\u201cIn a race like that with a camera person around you, most of the time you don\u2019t even realize it or take them into account,\u201d Sigle said. \u201cThe cameras are an unknown third wheel. I am honored now to get to see footage from the race while I am at home, comfortable, have taken a shower and had a warm meal. To see pictures of yourself and your team at your absolute wits end, literally surviving mentally and physically, it is kind of fun to see where you are now comfortable on the couch versus where you were during the race.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sigle, 46, has lived in Durango for roughly 20 years. He has been a professional adventure racer for most of that time. The Eco-Challenge is regarded as the \u201cWorld\u2019s Toughest Race,\u201d and Sigle said it is a well-earned moniker.<\/p>\n The Eco-Challenge Fiji was an 11-day race with athletes competing 24 hours a day to cover a total of 417 miles. It combined the sports of whitewater rafting, stand-up paddling, ocean sailing, ocean outrigger paddling, canyoneering, mountain biking, trail running, swimming, jungle travel and rope rappelling, ascending and traversing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Eco-Challenge is the hardest adventure race on the planet,\u201d Sigle said. \u201cThe races are long, very well designed, very complex as far as navigation goes and requires people\u2019s ability to excel at multiple sports.\u201d<\/p>\n The Eco-Challenge was featured on television from 1995 to 2002 with the first edition held in Utah. It is credited for sparking a boom in reality television.<\/p>\n Executive producer Mark Burnett brought the first Eco-Challenge events to TV before launching \u201cSurvivor,\u201d \u201cThe Apprentice,\u201d \u201cShark Tank,\u201d \u201cThe Voice\u201d and many more. Burnett is back as the executive producer of the latest Eco-Challenge, which is also produced and hosted by outdoor adventure TV personality Bear Grylls.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really an amazing event,\u201d Sigle said. \u201cI\u2019ve been a pro adventure racer for almost 15 years and done a lot of them around the globe. I was at the last Eco-Challenge put on in Fiji 17 years ago, so this was the second time I had done it. I was on a professional team at that time. We were in one of the leading teams for a big portion of the race. This time, it was completely different. We took a whole different spin.\u201d<\/p>\n Sigle was part of Team Endure with Travis Macy, Mark Macy, Danelle Ballengee and Andrew Spears. Mark Macy has raced at every Eco-Challenge except 2002 and is an icon of adventure racing. Before the race, Mark was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer\u2019s, leading him to switch teams and compete with his son. Sigle and Team Endure went to work to help make Mark Macy\u2019s final Eco-Challenge a success.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was his last chance to compete. Our team has a special story that is about to come out,\u201d Sigle said.<\/p>\n