The event is designed to test wilderness survival and medical skills. Abinaya Chari, Alexa Rodriguez, Chris Cooper, Lena Ning, Mihail Stojanovski, Mikaela DeVeaux, Omar Shakeel and Ricardo Molero Bravo competed in a 10-mile race that included cycling, orienteering and wilderness emergencies like dehydration and alligator attacks.
In addition to physical stamina, participants are evaluated on their medical knowledge, both in questions posed along the race and in real-life emergencies, where one team member is randomly chosen to feign injury or illness. Participants have to be quick on their feet. In one scenario, Ricardo was carrying the first aid gear, but was then selected to be the victim of an alligator attack. So his teammates had to use what they had on hand – such as a bicycle tire – instead of the first-aid kit.
(No worries about the alligator. It was plastic. But it did manage to eat Omar.)