SOLE arrived at a remote checkpoint between dunes during the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge and wanted two things. First, water. Second, a doctor.

One journalist started up a conversation with SOLE co-captain Karen Lundgren, asking her if the desert trek was what she expected.

"Sun and sand," Karen said. "It was exactly what we expected."

What wasn't expected was an increasingly painful muscle injury suffered by co-captian Paul Romero. He said he tweaked his right quadricep while running in the sand. With a little TLC from the doctor on site, and a lot of tape from her medical kit, Romero was soon on his way.