Ephemeris of the Mind (Show Review) World's Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji
Time to read: 2 min read
Show Cover
There is some fun... There is some suffering... There are some dark places that you go. What could be better?
Review
This documentary series covers the hardcore sport of adventure racing, a multidisciplinary team sport involving navigation over vast swathes of wilderness and including activities such as rock climbing, mountain biking, and paddling. This series covers the Eco-Challenge, one of the most iconic races whose broadcasts in the late ‘90s and early 2000s popularized the sport of adventure racing. The Fijian Eco-Challenge being covered took place in 2019 with 66 teams of four from around the world racing over 600 kilometers to compete for a prize of $100,000.
The documentary is hosted by veteran outdoorsman Bear Grylls and follows the different teams as they struggle with the varied Fijian terrain completing tasks ranging from rappelling down waterfalls to mountain biking down muddy slopes. I liked how the coverage followed not only the most competitive teams such as New Zealand, but also non-competitive teams from countries such as India, who are pioneers of the sport in their countries. I especially liked the coverage of teams who struggled in the face of adversity, such as the team of adventure racing veterans who are completing their last race together, and the Macy team, where a son is racing with his father who has Alzheimer's. It was very touching to see these teams’ passion and grit in the face of adversity.
One gripe I have with this series is that, while the show follows some competitive teams such as New Zealand and Australia, there is a lack of coverage on the other competitive teams such as the Canadian teams. It would have been interesting to see what strategies the top teams employed and have more commentary on the strategies of the sport.
Conclusion
A good comeback of a niche sport.