Taking part in rally competitions, no matter what role you play is one of the most draining activities you can be involved in. Even the rallies considered the smoothest on earth are held on pretty rough ground, which requires participants to draw from the deepest wells of their energy, concentration, and resilience reserves. Then, there are those tough rallies such as the Dakar, which need you to be reborn at every stage for you to stay alive.
It might appear as though the drivers and riders taking part in rally competitions are the only people who have to show endurance. That is far from true, however. Think, for example, of the camera people who cover the races, taking both still and video shots.
Such people have to move at almost the speed of the racers, if not faster. They need to take quality images of fast-moving objects in areas of quickly changing light and weather conditions. The experience of one Dakar rally photographer shows clearly how even photographers must be at their best level of productivity.
The toughest rallies are not even about speed. They are more about endurance and teamwork. In the Dakar rally, for instance, paths at times get entirely blocked by dunes, and teams have to navigate through alternative passages or clear their way.
As the competition takes place over thousands of kilometres, competitors may be affected by the conditions in some areas. In such times, the most critical team member is one who can use a resource like the livi app to find help remotely, and fast. The app will enable the team to talk to a general practitioner on mobile and get help.
There are instances in such tough rallies that it seems like a team has hit a complete dead end. Even people who follow the action on TV sometimes admit that nothing else can be done at that point. What inspiration is it, then, to see teams give their all, and manoeuvre through these seemingly impossible conditions?
Anyone who has participated in a rally will tell you what resilience it teaches. The joy that reaching the finish line brings no matter what position you come in, or the time that you clock. Some people have had to lift vehicles that have overturned to get back on track. Others have had to endure injuries to themselves and proceed as if they felt no pain at all.
The action is so real that it even spills over to people who are watching the races. They tend to identify with a confident driver and issue instructions and advice through the TV. Whenever such a racer makes it through a particular stage, there is a lesson in resilience going around for all.