midcamp. I spoke with Ben earlier and he said Blackheart blitzed the orienteering section in about 3.5hrs which was apparently the fastest out of the lead group.

At 6:55am Blackheart arrived at the compulsory 6hr stop at midcamp where they decided to have the stinging tree treatment. I have to quote Kim's race blog entry here along with a photo of Damon's partially waxed legs ... sexy.

CP – 11

Kim here again. I just saw the funniest thing EVER in adventure racing. After spending the night out with our stinging tree injuries we changed our minds and decided to get them treated at mid camp = hydrochloric acid on the wound, and then a wax. The hydrochloric acid stung a bit but no big deal. Damon, Rob and Josh then proceeded to scream like little girls whilst getting their legs waxed. I wish I had a camera …. Anyway, last nights ride was good, particularly the descent down from the orienteer. Now for some sleep

After exactly 6 hrs Blackheart departed with their 2 deflated kayaks, paddles, pfd's, mandatory gear loaded into the compulsory "wheelbarrow" for a 20km push to the start of the paddle leg. Check out Rob's cannons in the photo above - making light work of it! Orion have made up a bit of time during this leg and as I post this the lead look to be about 1hr 15min. More photos coming soon.

Here's a great report on Team Blackheart from Adventure World Magazine.