.. grasp of the truth only vaguely required.
Yet again this great effort by Helen is being overshadowed by her PR teams outlandish claims and desire to alienate the entire outdoor sports and adventuring community ..
Just report .. "Its really cold there, its really hard and she is going to make it" ... the feat of endurance is no less wether you break records or not.
Sad - her PR people really do seem desperate to turn her into some kind of laughing stock amongst the better informed, and as you say its still a fairly major achievement even if it isn't a 'record' in some way.
I'm now off to break the world 'cycling commute from my door to my work' record, its never been attempted before competitively over this distance and course (or by anyone else counting) so I am hopeful of the record, its cold and a bit damp but I feel my training will see me through.
What's new about that then? That kind of self aggrandisement happens all the time in teh world, in fact it worked for Thrust SSC - they were the first to 'officially' break the sound barrier on land, but not the first to actually do it (see Budweiser Rocket/Stan Barrett).