Part 9 – Pit Crew

We didn’t have any pit crew, I am not sure if this disadvantaged us in anyway, but we found that we coped as long as we were organised.  Had hot water on the go, with additional hot water and soup available in the thermos flasks.  The biggest disadvantage I found is when you headed to the fire, pit crew members were helping their team by trying to dry off clothes and wetsuits, while they rested.  We had to do this ourselves, so minimised the amount of rest time available.

The pit crew members that you met along the way were amazing, so encouraging not just to their own team members but to others too.  For us it was hard to ask anyone to come with us to be our pit crew, especially as our family are back at home and it’s a lot to ask for any of our friends to do for us. 

Being a pit crew member is definitely no easy ask and a massive shout out to all those pit crew members, the support and encouragement is truly amazing.

Its not just hard for the participants taking part, but the pit crew members too.  Pit crew members can help support through food preparation and nutrition, organising gear and equipment, even drying off clothing and ensuring that participants are warm.  Again, another disadvantage of not having any pit crew members, as you couldn't really rest as you sorted out your food, tried to warm up and organise your clothing.  Most importantly they provide encouragement and support that you need to keep you going throughout the day and night.

I think this will be a big disadvantage for us next year when we will do it solo, we will need to be extra organised in food preparation especially if we are both trying to minimise any rest periods between laps.