One word, four letters, said three times in succession, and Shanda Hill's partner Jacs Spence understood everything:
"Pain, pain, pain."
Hill is trying to become the first and only woman to complete the inaugural South African Deca Ultra Triathlon in the resort town of Gariep Dam, six hours south of Johannesburg. To do so, she'll have to persevere in agony.
"Shanda disappeared into the kind of pain cave that words can't describe," said Spence on Facebook Thursday morning, March 20. "She wasn't saying much; only sending me short messages that read, 'pain, pain, pain.'"
Hill is 370 kilometres into the 422km final stage of the triathlon, having covered the 38km swim, in which she took the lead in the race, held onto it through the 1,800km bike ride, then relinquished the lead to Tristant of France on St. Patrick's Day Monday, March 17.
Spence said Hill is not rushing to the finish line.
"Shanda won't hit a personal best and is not worried about losing second place," he said. "Instead, she's choosing to cross the finish line at 6 a.m. (9 p.m. tonight B.C. time), just as the sun rises over South Africa, to give everyone a chance to cheer her finishing."
For the last few days, Hill has been running through a severely painful pulled muscle injury in her inner thigh. Her evening Wednesday, said Spence, was quite rough. Hill was exhausted and in tremendous pain. But, she did something rare: she slept for five hours, and that has made all the difference. She pushed through another 27km Thursday, still running in the relentless sun.
The race has been the hardest Deca event Hill has ever done.
"The altitude, the brutal elevation gain on the bike (nearly 1.5 times the height of Mt. Everest), has taken everything from her," said Spence. "Hearing that, I felt nothing but gratitude that the race had such outstanding leadership. The thought of her battling these conditions while also worrying about safety is something I don't even want to imagine.
"Shanda is ready to be done. Between the fatigue, the injuries, and the sheer difficulty of this course, she said the sun magnifies everything. When it's at its peak, it drains what little she has left, pulling her into dark places she has to fight her way out of. At this point, the athletes look like zombies. Of the 12 who started, only nine remain."
Tristant crossed the finish in 263 hours and 15 minutes. If everything goes according to plan, Hill will finish second, about 15 hours behind him. Dave Clamp from the United Kingdom, a legend with 147 Iron distances under his belt, is just 60kms behind her and still pushing.
