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Eco-Challenge boils down to Trisha vs. her boyfiend

Can Trisha Westman whip her boyfriend's butt and win the 2003 North American Eco-Challenge Championship? "I'd like to do that," Westman (shown) told SooToday.
TrishaWestman

Can Trisha Westman whip her boyfriend's butt and win the 2003 North American Eco-Challenge Championship?

"I'd like to do that," Westman (shown) told SooToday.com on Wednesday night after her team, Algoma's Water Tower Inn, moved into second place in the elite athletic contest.

The two top contenders in this year's event are now Westman's team and Team Salomon Canada, headed by her boyfriend, Lawrence Foster.

Both Westman and Foster are from Sault Ste. Marie,

After grappling with what organizers termed a "killer" rope climb, Algoma's Water Tower Inn arrived at Checkpoint 9 at 9 p.m. Wednesday night, 6.5 hours after Salomon Canada went through the same spot at 2:28 p.m.

In third place is Team Eastern Outdoors from New Brunswick.

"We had a good sleep," Westman told us when we caught up with her at Checkpoint 8 on Wednesday.

No one has so far offered us a prediction on when this race will end, but some organizers believe it could happen later today.

The finish line is in Searchmont.

SooToday.com photo coverage

Team Algoma's Water Tower Inn #1 Team Algoma's Water Tower Inn #2 Team Algoma's Water Tower Inn #3 Team Algoma's Water Tower Inn #4 Team Algoma's Water Tower Inn #5 Team Algoma's Water Tower Inn #6 Greeted by JJ Team Algona's Water Tower Inn #7 Team Algona's Water Tower Inn #8 Team Algona's Water Tower Inn #9 A J.J. Hilsinger moment

Stuff we saw while we were there

Local scenery #1 Local scenery #2 Local scenery #3

Scratches

Here's a list of teams that have been disqualified from the competition. In most cases, this was because of getting lost, not meeting time cutoffs at selected checkpoints, or injury or illness:

- Team Crank Sports (California) - Team Canada Post (British Columbia) - Team Doubledown (New Jersey) - Team Gung Ho (Pennsylvania) - Team High Anxiety (Illinois) - Team Leatherman (Pennsylvania) - Team Mount Borah (Wisconsin) - Team Summit (Colorado) - Team Water Turkey (Georgia)

Completely irrelevant SooToday.com factoids

EDITOR'S NOTE: Those of you who were bellyaching yesterday about our mention of a maxi-pad being used for first aid, who recommended that Helwig be replaced by a real sportswriter, should definitely avoid reading this section of our article. We suggest you instead turn to one of SooToday.com's illustrious old-style print or broadcast conpetitors, none of whom has reporters on the ground here.

Medical volunteers report seeing numerous cases of an unusual rash involving pustules on the hands and legs that start as a small black spotm, turn red and eventually develop a white core. "I will say that they're painful and mysterious," said Nancy Olson of Team Gung Ho.

One member of the medical staff described the condition as "bushwacker's rash," caused by a multitude of tiny cuts, scrapes and punctures as athletes battle through the deep bush.

Medical staff tell us they've heard lots of tales of "bonking" - a condition in which competitors lose track of who and where they are. SooToday.com's reporter is beginnning to exhibit signs of this affliction. But heck. he was bonked long before the Eco-Challenge came along.

Hallucinations are also common among sleep-deprived Eco-Challengers.

Penny Zech of Team Gung Ho tells us she's thought, at various times during this race, that she was inside a corn crib, or in a tunnel of hanging leaves (while on the water).


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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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