World's Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji (2020) s01e08 Episode Script
The Only Sane Ones Are the Crazy Ones
[ ocean waves ]
[ music ]
HQ HQ This is Team New Zealand.
We're all four in the water.
The boat is semi-submerged.
Advised, it's a Mayday.
The New Zealand guys are in trouble.
So, it looks like their mayday came
from near the finish line, in the water.
So, they're here.
We've got to get them right now.
We have the crews on their way
to your location.
[ radio static ]
[Nathan] Hold the armor, hold the armor.
[man] Marine 5 is on its way.
No sign of the team yet.
Thanks, Marine 5.
Be advised the wind is near 30 knots.
[ motor running ]
[ radio chatter ]
The flares,
the flares are in a ziplock bag
by your front black bag.
[ flare shooting ]
HQ HQ New Zealand.
We can see your boats nearby.
[man] This is Marine 5.
We've spotted New Zealand.
Awesome.
The seas have been quite rough.
The whole boat capsized. Crazy, huh?
Yeah.
Basically, the pin's coming out of the
ama have just come out of the wood.
But we basically just lashed
it back on so it didn't sink.
[Nathan] That was one of
the most extreme things
I've actually done in an adventure race.
You know, with waves breaking over us,
the boat is sinking,
there's stuff floating away.
I'm thinking, "Well, this might be
the end of our race. This is
This is it.
This is the Eco-Challenge for us."
You know, it will finish us, you know,
couple hours from the end of the race.
So, we've brought you
to the closest safest place
that we can relaunch at this time.
We're bringing a replacement boat,
and we're going to, uh,
get you guys back on your way.
[Nathan] With the equipment
that we were supplied,
the organizers had to bid and bring
a replacement boat from the organization.
I mean, you've just had
a near-death experience.
And just to kind of push that aside
and go, "Well, I'm just going
to get straight back out there,"
as if that had never happened, I wouldn't
have been in a state of surprise
if people would have just refused
to get back in the boat.
[Grylls] As management rushes to replace
the race-supplied outrigger
for Team New Zealand,
the Kiwis can only sit and wait,
contemplating whether to get back
on the water at all,
and knowing that Team Canada Adventure
is close behind,
readying to push off
in a boat of their own.
Everything down. Good?
[Bob] You're 100% gonna focus in
on the other teams and try to catch them,
and we knew New Zealand
was gonna be the strongest team.
Okay, so just paddle
Off our feet. We're good.
Hey, guys let's do this quick.
I haven't raced for
six years now, almost,
and this race brought me back
to wanting to redeem myself.
We definitely were chasing New Zealand.
We were moving quite well,
and we kind of knew
that we'd caught up to them again.
We hadn't seen them for a few days,
and we were really jazzed up.
It's expedition racing.
Anything can happen.
[ thunder ]
[Grylls] Across the rest of the course,
teams are attempting to navigate
this brutal Fijian river in the dark.
At 2 a.m., after hours of travel,
Mark of Team Endure dismounts his horse,
because the uneven terrain
has been wreaking havoc on his spine.
[Dannelle] I think he's okay.
We've all gone way downhill
and bounced back, huh, guys?
[Shane] Good job.
Is this the hardest day in your life?
Uh maybe.
It's the hardest day in adventure racing,
that's for sure.
I think we just need to get there and
get dry, get warm, eat, and sleep.
[Grylls] The team is desperately trying
to reach Camp 3
before the afternoon cutoff time,
but Mark's debilitating back pain
has forced them to rest for a few hours
in a nearby village.
I have no intention
of quitting this race.
- We know that, Dad.
- None whatsoever.
We believe in you.
I think he's asleep already,
and he's talking in his sleep.
[ Mark laughs ]
[Grylls] Over a day of racing ahead,
of the towering Vuwa Falls in the dark.
But they're discovering that river travel
past the big climb
hasn't gotten any easier.
Let's go! Be careful be careful.
Hey! We have been going
hard for hours. Slow down.
Being back on that river,
falling and hitting my legs on the rocks,
my legs were starting to swell,
and I was starting to have
a little bit of deja vu.
I had to be evacuated from the course
17 years ago.
One of my main fears
is for any of us to get injured
and not being able to look up
at our kids back home.
I can see on the map the
river gets a little bit narrower.
It's this way?
Are you sure it's that way?
Let's try this way.
Be careful!
[ Jose groans ]
[ breathing heavily ] Whoa.
- Are you okay?
- [Jose] Shubi!
[Nora] Jose fell and hit his head.
Let me just check.
It's not so good, huh?
We couldn't stop
in the middle of the river to sleep,
because it was raining, it was cold.
So, our-- our goal in that stage was just,
"Okay, let's make the next checkpoint,
and then assess the team."
It looks like we've still got
another hour to go.
40 minutes, one hour
to get to the checkpoint.
[ thunder ]
[Grylls] Over 200 kilometers ahead,
Team Canada Adventure is well into
the final paddling leg,
just behind Team New Zealand,
who is rushing to get back onto the water
near the finish line.
Okay, guys, your replacement
outrigger canoe is here.
You're clear to go. So, let's do it.
[Sophie] The four of us were bobbing
around in the ocean at night,
and did get shaken by it.
We just want to go.
But at the same time,
I wanted to finish the race,
and we had no idea
where the Canadians were.
We didn't-- we didn't know
how far back they were,
but by this point, we'd lost three hours,
so we figured that they were going to be
very close.
Should we--
should we push it in the water?
[Nathan] This is a good
lesson for us.
We know there's teams
breathing down our neck.
They're hungry to try and--
try and win the race.
Now it's game on, for sure.
Given how far we've come,
not far to go, is there?
[Bob]
Great, guys, you're making progress.
We were moving really well,
and we'd caught up.
We could see, um, the New Zealand team
across the water,
and we'd been gaining
on them a little bit,
so, we said, "Okay, this is it.
Let's push. Let's see what happens."
Oh, now they think we're gonna win.
Let's go.
Canada!
[Nathan] Keep going
just past where those waves are.
As a species, it wasn't that long ago
we were rummaging around in the jungle
looking for things to eat,
and, you know, modern life has just got
so comfortable.
We actually want to
get out there and suffer
and feel like we are being tested
and feel alive.
Woo!
[ music ]
So, waiting on the finish line.
4:50 a.m.
You can just see
this one boat paddling in.
So, is it going to be the New Zealand
team or the Canadian team?
Woo! Yeah!
[ laughs ]
[ music ]
[ cheering ]
Unbelievable.
Come on up.
You legends.
[ laughs ] You legends.
Good for you.
Oh, my word.
671 kilometers.
Jungles, rivers, oceans, swamps.
Team New Zealand, you have just won
the World's Toughest Race
and the $100,000 prize.
[ cheering ]
This race for me was largely
about winning Eco-Challenge
for my teammates.
It was a bit of a shame
that my teammates
had never really had
that feather in their cap,
and it was just putting together
a really good race
that would hopefully, you know,
earn us the title.
You won this Eco-Challenge
when you were age 30.
You're now age 47.
- [ Sophie laughs ]
- [Grylls] How have you done it so fast?
I think the more you look back
on the race you've done
and experience comes wisdom,
probably more than anything.
And, Sophie, you gave birth
to a little baby--
how many months ago,
nine, ten months ago?
Yeah, nine months.
How do you do that? How do you tr--
How did you train for this?
I had done a lot of racing
up until I took time out to get the kids.
A lot of it is experience.
You know,
everybody's situation is different.
And I hope it makes moms
get back out there again.
It's totally worth it.
Woo hoo! [ pop ] Yay!
[Nathan] There's lots of positive things
to be gained from challenging yourself
and pushing your boundaries
and taking risks.
And, you know, I just really
encourage people to-- to get out there
and find their toughest race,
whatever that may be.
[Grylls] So proud of you.
Team New Zealand is the first
to have crossed the finish line
of the World's Toughest Race.
But the struggling slower teams
didn't enter the race to win.
They came simply to prove to themselves,
family, and friends
that they could finish it.
whose racers are hoping to redefine
their Eco-Challenge legacy.
Now having made it to the checkpoint
just beyond Vuwa Falls,
they wake up after sleeping only 2 hours
and try to decide
whether they're able to continue.
I'm exhausted.
Yeah, it's gonna be walking in the river
for at least, like
It's not too many K's.
It's like around 7 kilometers.
But if we stay here too long,
it's even worse, and we get too cold.
[Shubi] Last night we had the the most
difficult part of the the race.
Going by the river,
there's a lot of slippery boulders.
You cannot see anything, you cannot know
where the river is going.
And we fell a lot.
Jose hit his head.
I hurt my shin.
[Shubi] Nora hurt her leg.
Feeling better?
Everybody's very hurt.
But, uh, I think we can still keep going.
We want to finish the race.
Let's go.
Let's go and be careful.
Guys, we have to get to the end.
[Grylls] Nearly a day behind,
Teams Mad Mayrs and Khukuri Warriors
arrive at Camp 3 at sunrise,
after pushing through the night.
- Welcome, good morning.
- Thank you.
Good morning.
[Nungshi] Getting to camp,
when I saw camp,
there was a different
kind of adrenaline.
We finally did it.
I think I was very emotional.
I was so proud of myself.
I pushed really hard, and I
I just can't wait to see how this unfolds
in the rest of the days to come.
But our spirits are high.
[Courtney] Woo hoo!
[Courtney] We've made it this far.
I was so happy to see those totems,
tell you what.
Seeing those, I was like,
"Okay. I'm here, I'm done."
I kind of, like,
cried on the way down,
'cause the boys were, like,
just ahead of me.
I was like, I am so proud of the boys
for, like, doing what we've just done.
And we get to the totems,
and I'm like, "Okay." [ inhaling ]
"Hold it in. Don't cry. Don't cry.
It's going to be okay."
And I was like, "Yes! We're done!"
Oh! That is good.
[ indistinct chatter ]
Wait. Are you crying?
Is she upset or is she happy?
Are you Oh, are you actually?
Court.
It was just a-- a cry of happiness
and a cry of relief,
and a cry of excitement.
We might finish this race.
I swear, it's a happy cry. It's all good.
[ music ]
[Grylls] Back at the end of the course
on Mana Island,
Team Canada Adventure,
who'd nearly matched
Team New Zealand's relentless pace
of almost a week of racing,
paddles the last kilometer
towards the finish line.
- [ applause ]
- Woo woo!
Wow!
Oh, my goodness.
Team Canada, you've just come second
in the World's Toughest Race.
Respect.
Well done, you guys.
I'd been away for six years
and hadn't participated in these events.
I guess I still wanted to prove to
myself, even all these years later,
come back and still compete with these
guys, and it was really indelible for me.
Did you realize how close you were
to the New Zealands as well?
Not really.
[Grylls]
They were an hour and a half ago.
You were that close.
So, maybe if we weren't stuck
in that current for 2 hours.
I don't want to think about it right now.
The hardest part of the race, for sure.
It's an amazing time, and, I don't know,
maybe it will keep me in it
for a while longer. [ laughs ]
[Grylls] As Team Canada Adventure
continues to celebrate,
Team Gippsland Adventure
makes their way towards the finish line,
just minutes behind.
Come on up.
So, you guys have just earned
a podium finish.
You've come third
in the World's Toughest Race.
Congratulations.
[Rob] It's a dream come true when
you can finally see that finish line.
You're overcome with a lot of emotion.
It is one of the hardest things
I've done in my life.
You're swimming with your pack
through these never-ending pools
of freezing-cold water.
I was able to, um, just get over
those tough moments.
I really sort of grew during the race,
and that's what's made this, um
this race so special.
I like to think we're
one big happy family.
But at least four days of racing away
from the finish line,
Team Stray Dogs, in last place,
is just trying to get to Camp 3
by the 4 p.m. cutoff time.
But Bob has been feeling sick for days,
and now, things are only getting worse.
I've gotta say, this is about as bad
a case of macerated feet I've had.
I know all the descriptive terms for
all these bad things that we're getting.
[ laughs ]
Some local people at the village
were giving us water.
I got a bottle probably filled off a, uh,
you know, rain barrel or a cistern,
and, so, untreated.
And then about four or five hours later,
then I got sick to my stomach,
and that's persisted
through the remainder of the race.
And now, I put myself in the position
of weakest member of the team.
Don't be discouraged, Bob.
You're moving--
you're moving really well.
[Bob] Yeah.
I'm kind of the odd--
Well, I mean,
there's no chance
that I could make the cutoff.
- I mean--
- Sure it is.
But, I mean, I'm moving so slowly.
You know, it is what it is.
I mean, we're together on this thing.
Okay. All right.
But let's-- let's just continue together
until somebody comes over
and taps us on the shoulder
and says, "You're too late"
- Yeah.
- [Marshall] Bob, don't worry about it.
We've gotten this far together,
and, you know,
we'll keep-- just keep doing it.
That's what we do.
You're a Stray Dog, buddy.
Like it or not.
He feels bad that he's holding us back.
That's his perception.
I think, in his head, we don't have
a chance of making the cutoff,
and, you know, he's convinced himself
of a lot of things that
aren't necessarily true.
The thing is, is we're out here together,
and that's-- that's what really counts,
I think to all of us.
[Marshall] Trust me, I'd rather be
out here with you
- Yeah.
- than sitting in a hotel room.
Anyhow, whatever it
whatever it hands us, it does.
[ all chuckle ]
[Grylls] Just a couple of hours ahead,
former Stray Dogs team member Mark Macy,
now of Team Endure,
is waking up and assessing
his team's chances
to make it to Camp 3
by the 4 p.m. cutoff time.
How are you feeling this morning?
Not very good. Back's killing me.
- [woman] Thank you for coming.
- [Mark] Bye-bye.
- Thank you very much.
- [woman] Thank you.
Thank you. You have beautiful children.
- Thank you.
- Yeah, look at those guys.
We got about 11 kilometers,
which seems pretty simple,
but it's up and down and technical,
and, um, a lot of river stuff.
And, um
I I think I truly think we have
a good shot.
One thing I learned from Dad is
you can get better.
Sometimes you it seems that things
will only get worse, and
that's not always the truth, you know?
Well, it's better than last night,
that's for sure.
[Travis] Set that over here.
I feel bad for Mark.
He's having a tough time.
This is a lot for him.
[Shane] Sit down for a minute,
why don't you.
Get your breath.
Psychologically, this is what he wants.
This is what he lives for.
But I feel bad seeing him
suffer like this.
Where's that horse?
180, dude.
I can't turn 180.
Okay, how do I get on this bad boy?
- Hop.
- [Dannelle] Here.
[ guide speaking Fijian ]
Now you want to throw
that leg up and over.
- [Dannelle] He's got it. He's got it.
- This leg.
Getting close.
[ cheering ]
- [ applause ]
- Good job! Good job.
Dad's back is, um really wrecked,
but we know that
we need to move in daylight,
so, if we're gonna make it through this,
we have to keep going, give it our best,
and see what happens.
[Mark] Well, very nice work.
Thank you very much, okay?
[ clapping ]
[Grylls] Now, after resting at Camp 3,
hoping to muster up
some strength to continue,
Team Endure, along with Khukuri Warriors
and Mad Mayrs,
have packed up and are now heading into
the most dangerous and difficult part
of the race.
They'll be trekking across
slippery rocks
to the base of Vuwa Falls,
where they'll have to ascend
the massive waterfall
and then submerge into pools
for an 8-kilometer swim.
It's a bone-chilling section of the course
is just beginning.
So, the superhuman ladies
are hanging on in there.
Can these mothers use that strength
to get through this race,
or is it going to be a heartbreaker
for the Brazilians?
[Karina] There's a lot of water.
Cold.
I was feeling very awful
because my knee is hurting a little bit.
I fell so many times, and my knee,
I don't have any ligaments.
And I have a little bit of arthritis.
It started to swell.
And my other teammate, Nora,
had a lot of bruises everywhere.
Jose, he was struggling a lot.
So, the three of us
were not doing so good.
The best thing for us
is to keep going, and
we're not going to stop now.
[Grylls] As the swimming section
a helicopter prepares to rescue
another team on the river behind them.
[ radio ] HQ, HQ, this is Team 60
on channel 3, calling for help.
Go ahead, Team 60.
We hear you loud and clear.
The injured member is unable
to put weight on a knee at all.
[woman] Copy that.
Busted my knee. Fell in the river.
Landed hard.
Thought it was all right at first,
but I can't stand on it.
Adventure racing does that.
It's a crazy sport, and
if it didn't have that risk
and that adrenaline and and, uh
that wild aspect,
I don't think we'd be doing it.
The helicopter is going
overhead right now.
Okay, we've got you there, mate.
We'll come around.
[Grylls] The dense terrain makes it
impossible for the helicopter to land,
so the pilots make the decision
to evacuate Team Strong Machine
in a rescue basket.
Just 2 kilometers behind on the river,
Team Endure is just starting their
journey into the heart of the racecourse,
knowing that significant risk
awaits them ahead.
[Travis] Getting across, you know,
a river like this,
that's maybe 50 yards with wet rocks
and moss, and it's up to your waist,
that's really hard,
and currently a little bit risky.
I think it would be like last night,
where, you know,
we'll finish well after dark.
You-- you repel or something
down into, like, a canyon,
and then you kind of wallow through this--
[Shane] It's basically a swamp.
Knee-deep to chest-deep.
And giant boulders
that you're trying to get through.
[Mark] Wow, I don't--
You're half swimming,
you're half crawling,
you're half hopping from rocks.
[Travis] Four miles of that in the river.
Four miles in a river?
- [Travis] That's what it looks like.
- Wow.
[Shane] It's a lot.
Jeez.
We're all getting cold, not moving
very quickly to generate body heat.
This is a really risky situation.
And we don't know whether we, as a team,
can make it through this together.
- So, what do you think?
- I guess we go. I don't know.
We're worried about you.
Getting your ass through that.
Well, you know
then we're DQ if I don't do it.
[ helicopter whirring ]
- [Dannelle] They're like flying solo.
- [Travis] Look at that.
[Dannelle] Oh, my God.
[Shane] It's a team.
There's legs sticking out
[Dannelle] There's legs sticking out.
[Mark] You think there's
somebody injured in there, or just
[Travis] Yeah.
[ thunder ]
I'm shak-- I'm shivering.
[ exhales ]
[Grylls] At the end of the swimming
section and in excruciating pain,
seeks medical attention
at the nearby checkpoint.
I have a headache.
[Carachi] You want to get this off?
Who is the team captain here?
- Shubi.
- [Carachi] Shubi. Yeah.
Everybody's kind of injured.
Every-- each of them has a little thing.
- I can't leave it straight.
- [Carachi] Your leg?
[Shubi] Karina's knee is super big,
and Nora has all these cuts and wounds
and all got infected.
And Jose was really cold,
and now he's kind of weak.
This here looks particularly warm.
See, I just wonder if you might have
a bit of cellulitis?
He was, like, shivering the whole time.
Yeah.
I can see him shivering.
- Also, he hit his head around 10 p.m.
- Yeah.
[Thorne] What year is it?
I'm in Eco-Challenge.
[Thorne] What year is it right now?
Uh you're
assisting me.
Okay. Um
Like, I can't say it's done already
but it doesn't look
that we have many chances.
How long have you been suffering for?
Uh, since yesterday.
[Thorne] Yesterday.
[Carachi]
You've got very limited movement.
But do you think if I tape, I can
it goes better?
[Carachi] You can't fully extend.
I don't know what to do.
I'm kind of confused.
I-- I don't know what can happen.
Okay. All right.
But I don't want to drop out the race.
[Carachi] I think you've come
a long way, all right?
You've done exceptionally well.
Obviously, there's a combination of
fatigue, exhaustion, and injuries. Okay?
The infec-- the sepsis
that you've had previously, um
I think we can't go any further.
Yes, Nora.
I-- I think you're probably right.
You can keep
your heads held high
that what you've achieved so far
is phenomenal.
- Yeah.
- [Carachi] All right.
[Thorne] Really great job. [ applause ]
Are you glad you did this again?
I'm not sure.
Uh, yes, I think-- I think
I'm glad I did that again, and, um
Yeah, this time, we went way much further
than we did last time.
But, uh
Yeah. This part of Fiji is pretty rough,
pretty tough,
and the weather didn't help
- Yeah.
- so, we need to look after ourselves.
And, uh, you know,
we need to look after our lives.
Doing this race now, like,
almost 20 years older with a kid at home,
like, I kept thinking about him
during-- like,
I told him that every time I look
at the moon, I would remember him.
[ voice breaking ] And
Uh but it's good,
because we have to go back home healthy
to take care of him, and, you know?
I have someone to look after.
[ music ]
[Aaron] Climbing up the river
is legit hard.
Going over a bunch of huge,
like, slippery, wet rock,
big o' thing, you step about
We were just trying to take it slow,
so we didn't twist anything or
bruise or break an ankle
or anything, so
Wow.
One small thing
and it can be really dangerous.
It's like the worst
I've ever seen in jungle.
Rocks and water it's so damn slippery.
You step on one fricking stone
and it moves.
You take support from the other,
that moves.
It's like you're shifting
all of the time.
Very difficult.
The rocks are super slippery.
[ yelling ]
No, no-- What is it?
I just slipped, and my legs got saved,
but my
fricking chin hit the rock.
Hit her chin on on a rock.
It got a laceration. It's bleeding.
I just hope it's not infected.
[Praveen] We'll get dry. Let's go.
[Grylls] Only a couple of hours behind,
Team Endure's progress in the river
has slowed to a crawl.
You know, I hate to think that
I'm the one who's
wrecking things for you guys.
Dad, you're not wrecking anything.
You're-- you're the one who's made this
an awesome experience for all of us.
[Shane] Don't worry about that part.
You're not letting us down.
I think we all went into it,
just, like, with an open mind of, like,
let's see what happens.
- Yeah.
- [Travis] What do you think? Walk
I mean, I say, right now,
we keep walking, and
- Might as well.
- Let's do it.
- Do the cave?
- Keep rolling.
If I stopped, you know, adventure racing
or ultra running,
or all that other stuff that I do,
my life would be gone.
Anything that happens in life
and anything that happens, you know,
up in these mountains, and
You know, you're sliding around
and falling in mud, and hitting rocks
Yeah, you got you just got to
suck it up and go with it.
My back is bad.
[Shane] He would never stop.
- Three days.
- Three days.
[Shane] He would never stop.
He would crawl up there.
You know that, right?
I don't have any doubt about that.
You said it earlier, you're like,
"He's not gonna stop."
Man, it's hard to walk around.
[ guide speaking Fijian ]
The question is, does he have
the physical tools now, right?
I don't know.
[Travis]
He's still moving forward, and
you know, being around
these kind of races over the years,
I've seen a lot of times
where you look at someone,
and, you know, clearly, it's like,
"Shit. That person
should not be moving forward."
And they still are.
You know, I'm not surprised.
This is what he does.
- This has been incredible.
- Oh, yeah.
You know, we've made it seven days
through all this stuff.
Yeah.
I mean, I truly have had
one of the best weeks of my life.
- [Shane] You've got to tell him that.
- Yeah. I will.
All right, buddy. Let's do it.
Yep. Well
[Grylls] Just 7 kilometers ahead upriver,
at the top of the Vuwa Falls,
is Team East Wind of Japan,
whose captain, Masato,
has adventure raced for 25 years
and participated in five Eco-Challenges.
But now, his team is waking up
from a hellish night,
after walking 12 extra hours
while lost on the river,
and they're facing the difficult decision
of whether they should
or even can continue this race.
She and he, foot is padded foot,
like trench foot.
So
Skin is breaking down.
So
No recover.
We should call for help.
I'll radio.
It's very hard.
Can't keep racing.
Headquarters, headquarters
this is Team 31,
East Wind, calling for help.
[ radio static ]
Go ahead, 31. We hear you loud and clear.
Uh
My team member
two team members
has a trench foot.
Can't
Cannot walk.
So, I decided, uh
we dry out, breathe,
pick up my team in the helicopter.
copy. You need a helicopter.
Do you know your location now?
My location is top of the waterfalls.
Recorded, copy that.
HQ, HQ copy on the heli.
Top of Vuwa.
Number four. Highland.
[ laughs ]
Our last medallion.
[Grylls]
Back 22 kilometers short of Camp 3,
Team Stray Dogs has only 6 hours
before the cutoff time,
and Bob's energy level has plummeted.
The team is barely moving,
so they're exploring a local village,
desperate for a solution.
So, we're interested in getting a horse
to go to, uh Lutu.
And you can take our backpacks?
- Yeah.
- Yes? [ rooster crows ] Okay.
Looks like we're going off road with
multiple river crossings.
With our faithful horse carrying our bags
and Mark, our trusty guide.
I am the slowest
member of the team, and
if I had just paused at that time I drank
that tainted water
That was a very crucial moment
in the race for me,
and I should have known better.
[ music ]
[Marshall] Doctor Bob is one of
the toughest human beings.
I think he's the toughest human being
out here.
But he was just suffering greatly,
and sweat was just pouring down him.
He just motored through it,
wouldn't say a thing, very quiet,
and so we finally threw Doctor Bob
on the horse, and,
you know, he became a cowboy for,
you know, a limited amount of time.
[guide] Okay, let's go.
He's pretty good at it, actually.
And the color started coming back
in his face too, so,
we began to, uh,
recognize him as Doctor Bob.
We're making our way
up this very muddy, narrow jungle trail.
And, basically, it's quarter to 11.
The cutoff is 4:00, so we've got
five and a quarter hours,
and it's about, uh, 18K, I'd say, so,
we have some chances of making it, but
everything depends on
the state of the trail.
[Grylls] 33 kilometers head,
past Camp 3 and Vuwa Falls,
Team Iron Cowboy
has finally reached the checkpoint
below the difficult section of
climbing up the enormous wall.
It's been taking folks that are tired,
in the dark, around 5 hours.
- To ascend?
- Yeah.
- [Sonja] Is it navigable in the dark?
- It is.
I mean, with a headlamp,
you just follow the ropes.
Um, but it's certainly easier
in the daylight.
- Yeah.
- It's just
It all depends on how much
big wall climbing you've done.
- Yeah.
- It's a lot of little overhangs.
- [Sonja] You have to push your over.
- Yeah. It can just be really challenging.
[Sonja] I was put on this planet
to do hard things.
It's in my core, it's in my bones,
it's in my blood.
I know when I'm out here,
there's no reason not to believe
that I am capable.
- I think we got it.
- Are we all for sure now?
- Yeah.
- We're gonna go for it.
Thank you.
[James] We've never done
something like this. No experience.
We've never done
an adventure race before.
But I'm not super intimidated.
I'm excited.
Hey, guys, let's just be patient.
Take it one section at a time.
Pretty much everything on the race
we're doing for the first time.
So, this is very, very new to us.
You got it, Sonja?
The course is relentless,
so every step is a victory.
We're a gritty--
a gritty little group here.
[Grylls] Just an hour behind,
the Khukuri Warriors and Mad Mayrs
have also arrived at the base
of the Vuwa Falls.
Fuel up, get in a good rest
before you hit the falls,
because once you're on there,
you're kind of just on the ropes.
There's not great places to rest.
And then the weather, you know,
it's about a thousand feet above
where we are down here.
It's quite a bit windier
and quite a bit colder.
I don't think we should
go up, personally.
Because we'll get hypothermic.
Plain and simple.
So, let's do the five-hour
climb early tomorrow morning.
I feel like I could do it,
but it would not be enjoyable, man.
And we only got 30 minutes' sleep
last night.
You guys are welcome to camp
anywhere between here and there.
We're sharing with Team India tonight,
and there's not that much floor space,
but it should be a fun experience
here in the jungle.
[Grylls] While Khukuri Warriors
and Mad Mayrs
head to bed for the night,
trailing just behind is Team Endure,
still struggling to get to the falls.
I've lost my sense of balance
that I've always had,
running around rocks and stuff.
I've been running around rocks and
you know, for years and years and years.
And I was thinking,
"What what's happening?"
I don't know if it's my Alzheimer's or
maybe it is.
Or maybe it's just age.
I think that's probably the case,
Alzheimer's aside.
[Mark] For every athlete, a time comes
Gordie Howe and John Elway
and Joe Namath--
can't leave out Joe Namath--
and time comes.
You know, over the last several days,
I've been unable to keep up with
with you guys,
which is something that
not too long ago would have been easy
for me to do.
I think what's happening is like
the visual/spatial challenges
with Alzheimer's,
like, I think, it's
unless you're balancing,
some of the stuff's just not
coming through.
Like, I don't think you're seeing,
you know,
all the rocks and-- and the roots and
Yeah. That's what it is,
ultimately, that
ultimately that this is--
this is gonna progress,
and I have no idea
what's gonna happen.
Remember when I came here?
I had no idea what was gonna happen.
And I still don't know
what's going to happen.
You did an awesome job.
- You know?
- [Dannelle] Unreal.
You've-- you've made it through
seven and a half days of this.
Unreal.
We faced uncertainty, and, you know
You're right, Dad.
We will face more of it.
We can go in together as a family
and you know?
We can handle anything that comes.
'Cause we're in it together, you know?
I mean, seriously, Dad.
[ sniffs ] It's
You did awesome, Dad.
I love you so much
and I'm so proud of you, Dad.
You know I'm proud of you, Trav,
and I love you.
[ Travis crying ]
When Dad was first diagnosed
with Alzheimer's,
he said, "You know, my greatest fear
with Alzheimer's is that my grandkids
[ voice breaking ]
won't remember who I truly am. [ sniffs ]
And, you know what, Dad?
Your-- your grandkids are going to know
exactly who you are.
I promise you that.
And I will make sure that they know, Dad.
I'm gonna tell them
what their Grandpa did.
And-- and who he was,
and they're gonna be proud,
just like I am.
It's hard for me to quit something,
because I have never quit before.
Dad, it's not-- this is not quitting.
This is going on with living fully.
That's what we're gonna keep doing.
[Travis] Our family has, um,
an uncertain future,
especially when you look at something
like Alzheimer's, where
we don't know the timeline.
We don't know what's gonna happen.
You know?
We really don't know,
and all we know is [ sniffs ]
that we are in it together.
We are a team, and we are gonna
take on, um, whatever comes.
And doing this race,
this has empowered me
to know I'm--
I'm ready to take that role.
HQ, HQ, Team 52 here.
[woman] Go ahead, Team 52.
Uh, we have decided that going
to the ropes and canyons
is not a good choice for our team.
Copy that. Heading back to Camp 3.
And I want to let anyone know
who's listening how proud I am of my dad
and how much I love him.
It's been awesome, Dad.
That's awesome, you guys. Great job.
Thank you. Over.
[Travis] As a son, you know,
I do have a responsibility
to make sure he remembers this stuff.
[ voice breaking ] And for him to know
that he got out there with me
in the jungle, in Fiji,
for seven days,
and did a whole bunch
of really hard stuff.
That's the story I'm gonna tell him.
[ guides speaking Fijian ]
How far until we get
to the start of the road?
6K.
So, it's 6K to the start of this road,
and then it's about 2 and a half K
from there.
[ helicopter whirring ]
[ horse whinnies ]
- I thought we were going to make it.
- I did too.
I feel like some sort of time warp
happened or something.
I don't know where we lost time.
- So, it's getting dark.
- Yeah.
Getting close to 4:00 now, so
- Yeah, we
- It's not mathematically possible.
So, we're gonna give you guys a lift
back up to Camp three there.
I'll take two of you guys at first
and then come back and
do the rest of the group.
Okay.
I can sit here and say,
we gave it our best shot.
I'm very thankful to be able
to get as far as we did.
I'm very proud of that,
especially at our age.
So, we'll take Bob, and you're going
to come with me as well?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
[Marshall] I think we're probably
the oldest adventure racing team
on the planet.
[Bob] This could be the last big
adventure race for the Stray Dogs, but
we will still continue to be best friends
through thick and thin,
and this will stick with me forever.
I mean, uh I'll bore my grandchildren
'til the cows come home with stories of
Eco-Challenge Fiji.
I saw about half of this racecourse,
and it was pretty dang tough.
It's easy to say you've got to be crazy
to do this, but my wife likes to say,
"The only sane ones are the crazy ones."
And I think she may have a point.
I think this is the most sensible thing
to do with your time.
You experience life
to a much greater degree,
and, uh
I enjoy it and think it's worthwhile.
You made history.
- Made history, yeah?
- Yeah.
I'd say so.
Marshall's right over there, Dad.
Yeah, he's been waiting on you.
Hi.
[Marshall] Aw, Jesus.
[ laughs ] What? How's it going?
[Marshall] Oh, it's going all right.
- You guys still in?
- No.
Yeah, we're not either.
Oh, man, you look like shit.
[ both laughing ]
Mark and I used to joke about,
if something happened to one of us,
just like it's happening to Mark,
where we have a dementia or something,
one would take the other one out into
the woods after they've totally lost it
and just leave him.
And that's how we wanted to go.
And I can't do that.
It's I thought, "How silly for us
to think that."
We missed the cutoff.
We were about 4 miles out or so.
So, the difference is, is they came out
and picked us up with the helicopter.
Did you go-- Is that you that
That's how connected we are,
and that's how much
doing things like this means to us.
It, uh, enriches our lives,
it enriches our experience,
it enriches the bond that we have.
When they say "unbreakable,"
people speak casually about that.
I'm not speaking casually about it.
It's unbreakable.
[Travis] I-- I had a blast being out here
with both of you guys.
It meant a whole lot.
Thank you. Thank you both.
I mean, seriously.
[Marshall] Man, I love you guys.
- [Travis] Love you too, buddy.
- [Mark] This is good.
We've got a whole lot of stories to
share, as I know you guys do too.
[ music ]
[ roaring ]
[ music ]
HQ HQ This is Team New Zealand.
We're all four in the water.
The boat is semi-submerged.
Advised, it's a Mayday.
The New Zealand guys are in trouble.
So, it looks like their mayday came
from near the finish line, in the water.
So, they're here.
We've got to get them right now.
We have the crews on their way
to your location.
[ radio static ]
[Nathan] Hold the armor, hold the armor.
[man] Marine 5 is on its way.
No sign of the team yet.
Thanks, Marine 5.
Be advised the wind is near 30 knots.
[ motor running ]
[ radio chatter ]
The flares,
the flares are in a ziplock bag
by your front black bag.
[ flare shooting ]
HQ HQ New Zealand.
We can see your boats nearby.
[man] This is Marine 5.
We've spotted New Zealand.
Awesome.
The seas have been quite rough.
The whole boat capsized. Crazy, huh?
Yeah.
Basically, the pin's coming out of the
ama have just come out of the wood.
But we basically just lashed
it back on so it didn't sink.
[Nathan] That was one of
the most extreme things
I've actually done in an adventure race.
You know, with waves breaking over us,
the boat is sinking,
there's stuff floating away.
I'm thinking, "Well, this might be
the end of our race. This is
This is it.
This is the Eco-Challenge for us."
You know, it will finish us, you know,
couple hours from the end of the race.
So, we've brought you
to the closest safest place
that we can relaunch at this time.
We're bringing a replacement boat,
and we're going to, uh,
get you guys back on your way.
[Nathan] With the equipment
that we were supplied,
the organizers had to bid and bring
a replacement boat from the organization.
I mean, you've just had
a near-death experience.
And just to kind of push that aside
and go, "Well, I'm just going
to get straight back out there,"
as if that had never happened, I wouldn't
have been in a state of surprise
if people would have just refused
to get back in the boat.
[Grylls] As management rushes to replace
the race-supplied outrigger
for Team New Zealand,
the Kiwis can only sit and wait,
contemplating whether to get back
on the water at all,
and knowing that Team Canada Adventure
is close behind,
readying to push off
in a boat of their own.
Everything down. Good?
[Bob] You're 100% gonna focus in
on the other teams and try to catch them,
and we knew New Zealand
was gonna be the strongest team.
Okay, so just paddle
Off our feet. We're good.
Hey, guys let's do this quick.
I haven't raced for
six years now, almost,
and this race brought me back
to wanting to redeem myself.
We definitely were chasing New Zealand.
We were moving quite well,
and we kind of knew
that we'd caught up to them again.
We hadn't seen them for a few days,
and we were really jazzed up.
It's expedition racing.
Anything can happen.
[ thunder ]
[Grylls] Across the rest of the course,
teams are attempting to navigate
this brutal Fijian river in the dark.
At 2 a.m., after hours of travel,
Mark of Team Endure dismounts his horse,
because the uneven terrain
has been wreaking havoc on his spine.
[Dannelle] I think he's okay.
We've all gone way downhill
and bounced back, huh, guys?
[Shane] Good job.
Is this the hardest day in your life?
Uh maybe.
It's the hardest day in adventure racing,
that's for sure.
I think we just need to get there and
get dry, get warm, eat, and sleep.
[Grylls] The team is desperately trying
to reach Camp 3
before the afternoon cutoff time,
but Mark's debilitating back pain
has forced them to rest for a few hours
in a nearby village.
I have no intention
of quitting this race.
- We know that, Dad.
- None whatsoever.
We believe in you.
I think he's asleep already,
and he's talking in his sleep.
[ Mark laughs ]
[Grylls] Over a day of racing ahead,
of the towering Vuwa Falls in the dark.
But they're discovering that river travel
past the big climb
hasn't gotten any easier.
Let's go! Be careful be careful.
Hey! We have been going
hard for hours. Slow down.
Being back on that river,
falling and hitting my legs on the rocks,
my legs were starting to swell,
and I was starting to have
a little bit of deja vu.
I had to be evacuated from the course
17 years ago.
One of my main fears
is for any of us to get injured
and not being able to look up
at our kids back home.
I can see on the map the
river gets a little bit narrower.
It's this way?
Are you sure it's that way?
Let's try this way.
Be careful!
[ Jose groans ]
[ breathing heavily ] Whoa.
- Are you okay?
- [Jose] Shubi!
[Nora] Jose fell and hit his head.
Let me just check.
It's not so good, huh?
We couldn't stop
in the middle of the river to sleep,
because it was raining, it was cold.
So, our-- our goal in that stage was just,
"Okay, let's make the next checkpoint,
and then assess the team."
It looks like we've still got
another hour to go.
40 minutes, one hour
to get to the checkpoint.
[ thunder ]
[Grylls] Over 200 kilometers ahead,
Team Canada Adventure is well into
the final paddling leg,
just behind Team New Zealand,
who is rushing to get back onto the water
near the finish line.
Okay, guys, your replacement
outrigger canoe is here.
You're clear to go. So, let's do it.
[Sophie] The four of us were bobbing
around in the ocean at night,
and did get shaken by it.
We just want to go.
But at the same time,
I wanted to finish the race,
and we had no idea
where the Canadians were.
We didn't-- we didn't know
how far back they were,
but by this point, we'd lost three hours,
so we figured that they were going to be
very close.
Should we--
should we push it in the water?
[Nathan] This is a good
lesson for us.
We know there's teams
breathing down our neck.
They're hungry to try and--
try and win the race.
Now it's game on, for sure.
Given how far we've come,
not far to go, is there?
[Bob]
Great, guys, you're making progress.
We were moving really well,
and we'd caught up.
We could see, um, the New Zealand team
across the water,
and we'd been gaining
on them a little bit,
so, we said, "Okay, this is it.
Let's push. Let's see what happens."
Oh, now they think we're gonna win.
Let's go.
Canada!
[Nathan] Keep going
just past where those waves are.
As a species, it wasn't that long ago
we were rummaging around in the jungle
looking for things to eat,
and, you know, modern life has just got
so comfortable.
We actually want to
get out there and suffer
and feel like we are being tested
and feel alive.
Woo!
[ music ]
So, waiting on the finish line.
4:50 a.m.
You can just see
this one boat paddling in.
So, is it going to be the New Zealand
team or the Canadian team?
Woo! Yeah!
[ laughs ]
[ music ]
[ cheering ]
Unbelievable.
Come on up.
You legends.
[ laughs ] You legends.
Good for you.
Oh, my word.
671 kilometers.
Jungles, rivers, oceans, swamps.
Team New Zealand, you have just won
the World's Toughest Race
and the $100,000 prize.
[ cheering ]
This race for me was largely
about winning Eco-Challenge
for my teammates.
It was a bit of a shame
that my teammates
had never really had
that feather in their cap,
and it was just putting together
a really good race
that would hopefully, you know,
earn us the title.
You won this Eco-Challenge
when you were age 30.
You're now age 47.
- [ Sophie laughs ]
- [Grylls] How have you done it so fast?
I think the more you look back
on the race you've done
and experience comes wisdom,
probably more than anything.
And, Sophie, you gave birth
to a little baby--
how many months ago,
nine, ten months ago?
Yeah, nine months.
How do you do that? How do you tr--
How did you train for this?
I had done a lot of racing
up until I took time out to get the kids.
A lot of it is experience.
You know,
everybody's situation is different.
And I hope it makes moms
get back out there again.
It's totally worth it.
Woo hoo! [ pop ] Yay!
[Nathan] There's lots of positive things
to be gained from challenging yourself
and pushing your boundaries
and taking risks.
And, you know, I just really
encourage people to-- to get out there
and find their toughest race,
whatever that may be.
[Grylls] So proud of you.
Team New Zealand is the first
to have crossed the finish line
of the World's Toughest Race.
But the struggling slower teams
didn't enter the race to win.
They came simply to prove to themselves,
family, and friends
that they could finish it.
whose racers are hoping to redefine
their Eco-Challenge legacy.
Now having made it to the checkpoint
just beyond Vuwa Falls,
they wake up after sleeping only 2 hours
and try to decide
whether they're able to continue.
I'm exhausted.
Yeah, it's gonna be walking in the river
for at least, like
It's not too many K's.
It's like around 7 kilometers.
But if we stay here too long,
it's even worse, and we get too cold.
[Shubi] Last night we had the the most
difficult part of the the race.
Going by the river,
there's a lot of slippery boulders.
You cannot see anything, you cannot know
where the river is going.
And we fell a lot.
Jose hit his head.
I hurt my shin.
[Shubi] Nora hurt her leg.
Feeling better?
Everybody's very hurt.
But, uh, I think we can still keep going.
We want to finish the race.
Let's go.
Let's go and be careful.
Guys, we have to get to the end.
[Grylls] Nearly a day behind,
Teams Mad Mayrs and Khukuri Warriors
arrive at Camp 3 at sunrise,
after pushing through the night.
- Welcome, good morning.
- Thank you.
Good morning.
[Nungshi] Getting to camp,
when I saw camp,
there was a different
kind of adrenaline.
We finally did it.
I think I was very emotional.
I was so proud of myself.
I pushed really hard, and I
I just can't wait to see how this unfolds
in the rest of the days to come.
But our spirits are high.
[Courtney] Woo hoo!
[Courtney] We've made it this far.
I was so happy to see those totems,
tell you what.
Seeing those, I was like,
"Okay. I'm here, I'm done."
I kind of, like,
cried on the way down,
'cause the boys were, like,
just ahead of me.
I was like, I am so proud of the boys
for, like, doing what we've just done.
And we get to the totems,
and I'm like, "Okay." [ inhaling ]
"Hold it in. Don't cry. Don't cry.
It's going to be okay."
And I was like, "Yes! We're done!"
Oh! That is good.
[ indistinct chatter ]
Wait. Are you crying?
Is she upset or is she happy?
Are you Oh, are you actually?
Court.
It was just a-- a cry of happiness
and a cry of relief,
and a cry of excitement.
We might finish this race.
I swear, it's a happy cry. It's all good.
[ music ]
[Grylls] Back at the end of the course
on Mana Island,
Team Canada Adventure,
who'd nearly matched
Team New Zealand's relentless pace
of almost a week of racing,
paddles the last kilometer
towards the finish line.
- [ applause ]
- Woo woo!
Wow!
Oh, my goodness.
Team Canada, you've just come second
in the World's Toughest Race.
Respect.
Well done, you guys.
I'd been away for six years
and hadn't participated in these events.
I guess I still wanted to prove to
myself, even all these years later,
come back and still compete with these
guys, and it was really indelible for me.
Did you realize how close you were
to the New Zealands as well?
Not really.
[Grylls]
They were an hour and a half ago.
You were that close.
So, maybe if we weren't stuck
in that current for 2 hours.
I don't want to think about it right now.
The hardest part of the race, for sure.
It's an amazing time, and, I don't know,
maybe it will keep me in it
for a while longer. [ laughs ]
[Grylls] As Team Canada Adventure
continues to celebrate,
Team Gippsland Adventure
makes their way towards the finish line,
just minutes behind.
Come on up.
So, you guys have just earned
a podium finish.
You've come third
in the World's Toughest Race.
Congratulations.
[Rob] It's a dream come true when
you can finally see that finish line.
You're overcome with a lot of emotion.
It is one of the hardest things
I've done in my life.
You're swimming with your pack
through these never-ending pools
of freezing-cold water.
I was able to, um, just get over
those tough moments.
I really sort of grew during the race,
and that's what's made this, um
this race so special.
I like to think we're
one big happy family.
But at least four days of racing away
from the finish line,
Team Stray Dogs, in last place,
is just trying to get to Camp 3
by the 4 p.m. cutoff time.
But Bob has been feeling sick for days,
and now, things are only getting worse.
I've gotta say, this is about as bad
a case of macerated feet I've had.
I know all the descriptive terms for
all these bad things that we're getting.
[ laughs ]
Some local people at the village
were giving us water.
I got a bottle probably filled off a, uh,
you know, rain barrel or a cistern,
and, so, untreated.
And then about four or five hours later,
then I got sick to my stomach,
and that's persisted
through the remainder of the race.
And now, I put myself in the position
of weakest member of the team.
Don't be discouraged, Bob.
You're moving--
you're moving really well.
[Bob] Yeah.
I'm kind of the odd--
Well, I mean,
there's no chance
that I could make the cutoff.
- I mean--
- Sure it is.
But, I mean, I'm moving so slowly.
You know, it is what it is.
I mean, we're together on this thing.
Okay. All right.
But let's-- let's just continue together
until somebody comes over
and taps us on the shoulder
and says, "You're too late"
- Yeah.
- [Marshall] Bob, don't worry about it.
We've gotten this far together,
and, you know,
we'll keep-- just keep doing it.
That's what we do.
You're a Stray Dog, buddy.
Like it or not.
He feels bad that he's holding us back.
That's his perception.
I think, in his head, we don't have
a chance of making the cutoff,
and, you know, he's convinced himself
of a lot of things that
aren't necessarily true.
The thing is, is we're out here together,
and that's-- that's what really counts,
I think to all of us.
[Marshall] Trust me, I'd rather be
out here with you
- Yeah.
- than sitting in a hotel room.
Anyhow, whatever it
whatever it hands us, it does.
[ all chuckle ]
[Grylls] Just a couple of hours ahead,
former Stray Dogs team member Mark Macy,
now of Team Endure,
is waking up and assessing
his team's chances
to make it to Camp 3
by the 4 p.m. cutoff time.
How are you feeling this morning?
Not very good. Back's killing me.
- [woman] Thank you for coming.
- [Mark] Bye-bye.
- Thank you very much.
- [woman] Thank you.
Thank you. You have beautiful children.
- Thank you.
- Yeah, look at those guys.
We got about 11 kilometers,
which seems pretty simple,
but it's up and down and technical,
and, um, a lot of river stuff.
And, um
I I think I truly think we have
a good shot.
One thing I learned from Dad is
you can get better.
Sometimes you it seems that things
will only get worse, and
that's not always the truth, you know?
Well, it's better than last night,
that's for sure.
[Travis] Set that over here.
I feel bad for Mark.
He's having a tough time.
This is a lot for him.
[Shane] Sit down for a minute,
why don't you.
Get your breath.
Psychologically, this is what he wants.
This is what he lives for.
But I feel bad seeing him
suffer like this.
Where's that horse?
180, dude.
I can't turn 180.
Okay, how do I get on this bad boy?
- Hop.
- [Dannelle] Here.
[ guide speaking Fijian ]
Now you want to throw
that leg up and over.
- [Dannelle] He's got it. He's got it.
- This leg.
Getting close.
[ cheering ]
- [ applause ]
- Good job! Good job.
Dad's back is, um really wrecked,
but we know that
we need to move in daylight,
so, if we're gonna make it through this,
we have to keep going, give it our best,
and see what happens.
[Mark] Well, very nice work.
Thank you very much, okay?
[ clapping ]
[Grylls] Now, after resting at Camp 3,
hoping to muster up
some strength to continue,
Team Endure, along with Khukuri Warriors
and Mad Mayrs,
have packed up and are now heading into
the most dangerous and difficult part
of the race.
They'll be trekking across
slippery rocks
to the base of Vuwa Falls,
where they'll have to ascend
the massive waterfall
and then submerge into pools
for an 8-kilometer swim.
It's a bone-chilling section of the course
is just beginning.
So, the superhuman ladies
are hanging on in there.
Can these mothers use that strength
to get through this race,
or is it going to be a heartbreaker
for the Brazilians?
[Karina] There's a lot of water.
Cold.
I was feeling very awful
because my knee is hurting a little bit.
I fell so many times, and my knee,
I don't have any ligaments.
And I have a little bit of arthritis.
It started to swell.
And my other teammate, Nora,
had a lot of bruises everywhere.
Jose, he was struggling a lot.
So, the three of us
were not doing so good.
The best thing for us
is to keep going, and
we're not going to stop now.
[Grylls] As the swimming section
a helicopter prepares to rescue
another team on the river behind them.
[ radio ] HQ, HQ, this is Team 60
on channel 3, calling for help.
Go ahead, Team 60.
We hear you loud and clear.
The injured member is unable
to put weight on a knee at all.
[woman] Copy that.
Busted my knee. Fell in the river.
Landed hard.
Thought it was all right at first,
but I can't stand on it.
Adventure racing does that.
It's a crazy sport, and
if it didn't have that risk
and that adrenaline and and, uh
that wild aspect,
I don't think we'd be doing it.
The helicopter is going
overhead right now.
Okay, we've got you there, mate.
We'll come around.
[Grylls] The dense terrain makes it
impossible for the helicopter to land,
so the pilots make the decision
to evacuate Team Strong Machine
in a rescue basket.
Just 2 kilometers behind on the river,
Team Endure is just starting their
journey into the heart of the racecourse,
knowing that significant risk
awaits them ahead.
[Travis] Getting across, you know,
a river like this,
that's maybe 50 yards with wet rocks
and moss, and it's up to your waist,
that's really hard,
and currently a little bit risky.
I think it would be like last night,
where, you know,
we'll finish well after dark.
You-- you repel or something
down into, like, a canyon,
and then you kind of wallow through this--
[Shane] It's basically a swamp.
Knee-deep to chest-deep.
And giant boulders
that you're trying to get through.
[Mark] Wow, I don't--
You're half swimming,
you're half crawling,
you're half hopping from rocks.
[Travis] Four miles of that in the river.
Four miles in a river?
- [Travis] That's what it looks like.
- Wow.
[Shane] It's a lot.
Jeez.
We're all getting cold, not moving
very quickly to generate body heat.
This is a really risky situation.
And we don't know whether we, as a team,
can make it through this together.
- So, what do you think?
- I guess we go. I don't know.
We're worried about you.
Getting your ass through that.
Well, you know
then we're DQ if I don't do it.
[ helicopter whirring ]
- [Dannelle] They're like flying solo.
- [Travis] Look at that.
[Dannelle] Oh, my God.
[Shane] It's a team.
There's legs sticking out
[Dannelle] There's legs sticking out.
[Mark] You think there's
somebody injured in there, or just
[Travis] Yeah.
[ thunder ]
I'm shak-- I'm shivering.
[ exhales ]
[Grylls] At the end of the swimming
section and in excruciating pain,
seeks medical attention
at the nearby checkpoint.
I have a headache.
[Carachi] You want to get this off?
Who is the team captain here?
- Shubi.
- [Carachi] Shubi. Yeah.
Everybody's kind of injured.
Every-- each of them has a little thing.
- I can't leave it straight.
- [Carachi] Your leg?
[Shubi] Karina's knee is super big,
and Nora has all these cuts and wounds
and all got infected.
And Jose was really cold,
and now he's kind of weak.
This here looks particularly warm.
See, I just wonder if you might have
a bit of cellulitis?
He was, like, shivering the whole time.
Yeah.
I can see him shivering.
- Also, he hit his head around 10 p.m.
- Yeah.
[Thorne] What year is it?
I'm in Eco-Challenge.
[Thorne] What year is it right now?
Uh you're
assisting me.
Okay. Um
Like, I can't say it's done already
but it doesn't look
that we have many chances.
How long have you been suffering for?
Uh, since yesterday.
[Thorne] Yesterday.
[Carachi]
You've got very limited movement.
But do you think if I tape, I can
it goes better?
[Carachi] You can't fully extend.
I don't know what to do.
I'm kind of confused.
I-- I don't know what can happen.
Okay. All right.
But I don't want to drop out the race.
[Carachi] I think you've come
a long way, all right?
You've done exceptionally well.
Obviously, there's a combination of
fatigue, exhaustion, and injuries. Okay?
The infec-- the sepsis
that you've had previously, um
I think we can't go any further.
Yes, Nora.
I-- I think you're probably right.
You can keep
your heads held high
that what you've achieved so far
is phenomenal.
- Yeah.
- [Carachi] All right.
[Thorne] Really great job. [ applause ]
Are you glad you did this again?
I'm not sure.
Uh, yes, I think-- I think
I'm glad I did that again, and, um
Yeah, this time, we went way much further
than we did last time.
But, uh
Yeah. This part of Fiji is pretty rough,
pretty tough,
and the weather didn't help
- Yeah.
- so, we need to look after ourselves.
And, uh, you know,
we need to look after our lives.
Doing this race now, like,
almost 20 years older with a kid at home,
like, I kept thinking about him
during-- like,
I told him that every time I look
at the moon, I would remember him.
[ voice breaking ] And
Uh but it's good,
because we have to go back home healthy
to take care of him, and, you know?
I have someone to look after.
[ music ]
[Aaron] Climbing up the river
is legit hard.
Going over a bunch of huge,
like, slippery, wet rock,
big o' thing, you step about
We were just trying to take it slow,
so we didn't twist anything or
bruise or break an ankle
or anything, so
Wow.
One small thing
and it can be really dangerous.
It's like the worst
I've ever seen in jungle.
Rocks and water it's so damn slippery.
You step on one fricking stone
and it moves.
You take support from the other,
that moves.
It's like you're shifting
all of the time.
Very difficult.
The rocks are super slippery.
[ yelling ]
No, no-- What is it?
I just slipped, and my legs got saved,
but my
fricking chin hit the rock.
Hit her chin on on a rock.
It got a laceration. It's bleeding.
I just hope it's not infected.
[Praveen] We'll get dry. Let's go.
[Grylls] Only a couple of hours behind,
Team Endure's progress in the river
has slowed to a crawl.
You know, I hate to think that
I'm the one who's
wrecking things for you guys.
Dad, you're not wrecking anything.
You're-- you're the one who's made this
an awesome experience for all of us.
[Shane] Don't worry about that part.
You're not letting us down.
I think we all went into it,
just, like, with an open mind of, like,
let's see what happens.
- Yeah.
- [Travis] What do you think? Walk
I mean, I say, right now,
we keep walking, and
- Might as well.
- Let's do it.
- Do the cave?
- Keep rolling.
If I stopped, you know, adventure racing
or ultra running,
or all that other stuff that I do,
my life would be gone.
Anything that happens in life
and anything that happens, you know,
up in these mountains, and
You know, you're sliding around
and falling in mud, and hitting rocks
Yeah, you got you just got to
suck it up and go with it.
My back is bad.
[Shane] He would never stop.
- Three days.
- Three days.
[Shane] He would never stop.
He would crawl up there.
You know that, right?
I don't have any doubt about that.
You said it earlier, you're like,
"He's not gonna stop."
Man, it's hard to walk around.
[ guide speaking Fijian ]
The question is, does he have
the physical tools now, right?
I don't know.
[Travis]
He's still moving forward, and
you know, being around
these kind of races over the years,
I've seen a lot of times
where you look at someone,
and, you know, clearly, it's like,
"Shit. That person
should not be moving forward."
And they still are.
You know, I'm not surprised.
This is what he does.
- This has been incredible.
- Oh, yeah.
You know, we've made it seven days
through all this stuff.
Yeah.
I mean, I truly have had
one of the best weeks of my life.
- [Shane] You've got to tell him that.
- Yeah. I will.
All right, buddy. Let's do it.
Yep. Well
[Grylls] Just 7 kilometers ahead upriver,
at the top of the Vuwa Falls,
is Team East Wind of Japan,
whose captain, Masato,
has adventure raced for 25 years
and participated in five Eco-Challenges.
But now, his team is waking up
from a hellish night,
after walking 12 extra hours
while lost on the river,
and they're facing the difficult decision
of whether they should
or even can continue this race.
She and he, foot is padded foot,
like trench foot.
So
Skin is breaking down.
So
No recover.
We should call for help.
I'll radio.
It's very hard.
Can't keep racing.
Headquarters, headquarters
this is Team 31,
East Wind, calling for help.
[ radio static ]
Go ahead, 31. We hear you loud and clear.
Uh
My team member
two team members
has a trench foot.
Can't
Cannot walk.
So, I decided, uh
we dry out, breathe,
pick up my team in the helicopter.
copy. You need a helicopter.
Do you know your location now?
My location is top of the waterfalls.
Recorded, copy that.
HQ, HQ copy on the heli.
Top of Vuwa.
Number four. Highland.
[ laughs ]
Our last medallion.
[Grylls]
Back 22 kilometers short of Camp 3,
Team Stray Dogs has only 6 hours
before the cutoff time,
and Bob's energy level has plummeted.
The team is barely moving,
so they're exploring a local village,
desperate for a solution.
So, we're interested in getting a horse
to go to, uh Lutu.
And you can take our backpacks?
- Yeah.
- Yes? [ rooster crows ] Okay.
Looks like we're going off road with
multiple river crossings.
With our faithful horse carrying our bags
and Mark, our trusty guide.
I am the slowest
member of the team, and
if I had just paused at that time I drank
that tainted water
That was a very crucial moment
in the race for me,
and I should have known better.
[ music ]
[Marshall] Doctor Bob is one of
the toughest human beings.
I think he's the toughest human being
out here.
But he was just suffering greatly,
and sweat was just pouring down him.
He just motored through it,
wouldn't say a thing, very quiet,
and so we finally threw Doctor Bob
on the horse, and,
you know, he became a cowboy for,
you know, a limited amount of time.
[guide] Okay, let's go.
He's pretty good at it, actually.
And the color started coming back
in his face too, so,
we began to, uh,
recognize him as Doctor Bob.
We're making our way
up this very muddy, narrow jungle trail.
And, basically, it's quarter to 11.
The cutoff is 4:00, so we've got
five and a quarter hours,
and it's about, uh, 18K, I'd say, so,
we have some chances of making it, but
everything depends on
the state of the trail.
[Grylls] 33 kilometers head,
past Camp 3 and Vuwa Falls,
Team Iron Cowboy
has finally reached the checkpoint
below the difficult section of
climbing up the enormous wall.
It's been taking folks that are tired,
in the dark, around 5 hours.
- To ascend?
- Yeah.
- [Sonja] Is it navigable in the dark?
- It is.
I mean, with a headlamp,
you just follow the ropes.
Um, but it's certainly easier
in the daylight.
- Yeah.
- It's just
It all depends on how much
big wall climbing you've done.
- Yeah.
- It's a lot of little overhangs.
- [Sonja] You have to push your over.
- Yeah. It can just be really challenging.
[Sonja] I was put on this planet
to do hard things.
It's in my core, it's in my bones,
it's in my blood.
I know when I'm out here,
there's no reason not to believe
that I am capable.
- I think we got it.
- Are we all for sure now?
- Yeah.
- We're gonna go for it.
Thank you.
[James] We've never done
something like this. No experience.
We've never done
an adventure race before.
But I'm not super intimidated.
I'm excited.
Hey, guys, let's just be patient.
Take it one section at a time.
Pretty much everything on the race
we're doing for the first time.
So, this is very, very new to us.
You got it, Sonja?
The course is relentless,
so every step is a victory.
We're a gritty--
a gritty little group here.
[Grylls] Just an hour behind,
the Khukuri Warriors and Mad Mayrs
have also arrived at the base
of the Vuwa Falls.
Fuel up, get in a good rest
before you hit the falls,
because once you're on there,
you're kind of just on the ropes.
There's not great places to rest.
And then the weather, you know,
it's about a thousand feet above
where we are down here.
It's quite a bit windier
and quite a bit colder.
I don't think we should
go up, personally.
Because we'll get hypothermic.
Plain and simple.
So, let's do the five-hour
climb early tomorrow morning.
I feel like I could do it,
but it would not be enjoyable, man.
And we only got 30 minutes' sleep
last night.
You guys are welcome to camp
anywhere between here and there.
We're sharing with Team India tonight,
and there's not that much floor space,
but it should be a fun experience
here in the jungle.
[Grylls] While Khukuri Warriors
and Mad Mayrs
head to bed for the night,
trailing just behind is Team Endure,
still struggling to get to the falls.
I've lost my sense of balance
that I've always had,
running around rocks and stuff.
I've been running around rocks and
you know, for years and years and years.
And I was thinking,
"What what's happening?"
I don't know if it's my Alzheimer's or
maybe it is.
Or maybe it's just age.
I think that's probably the case,
Alzheimer's aside.
[Mark] For every athlete, a time comes
Gordie Howe and John Elway
and Joe Namath--
can't leave out Joe Namath--
and time comes.
You know, over the last several days,
I've been unable to keep up with
with you guys,
which is something that
not too long ago would have been easy
for me to do.
I think what's happening is like
the visual/spatial challenges
with Alzheimer's,
like, I think, it's
unless you're balancing,
some of the stuff's just not
coming through.
Like, I don't think you're seeing,
you know,
all the rocks and-- and the roots and
Yeah. That's what it is,
ultimately, that
ultimately that this is--
this is gonna progress,
and I have no idea
what's gonna happen.
Remember when I came here?
I had no idea what was gonna happen.
And I still don't know
what's going to happen.
You did an awesome job.
- You know?
- [Dannelle] Unreal.
You've-- you've made it through
seven and a half days of this.
Unreal.
We faced uncertainty, and, you know
You're right, Dad.
We will face more of it.
We can go in together as a family
and you know?
We can handle anything that comes.
'Cause we're in it together, you know?
I mean, seriously, Dad.
[ sniffs ] It's
You did awesome, Dad.
I love you so much
and I'm so proud of you, Dad.
You know I'm proud of you, Trav,
and I love you.
[ Travis crying ]
When Dad was first diagnosed
with Alzheimer's,
he said, "You know, my greatest fear
with Alzheimer's is that my grandkids
[ voice breaking ]
won't remember who I truly am. [ sniffs ]
And, you know what, Dad?
Your-- your grandkids are going to know
exactly who you are.
I promise you that.
And I will make sure that they know, Dad.
I'm gonna tell them
what their Grandpa did.
And-- and who he was,
and they're gonna be proud,
just like I am.
It's hard for me to quit something,
because I have never quit before.
Dad, it's not-- this is not quitting.
This is going on with living fully.
That's what we're gonna keep doing.
[Travis] Our family has, um,
an uncertain future,
especially when you look at something
like Alzheimer's, where
we don't know the timeline.
We don't know what's gonna happen.
You know?
We really don't know,
and all we know is [ sniffs ]
that we are in it together.
We are a team, and we are gonna
take on, um, whatever comes.
And doing this race,
this has empowered me
to know I'm--
I'm ready to take that role.
HQ, HQ, Team 52 here.
[woman] Go ahead, Team 52.
Uh, we have decided that going
to the ropes and canyons
is not a good choice for our team.
Copy that. Heading back to Camp 3.
And I want to let anyone know
who's listening how proud I am of my dad
and how much I love him.
It's been awesome, Dad.
That's awesome, you guys. Great job.
Thank you. Over.
[Travis] As a son, you know,
I do have a responsibility
to make sure he remembers this stuff.
[ voice breaking ] And for him to know
that he got out there with me
in the jungle, in Fiji,
for seven days,
and did a whole bunch
of really hard stuff.
That's the story I'm gonna tell him.
[ guides speaking Fijian ]
How far until we get
to the start of the road?
6K.
So, it's 6K to the start of this road,
and then it's about 2 and a half K
from there.
[ helicopter whirring ]
[ horse whinnies ]
- I thought we were going to make it.
- I did too.
I feel like some sort of time warp
happened or something.
I don't know where we lost time.
- So, it's getting dark.
- Yeah.
Getting close to 4:00 now, so
- Yeah, we
- It's not mathematically possible.
So, we're gonna give you guys a lift
back up to Camp three there.
I'll take two of you guys at first
and then come back and
do the rest of the group.
Okay.
I can sit here and say,
we gave it our best shot.
I'm very thankful to be able
to get as far as we did.
I'm very proud of that,
especially at our age.
So, we'll take Bob, and you're going
to come with me as well?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
[Marshall] I think we're probably
the oldest adventure racing team
on the planet.
[Bob] This could be the last big
adventure race for the Stray Dogs, but
we will still continue to be best friends
through thick and thin,
and this will stick with me forever.
I mean, uh I'll bore my grandchildren
'til the cows come home with stories of
Eco-Challenge Fiji.
I saw about half of this racecourse,
and it was pretty dang tough.
It's easy to say you've got to be crazy
to do this, but my wife likes to say,
"The only sane ones are the crazy ones."
And I think she may have a point.
I think this is the most sensible thing
to do with your time.
You experience life
to a much greater degree,
and, uh
I enjoy it and think it's worthwhile.
You made history.
- Made history, yeah?
- Yeah.
I'd say so.
Marshall's right over there, Dad.
Yeah, he's been waiting on you.
Hi.
[Marshall] Aw, Jesus.
[ laughs ] What? How's it going?
[Marshall] Oh, it's going all right.
- You guys still in?
- No.
Yeah, we're not either.
Oh, man, you look like shit.
[ both laughing ]
Mark and I used to joke about,
if something happened to one of us,
just like it's happening to Mark,
where we have a dementia or something,
one would take the other one out into
the woods after they've totally lost it
and just leave him.
And that's how we wanted to go.
And I can't do that.
It's I thought, "How silly for us
to think that."
We missed the cutoff.
We were about 4 miles out or so.
So, the difference is, is they came out
and picked us up with the helicopter.
Did you go-- Is that you that
That's how connected we are,
and that's how much
doing things like this means to us.
It, uh, enriches our lives,
it enriches our experience,
it enriches the bond that we have.
When they say "unbreakable,"
people speak casually about that.
I'm not speaking casually about it.
It's unbreakable.
[Travis] I-- I had a blast being out here
with both of you guys.
It meant a whole lot.
Thank you. Thank you both.
I mean, seriously.
[Marshall] Man, I love you guys.
- [Travis] Love you too, buddy.
- [Mark] This is good.
We've got a whole lot of stories to
share, as I know you guys do too.
[ music ]
[ roaring ]