Il Piantissimo's Sand Sprint

"A special juice that will help you beat Il Piantissimo? I'm sorry, we don't know how to make those..."

- Pianta

Il Piantissimo's Sand Sprint is the fifth episode of Gelato Beach in Super Mario Sunshine. The episode's objective is to race against Il Piantissimo.

Layout
Beginning in this episode, Red Cataquacks replace the Blue Cataquacks on the beach. To complete this episode, the character Il Piantissimo will be waiting for Mario on the beach in front of the Sand Cabana. Approaching him will have him challenge the player to a race to the flag at the top of the beach. Upon accepting his challenge, Il Piantissimo will begin running to the flag. The player has to beat Il Piantissimo to the flag in order to win the race, and failing to do so will result in losing a life. The Dune Bud that causes a staircase to appear is absent from this episode onward, so the player has to Wall Jump or use a Rocket Nozzle to climb up the hill. Beating Il Piantissimo to the flag will have him reward the player with a Shine Sprite.