P3 Update Magazine, a publication devoted to the preproduction, production, and post production (P3 get it?!?) of video and films has an excellent write up on Primal Quest Badlands presented by SPOT  in their December issue.  The article looks ahead to the race next summer and what racers can expect in the backcountry of South Dakota. Here’s an excerpt:

South Dakota’s Badlands are considered among the most rugged terrain on earth. It has earned its name in many languages. The Lakota called it, “Mako Sica” or “Land Bad.” French voyageurs that had to cross this land of deep canyons, dry alkali washes, volcanic ash, mountains and arroyos called the place “Mauvaises Terres.” From a high altitude, the Badlands resemble a natural maze. In summer, temperatures soar and it is not uncommon to experience 130-degree weather. The 244,000 acre Badlands National Park is accessed from the towns of Wall and Interior. A scenic byway joins Interstate 90 at exits 110 and 131.

Primal Quest Badlands TV show will start August 15-24, 2009, during the height of summer heat in the Badlands. For early travelers forced to cross the terrain, survival alone was paramount. Even for today’s visitors, few venture off well marked and boardwalk-laid trails, where signs proclaim: “Danger Rattlesnakes.”

To read the rest of the article, click here. 

(Photo by Jason Perriera)

Veteran Primal Quest racer and captain of Team Tecnu Extreme/Staphaseptic Doug Judson was recently interviewed on KOTA radio in Rapid City, South Dakota. You can listen to excerpts from the interview by clicking here. 

Doug covers a lot of ground in the interview, including his thoughts on Primal Quest Montana, what it’s like to race with pneumonia, preparing for Primal Quest Badlands, and his role as the captain of the team. As an experienced adventure racer, he makes for a very compelling interview and a great ambassador for the sport.

KOTA radio continues to conduct interviews and report on developments for Primal Quest Badlands, which is still nine months off. If this is any indication of the reception we can expect in South Dakota next August, the entire Primal Quest family is in for one every special race. 

Photo by Mike Hedge

Here are a few more tips for Primal Quest success, this time courtesy of Kim Dunkin. Kim says:

1) Take care of your feet. No matter how fast you are if you have bad feet you are a liability.

Tip: Read Jon Vonhoff’s book Fixing Your Feet

2) The treadmill is your friend if you do not live in a hilly area. Put boards underneath the front  to increase the grade. Hike/Run up to 2 hours on a full incline.

I found it helped my strength for climbing on foot and the bike.

3) Be able to run 20 miles, bike 100 miles then kayak for 4-6 hours on the same day before you get to the starting line.

4) Be sure you love your team, it is a long race together!

Great tips! Simple but also very effective. To read more of Kim’s tips and thoughts on adventure racing and endurance sports, head over to her website at Extreme-Adventure-Sports.com.

Photo by Will Ramos

Just in time for the holidays, the Primal Quest Store now has a full stock of DVD’s, including the just released Best of GoPro DVD from Montana. This exciting DVD features incredible footage captured from the GoPro Hero 3 cameras issued to each team, bringing home the sport of adventure racing like never before.

Also available are all the DVD’s from the previous Primal Quest races, including Telluride, Lake Tahoe, the Cascade Mountains of Washington, and Utah.  Each individual DVD chronicles the individual events, and the whole set represents a video history of Primal Quest in its entirety. Expect thePrimal Quest Montana Presented by SPOT DVD to be added to the store in late January! This highly anticipated addition to the PQ library was shot, edited, and produced by the most experienced and talented adventure sports production team in the industry, led by Tim Powell and Brian Catalina.

Finally, as a special offer to everyone who spends more than $75 in the Primal Quest Store, we’ll be giving away a free bonus DVD filled with special features from Primal Quest Montana Presented by SPOT.  On this DVD you’ll find the course flyover used in the pre-race briefing and on the website, the custom slideshow shown at the post-race awards ceremony, video from the course, and more. It’s only available online, and for a limited time, to those who qualify for this special offer, so hurry to get them now.

Now Available – the very popular Primal Quest Pendant by Tarma!

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Awhile back we requested that experienced Primal Quest racers share their tips and experiences. Our first submission comes to us from “Earring” Doug Judson of Team Tecnu Extreme/Staphaseptic Adventure Racing. Doug writes:

Aaaahhh, the million dollar question.  How to prepare for a PQ or a longer expedition competition?? Well, after racing off and on since 1997, I have had many good and some not so good races. I have made ALL the mistakes, and generally learned from those mistakes.  Having a successful race is about controlling the variables, so that also translates to training.  The more you control your environment, the less apt you are for injuries, the better aptitude for success, and the better race you will eventually have.  I was pulled from PQ MT because I had severe pneumonia, and near kidney failure from my illness, the altitude change, and by generally just NOT taking quite as good care of myself as I should have.

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The Rapid City Journal posted a great article a few days back preparing it’s readers for Primal Quest Badlands next August. They interviewed adventure racing veteran “Earring” Doug Judson of Team Tecnu Extreme/Staphaseptic Adventure Racing on his experiences from past PQ races, and the sport in general. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

The middle of the South Dakota Badlands in August is not a very hospitable place without many creature comforts.

But some athletes are paying to be there this next summer. They will participate in the Primal Quest, which will make its way to South Dakota next summer.

The Quest is a world-renowned 600-mile race in which a team of four coed competitors must find their way through rough terrain and do so in many different ways — kayaking, backpacking, running, swimming, spelunking, mountain climbing and mountain biking to name a few. Athletes in the challenge race 24 hours a day for what is expected to be a seven-day race. The top teams usually get done in five days, but only half of the athletes finish the full course within the 10-day limit.

To read the rest of the article click here.