CP7, Team 109 is concerned.

"Our strategy was to hit every CP and take a few extra kilometers because of it," Emily Miller says. "The race is a strategy race, and we planned our leg for seven checkpoints."

It's too bad the officials didn't make the decision before the Gazelles left the start line in the morning. Despite this glitch in the plan, Miller and Medard still hold a comfortable third place in the overall rankings.

Meanwhile, the only other Americans in the competition continue their admirable job of keeping pace not only with their fellow rookies in the First Time Participation category, but with the seasoned Gazelles as well. At the end of the third leg, Amy Lerner and Tricia Reina sit solidly in 12th place in their division.

"The features were similar to the Southwest of the U.S., which made the terrain easier to navigate," says Reina, the team's navigator.

After hitting all seven checkpoints, too, Team Lerner Reina jumps eight points in the rankings up to 30th place overall. And they do so while still able to stop and help others along the way (and despite needing a hand once themselves). It is another great day for Lerner, a mom from New Jersey, and her sister, a design business owner from San Diego.

On any given leg, some teams end up spending the night away from the comfort of the bivouac, but under a lovely canopy of stars. Team 182, who had already camped out after Leg Two, almost made it two nights in a row out in the desert. They miscalculate today and are nearly at the Algerian border when they realize their mistake and turn around. Whew!

The finish for Leg Three is similar to that for Leg Two yesterday: Team 124 (Caroline Montillet of France and Syndiely Wade of Senegal) in first place; Team 129 (Jeanette James of Great Britain and Anne Marie Borg of France) in second; Team Miller Medard in third. The number of points separating the three teams is not enough to say any one team is pulling ahead.

As the women of this one-of-a-kind Moroccan adventure set their sites on the mesmerizing sand cathedrals of Erg Chebbi with peaked dunes soaring up to 500 feet high, will tomorrow bring any dramatic changes to the standings?

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