Outback ordeal toughens Mercer
WOKEN in the middle of the night, bundled on to a plane, forced to skydive into the middle of the Kimberley desert — then left there for an unknown period of time.
It sounds like a reality show, only Queensland surf lifesaver Jordan Mercer had no idea what on earth she had signed up for.
The secretive high-performance adventure, called Project Acheron, was designed by Red Bull to push their athletes to their absolute mental limits. It worked. For 22-year-old Mercer, an ocean all-rounder, surviving in the dry heat of the desert was the stuff of nightmares.
“I had hoped we were going to go to Patagonia, to the snow and ice — I was so excited to go somewhere cold,” Mercer said.
“It turns out we were dropped in the middle of the Kimberley desert, in the Outback, the rugged Outback of Australia, at a very hot time of year. “It was everything I didn’t expect.” Along with two snow athletes and one motocross rider, Mercer, the youngest in the group by eight years, was led across the desert by two navy seals for just shy of two weeks.
Every day they walked, set up camp for the night, then walked some more.
Each experienced their own personal breaking point at some stage. Mercer’s time came right at the start, when she struggled to comprehend the purpose of this ‘‘adventure’’.
“On day one, I learned something about myself,” she said. “We had walking boots on, we had 25kg packs on and all we could do was walk, in an unknown direction for an unknown reason for an unknown amount of time. I quickly came to realise that as a professional athlete I’m fairly regimented and have a process, a reason for doing the training I do.”
So, what did Mercer gain from it? It’s exactly what her competitors don’t want to hear, but Mercer believes the camp has given her an added edge.
She will put the lessons learned into practice on Monday, when she sets out to win her fifth consecutive title at the Molokai 2 Oahu paddleboard world championships.
The gruelling 52km event has been the Noosa Heads ironwoman’s priority all season and she goes into the event with greater mental strength.