Just 12 hours before race week began, Team 7 found themselves without a teammate — and an enthusiastic German named Vincent came to the rescue and was on the next flight. Kayla had just tied the knot, and Melissa and Justin had some tricky travel and delayed bags, but Team 7 was determined to give OWR 2025 their best.
With only a day before the race to connect and pack our bins, we laughed a bit about the situation and were optimistic about our new dynamic. Vincent was so positive, and we all welcomed his experience — especially having another navigator.
The race began quickly, and we were moving swiftly for the first 12 hours. We settled into a rhythm, and it was fun ping-ponging around with a few other teams on the course. The darkness made for wild, longer swims, and we took a bearing and hoped we swam straight.
We moved consistently, and Melissa was phenomenal — managing gear, nutrition, and crafting the overall strategy. Day two was a push to stay within the 8-hour time cap. We continued to get updates and heard about more and more teams having to drop out. We reached CP14 with 6 hours and 50 minutes behind the lead team at dawn. After being eaten alive by mosquitoes for what felt like an eternity, we zipped into our long wetsuits and braced ourselves for the second night.
Unfortunately, our pace began to drop, and sleep deprivation started to take its toll. Around 2:30 AM, after a long and drowsy run, we decided to take a short nap. But the cold and wind quickly chilled us, and after some tough discussions, we made the difficult decision to stop — rather than risk needing rescue while attempting the 13 km (mostly swim) to CP15.
We are all incredibly proud of what we accomplished. We couldn’t have asked for a better team to share this journey with. Huge thanks to the race organizers, media runners, camera crew, volunteers, and of course, our loved ones — for making this unforgettable experience possible.
