Day 6: June 1, 7:30 pm ET: Team Bjurfors Crests "The Ben" and they are descending the last steep arete. Estimated arrival at the finish line is 3-4 am Saturday Scottish time.

June 1, 3 pm ET: Team Bjurfors Rocks! The bike leg was finished in plenty of time to beat the midnight cut-off...so much time that Reba, Per, Staffan & Mats appear to stopped in town before TA9 for some hot food and drink. (Love this SAT thing for "watching the race.")They headed out on foot at 7:05 pm Scottish time (2:05 pm ET) to climb to the snowy summit of Ben Nevis, cross one more razor ridge, then head down to the finish at the Nevis Center in Fort William. Hooray! Great job, Team Bjurfors!

June 1, 7 am ET: Race for the TA9 Cut-Off is now Bjurfors immediate goal. Leaving the Glen Coe saddle at 6am their time after a long sleep, they continued on to complete the Aonach Eagach portion about 1 pm their time. The must complete the bike leg by midnight Scottish time in order to continue on...but they should be okay as that leg has been taking teams between 3 and 5 hours. Way to really hang tough...Reba, Mats, Per & Staffan have been amazing. So proud of them!

Day 5: May 31, 10 pm ET: Rest is Bestand since they were starting to make some navigation errors, it was definitely time to stop. Reba & the guys stopped in the Glen Coe saddle to get some quality sleep before heading out (read "up") again to tackle Aonach Eagach razor ridges. They started moving again at 6 am Fri Scotland time.

May 31, 7 pm ET: Good Pix of Reba & The Guys on Curved Ridgein the Sleepmonsters Photo Gallery...our guys start with image 14, and include close-up mugshots of Reba and Per. Team Bjurfors is approaching the descent down into Glen Coe...then it will be back up the other side. (See picture at right...slide cursor over it for description.)

May 31, 3pm ET: Team Bjurfors Hit Curved Ridge at 6pm and ascends to the summit of Buachaille Etive Mor...a classic climb 'n scramble with extreme exposure...glad the weather has lightened up a bit to both make it easier AND to allow them to see the views. They're following more craggy ridge lines headed for the spectacular mountains surrounding Glen Coe...too bad that they might hit that during the night.

May 31, 9:30 am ET: Only 5 Teams on Full Course...Bjurfors is One of Them, and are we ever proud! Out of 49 teams starting, only an elite 5 have managed to survive the course and the weather. Reba, Per, Mats & Staffan had a nice sleep at TA7 and are now on the 45 km mountaineering leg through "The Mighty Ben Nevis" and Glen Coe. They'll enjoy some amazing ridge walking and some gorgeous scenery...if the sun will come out.

May 31, 6:30 am ET:  Rebecca Finishes Mega Paddle/Portage in 5th Place  after 13 greling hours on the "OPS" (Outrageous Portage Stage).  They arrived at TA7 at Rannoch Moor in 5th place at 9:20 am, just 10 minutes behind 4th place Team Buff.  6th place Team Salomon/Crested Butte was 6 hrs back halfway through the stage.  Haven't heard about the weather...hopefully it has let up some today.  Teams on the full course are now down to 17, but that will drop as of 1pm Scotland time today...only 3 more teams even have a chance of making the cut-off to arrive at TA7 by then.

Day 4: May 30, 6:30 pm ET: Bjurfors Starting 17 km Portage at Midnightas they leave Loch Ericht after paddling its entire length. They then need to decide if they continue portaging or paddle the river toward Loch Ba and Rannoch Moor. Currently in 4th or 5th place(flip flopping with Team Buff) since they passed Team Balance Vector along the paddle (sleeping in a "haunted" bothy or hut).

May 30, 1 pm ET: Getting By With a Little Help From a Friend might be a way to describe the day as Team Bjurforstraded positions and often just travelled with their friends on Team Buff Coolmax...switched off between 5th 6th place since the Ardverikie Wall. Given the deplorable weather, companionship on the trail is worth a lot. 11 teams have now dropped out...many others trying to decide...portions of the course having to be re-thought. Meanwhile, Reba the guys finished the bike-trek-ropes-bike leg at 6pm Scotland time in 6th place, a mere moments behind Buff. Not too long later they were spotted scarfing down large bowls of pasta at the Dalwhinnie Hotel.

May 30, 8:30 am ET: Terrible Trek Terrible Weather in Monadlath Mtns have taken their toll on Team Bjurfors. Under horrendous weather conditions all day night, they finished the trek still in 5th place but having lost 2 1/2 hours of time. Navigation was tough if the GPS tracks are any indication. They took a long sleep at TA5...pbly for both rest and to warm up, but of course that cost more time. Took off on bikes at 8am Wed Scotland time still in 5th place but with Buff, Sole and Crested Butte hot on their tails. They've finished the rope work at Ardverikie Wall and are trekking back to the bike drop. Keep on pushing Mats, Per, Staffan & Rebecca...maybe the sun will come out :-)

Day 3: May 30, 8 pm ET: Reba & Guys Nearing the End of Stage 5 Trek in 5th Place. Since they opted not to sleep back at TA3 as the other lead teams did, Bjurfors knew they would have to compensate sometime during the Nordic walking trek.  A couple hours of sleep at CP16 (startof canyoneering) dropped them back two spots.  As of 2am Wed morning Scotland time, they were closing in on TA5 where they will pick up their bikes again...in 5th place. Falls of Foyers on the left cascade down into the gorge the teams canyoneered with a guide.

May 29, 6:30 am ET:  Bjurfors in 3rd Place After Swim With Nessie!  She must have been a friendly monster to just help them through the coooold swim (wonder which 2 team members did it and who got to paddle).  Reba & the guy finished the stage in about an hour and are now out on the Nordic trek...about 45 minutes behind Nike (2nd) and 45 minutes in front of Orion (4th).  Bjurfors were the only team not to sleep at TA3.

May 29, 4 am ET:  Off the Bikes...On to Castles and Monsters :-)  A great MTB leg has keptReba, Mats, Staffan & Per right in the thik of things.   They finished the bike leg at 9am Scotland time in 5th place, about an hour behind 4th place Orion and at least 2 1/2 hrs ahead of 6th & 7th place Teams Buff & Sole.  Most teams appear to be taking a sleep at TA3, but not Team Bjurfors...they were 3rd behind Wilsa and Nike to face Nessie in the cold water of Loch Ness at the foot of Urqhart Castle (see left).  Next up will be the Nordic walking leg with new Leki poles to do it.

Day 2: May 29, 1:45 am ET:  Team Bjurfors Closing in on Nessie in 5th Place.  As of 6:30am Tuesday Scotland time, Rebecca and the guys are on the home stretch into TA3.  They have another hour or so of pedaling, but they are down out of the mountains and traveling right along the north shore of Loch Ness.  Good thing the race organizers took out Nessie Insurance!  Wilsa Helly and Nike have reached TA3 and are taking a sleep before their swim.May 28 , 11:30pm ET:  Mystery Solved...They Were Asleep in a Hotel of all things.  The knew it was time to sleep and chose "quality" over "quantity".  Good for them!  They got several hours of rest before they even started biking and then headed out well rested but in 8th place.  By CP13 (somewhere toward the last third of the MTB leg) they'd moved back up into 5th place as of 1:46am Tuesday...6th place team is 2 1/2 hrs back. Way to go, Reba, Mats, Per & Staffan!!!  Looks like they'd have done the 20-foot jump into the falls and the Tyrolean traverse in the dark though.

May 28, 10am ET: Team Bjurfors GPS Not Working so  we really don't know where they are.  They arrived at TA2 (end of trek/start of bike) at 12:54 pm Scotland time and left at 1:23pm... but the GPS tracker shows them sitting just outside the TA, and have been for hours now.  They left the TA in 4th place about 5 minutes behind Nike and an hour ahead of Balance Vector.   Leaderboard is only updated at TAs so that doesn't help tell where they actually are.

May 28, 5am ET: Knoydart Wilderness Trek is Brutal and is taking lead teams longer than expected...they've been at it over 12 hours a no one has finished yet. Rebecca, Mats, Per & Staffan are going strong and are in 4th or 5th place (flip flopping with Team Nike).  It does not appear that they have slept yet, but I can't tell for sure.  Teams WilsaSport, Balance Vector and Orion Health are in the lead.

Day 1: May 27, 5pm ET: Bjurfors in 2nd Place at TA 1 where they traded in their kayaks for hiking shoes.  A strong showing on the paddle combined with no Prologue penalties allowed Reba & the guys to move into 2nd place as they completed the orienteering.  Just after 10pm Scotland time they set out on the long, tough trek through the wilderness of the Knoydart...plus a climb up Ben Aden without the benefit of a trail, and most of this will be done in the dark.

May 27, 9am ET:  Looking Strong in 65 km Kayak with some very strong paddling across the open sea. Race began at 8:20am...at 10:50 Team Bjurfors was in lead group passing Isle of Eigg.  With about 3/4 of the paddle behind them, Reba & the guys are in 3rd place.  Top 7 teams from yesterday's prologue have 2-hr penalties to serve...Bjurfors is clean with no penalty!

Day 0: May 26, 2pm ET: Team Bjurfors Completes Prologue on Isle of Rum in what I think was 8th place...but I've no idea of what this means in teams of the actual race start tomorrow. Prologue included a super chilly swim in Loch Scresort, a micro-navigation exercise in the hills and the summit of four 700+ meter mountains in the rugged, mountainous nature preserve Isle of Rum. Reba & the guys are camping overnight in the shadows of Kinloch Castle.

May 22: Team Bjurfors Ready to Race in Scotland Rebecca is racing with a Swedish team with good friends Mats Andersson, Staffan Wennerstad & Per Vestling. After a major 6-day luggage debacle, they have overcome all adversity and are now ready for things to start. Rebecca wrote a pre-race note to everyone...Read it!