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. 

The Blackwater: Escape and Evasion Adventure Race was announced just a few days ago, and already it’s building buzz in the AR community. Mike Bitton from CheckPointZero.com has written an excellent article about the event after speaking with Primal Quest CEO Don Mann who is managing this new race. The article takes a peek at what we can expect out of the Blackwater E&E and explores the potential role of Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater Worldwide, in the future of adventure racing.

The following is an excerpt from the article:

Don Mann, former U.S. Navy SEAL and the CEO of Primal Quest, is an adventure racing entrepreneur with an unusually rich history. During his decades as an “operator” on the Teams, Mann did countless things he can’t tell anyone. But here’s a little something he told me. Adventure racing has a new prince. And it’s a prince with a capital P.

Back when Mann was on duty at SEAL Team 2, prepping to lead fellow sailors through a Raid Gauloises expedition adventure race, he was approached by a member of SEAL Team 8, one Erik Prince, about what essentially amounted to a sponsorship for Mann’s adventure racing team. Prince liked the concept, Mann said, of a SEAL Team competing on a global stage. And, lucky for Mann and his AR teammates, Prince had just come in to some money. “He wrote me a check on the spot,” Mann recalled. The men have been friends ever since.

To read the entire story click here. 

Blackwater Extreme Racing and Don Mann Productions are proud to announce the Blackwater Escape and Evasion Adventure Race. An endurance event unlike any other, the Blackwater E&E is set to challenge adventure racers, triathletes, or anyone else looking for a challenge, in unique and exciting ways this November.

This 24-hour race will pit teams of two against one another in the traditional adventure racing disciplines of trail running, mountain biking, paddling, and orienteering. But as the name implies, there is more to this race than just reading a map and finding checkpoints. Racers will also be challenged along the course by a series of special events, and surprises that could only be made possible by the combined expertise of Don Mann and Blackwater Extreme Racing.

The Blackwater Escape and Evasion Adventure Race will take place November 7^th and 8^th in Moyock, North Carolina. Mark those dates on your calendar now and prepare yourself for an adventure racing experience unlike any you’ve experienced before.

Stay tuned for more information on this exciting event, including the launch of the Blackwater E&E website, news on registration, and more. For more information contact Don Mann at don.mann@ecoprimalquest.com

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. 

Registration is now open for any and all members of the media who wish to cover Primal Quest Montana Presented by SPOT. Simply click here and fill out the form. You will be contacted shortly with more information about the event. Thank you for your interest in Primal Quest, and see you in Montana!

If you have any questions e-mail the Primal Quest Media Director Kraig Becker at kraig.becker@ecoprimalquest.com.

Hamptons.com profiled adventure racers Mary Scheerer and Shari Hymes, who will be racing with Team Towanda next month in Montana. An excerpt from the article can be found below:

Mary Scheerer and Shari Hymes are right at home in the wilderness, sans cell phone and beach blanket. Beyond the walls of their Sag Harbor home, they’re literally surrounded with wooded terrain which, by hike or bike, they’ve come to know like the back of their hands. 

It was nine years ago when the two women took their hobby to the next level, maxed out on the intensity of their new sport delving into the curious world of adventure racing. Since their initial quest, they’ve competed everywhere from up and down the East Coast to Australia’s Down Under, pushing their bodies and minds to the limit with challenges that are as mentally trying as they are physically exhausting. 

To read the rest of the article at Hamptons.com click here. 

Photos by Will Ramos

A Danish Trekker taking part in the TGO Challenge, an annual walking event in the Scottish Highlands, took ill last week and activated his SPOT Messenger alerting rescue teams to his condition, and quite possibly saving his life. 

Niels VIntner activated his device at 3 AM local time after suffering from what is described as acute stomach pains. Once activated, the SPOT Messenger sent an alert to the monitoring station in Houston, Texas. From there, the location of the beacon was passed on to Scottish police in Fort William, who dispatched an RAF helicopter to VIntner’s precise location to extract him.

This event marks the first time that a SPOT Messenger has been activated in the U.K. The device is designed and manufactured by Primal Quest presenting sponsor SPOT who will use the Messengers to provide up to the minute tracking of teams while out on the course during the race.