TEAM Na Mako will bank on their navigational skills and knowledge of the local terrain when they compete against some of the best in the world.
Team captain Tulele Logavatu said they trained over three months for the Eco-Challenge expedition race.
“In terms of dynamics, my strength is in navigation. I have a military background, so we all went through training in navigation and how to survive in the jungle. We have Kim Beckinsale in our team who has 15 years of experience in adventure racing. Eroni Takape is our cycling coach and mechanic then we have Petero Manoa who is the only Fijian to have ever competed in the Iron Man series competition. He last competed last year at Lake Taupo in New Zealand and he was ranked seventh in his age group.”
“This is like the Olympics of adventure racing and we’re competing against record holders. We hope to promote this sport locally and hopefully Fijians can get interested in the sport,” he added.
The Eco-Challenge event requires a racing team of four competitors and it must include at least one member of the opposite sex, plus one assistant crew member.
The race include a variety of non-motorized forms of transportation including outrigger paddling, mountain biking, rappelling, climbing, whitewater rafting, pack rafting and paddle boarding.
Navigation must be done with map and compass only and teams will be required to use expedition problem-solving skills in their quest for the finish line.
Use of smart phones and GPS is not allowed. The race kicked off on Monday.
