The mountains are behind the runners once Stage Three begins. No more long, strength-sapping climbs up windswept mountainsides. Arguably, the most severe physical challenge is behind them. Now the mental challenge begins.

The runners passed the night at the end of Stage Two in small cabins at Arrenjarka Mountain Centre. After the rustic conditions at the extremely remote mountain cabins of Aktse, this was relative luxury. All the runners rested well in the 4-person heated cabins.

The stage started on time at 0730 with all runners in good spirits. After such a good rest, Guy Wolverson and Kevin Otto re-entered the fray. Though they won’t feature on the leaderboard anymore after both were extracted by our team on Stage One, they both wanted to make the absolute most of their time in the arctic and the medics gave the go-ahead for them to continue.

Conditions were near ideal. Low temperatures but not the skin-stinging bitter cold we’ve had in the area in previous years. The winds which had tortured the runners in previous days had dropped to a light breeze leaving the snow on the ground where it belonged. The deep snow itself had even had time to harden since the last fall and, though most of the course still required snowshoes to move easily, the strength-sapping knee-deep snow found on much of stages one and two was behind them.

The real challenge on Stage Three is the monotony of the lake crossings. Though the scenery all around is stunningly beautiful, the mountain peaks which dominate the skyline on each side are too far away to offer any sense of how fast or how far the runners are moving. At times it feels like being trapped on a treadmill. The teepee of the checkpoint never seems to get any closer. During these times there is nothing to do but move from trail-marker to trail-marker and try and find something to occupy your mind. It can be a maddening experience.

The change of terrain also led to a change at the front of the race. Lukasz Urbaniak, who had been so strong in the mountains, was denied a 3rd stage win in a row by Gareth Jandrell. Gareth arrived at the finish line ecstatic and looking for all the world like somebody who had just knocked off a parkrun. Gareth has been training hard for this event with none other than Simon Dicks, our race winner from 2020. Simon’s coaching and Gareth’s determination paid off well today.

Gareth finished just 2 minutes ahead of Julen Urdaibai. Basque athlete and mountain lover seems to be getting stronger as the event goes on and looks barely worse for wear after 3 stages of this race. The leading two finished 10 minutes ahead of overall race leader Lukasz Urbaniak who looks similarly unphased by the rigours of the race so far.

The first woman was once again Sheila Sanei who now sits in 8th overall after a string of consistently strong performances. The 2nd and 3rd placed runners were once again Wendy Dale and Alison Little who have been inseparable throughout the event. Proving the power of the pack, this tag-team have pushed each other and supported each other through the punishing conditions and look certain to grab their places on the women’s podium.

The runners stayed last night on the island of Laxholmen. From springtime onwards, this place is only accessible by boat. Our Sami team had arrived ahead of the runners and made sure that the wood-burning stoves in each were lit, ensuring a warm welcome. The tiny island is dotted with small 3 and 4 person cabins, with one much large cabin in the centre where our team receives the runners and where they eat their evening meal and trade stories of the trail by paraffin lamp.

Once again last night, the northern lights put on a show for the runners. It was vivid, glowing, and green enough out over the course to be easily visible to the naked eye, filling the sky.

The last runner to arrive tonight was Chris Jenkins once again. Chris has been stoically making forward progress since his first step. He may lack momentum but is nonetheless seemingly unstoppable. He may struggle to meet the 7pm cut-off at CP5 tomorrow but he will have earned his short-course finishers medal well if he keeps up his current performance.

Stage and overall times are below. Note that Lukasz still holds a big lead but not an insurmountable one, and that only 11 minutes separate the runners in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places.

STAGE THREE TIMES:

OVERALL TIMES: