Dear Primal Quest Volunteers,

I want to personally thank you for either taking time out of your busy schedules to come out and support Primal Quest Badlands; or for having expressed an interest in doing so. We are all very grateful for your devotion to this sport, to PQ, and to creating an event that will change many lives, including yours! Primal Quest volunteers are widely known as being the most dedicated and experienced in the industry, and we truly owe the success of our events to you! One of the most frequent compliments we receive from competitors is how impressed they are with the professionalism and hard work of our volunteers.

My involvement with producing adventure races dates back to 1997. During that time we have produced hundreds of multi-sport events and have built, in my opinion, the most experienced AR team (staff and volunteers) in the world. For the most part, our staff all started as volunteers. Many of our best volunteers who had the desire, time and willingness to do more joined our staff ranks. If you have an interest and the time and would like to be more involved with Primal Quest,  please be sure to let me know. PQ is going to expand and we are looking for some more great talent to join us for this expansion.

Don D. Mann
Director
Primal Quest Expedition Adventure Race
A Don Mann Production

For Team Active Racing Primal Quest 2008 will most definitely be a family affair. The team consists of captain Kathy Roche-Wallace, her husband Eric Wallace, daughter Melissa Hughes, and Scott Campau. Recently the Battle Creek Enquirer did a profile on the team as they prepare for Montana. The following is an excerpt from that article:

The Primal Quest is a different sort of animal. Veteran marathoners and triathletes stare blankly into space when thinking about what lies ahead in the wilderness of Montana.

Melissa Hughes has competed in more triathlons than she can remember. Shortly after delving heavily into fitness, Hughes qualified for the prestigious Boston Marathon.

Yet what looms ahead for her, her mother and her step-father is …

Click here to read the rest of the article.  Photo Courtesy of Battle Creek Enquirer.

The record for the oldest person to ever summit Mt. Everest was broken this past weekend. Twice! On Sunday, CNN reported that 76 year-old Min Bahadur Sherchan topped out on the mountain early that morning along with other members of his team and several guides. Sherchan is a Sherpa, native to Nepal, and is just 25 days shy of his 77th birthday.

Later that day Explorers Web updated their site with the news that 75 year-old Yuichiro Miura also reached the summit, setting a new mark for the oldest non-Sherpa to reach the top of the world’s highest peak. This is Miura’s second successful Everest summit, having climbed the mountain back in 2003 at the young age of 70. At that time he also skied down the Lhotse Face. 

The previous record for the oldest person to summit was held by Japanese climber Katsusuke Yanagisawa who set the mark last year at the age of 71. 

The photo with his posting comes courtesy of ExWeb and shows the triumphant Sherchan (left) and Muira (right). 

The National Geographic Adventure Blog has posted an excellent review of the Satellite Messenger device from our friends at SPOT. Adventure West Coast Editor Steve Casimiro calls the Satellite Messenger “the most important outdoor product of the last couple years” and compares it favorably to other devices such as Personal Locator Beacons and even satellite phones. In fact, he thinks that SPOT’s little device trumps both of those products in terms of reliability, affordability, and versatility. 

Steve goes on to discuss how the SPOT Messenger works, who the product is for, and how it can save lives and do so much more. He concludes his review with the following statement:

SPOT changes the game. For the first time, affordable, reliable emergency communication is available to all of us. Even if you use it for nothing more than reassuring your family when you’re a few hours late from your ride or your paddle or your climb, it’s just plain smart.

You can read the entire review by clicking here, and be sure to checkout Adventure‘s newly re-launched webpage with a cleaner, easier to navigate interface while you’re at it too. 

Primal Quest is proud to have SPOT as our presenting sponsor for the 2008 race in Montana. 

Today we release THE FOURTH OFFICIAL COMPETITOR NEWSLETTER FOR PRIMAL QUEST MONATANA. I encourage you to read this entire newsletter and ensure each of your teammates (including support) do as well, as it is full of very important information that is critical to your success at PQ Montana.

As we move forward in the final weeks before the start of Primal Quest Montana I first want to congratulate you. We understand and appreciate the energy, creativity, and hard work it takes to get to the start line of any race, let alone a serious endeavor like a 500-mile expedition adventure race. We applaud you!

Secondly, I want to ask you to carefully read through each of the newsletters we have sent as the information is important to not only the smooth running of the pre-race process, but also your team’s success in the race. Each team member, including support crew members, should know the information included in each of the newsletters.

As we close in on the start of PQ08, I encourage you to contact our competitor relations director, Chris (Rumohr) Webster, with any questions or need for clarification. It’s best to have all the answers before you leave for Montana. Please let us know how we can help.

Thanks and again, congratulations!

Don Mann
Primal Quest Director

The Go FAR Podcast has posted a great interview with Melissa Griffiths of Team Racing With Giants. Like most guests on the podcast, Melissa talks about how she got started in the sport of adventure racing when a friend signed her up for an event. At that point, she’d never heard of the sport, but had a strong background racing triathlons. She won that first race, and the rest is history. 

This year Melissa and her teammates will be coming to Montana to race in Primal Quest. She discusses her training for PQ and expectations for the event. She also talks about the equipment she uses, her approach to nutrition and eating during a race, and much more.

Another excellent interview from Go FAR.