Dear Friends of Primal Quest,

While visions of sugar plums may be dancing in your head, ours are dreaming of steamy Badland days and long, adventurous nights.  With registration now open, on-line applications are rolling in for Primal Quest Badlands Presented by SPOT.

The 5th edition of Primal Quest was the most successful to date, and we owe that to our experienced and committed team, which includes our Partners.  We would like to remind you it’s not too late to join us in 2009.  We have been making very positive steps to make Primal Quest 2009 an even greater success than the Montana race.

A visible presence on the PQ web site (which received more than 2.5 million page visits daily during the MT race), advertisements in the PQ race packages, and sponsor banners at the start and finish areas are only a few of the ways sponsors may be promoted.  Our partners will benefit, the athletes will benefit, and every partner will help sustain the longevity of Primal Quest and the sport of expedition-level adventure racing.

The media exposure, including print, TV and web coverage from Primal Quest 2008 far exceeded any of our expectation, and our goal is to continue to build that interest and excitement in coming years.  Additionally, Race Day Films will be producing two webisodes per day during PQ Badlands, offering tangible exposure and prime visibility via commercial placement.

Please click here to review our 2009 Primal Quest Partnership plan, as well as the media report, and contact me directly if you have any questions.

Thank you again for your support.  It would be our honor to partner with you in 2009!

Colleen Coleman, Sponsor Director
Email sponsor@ecoprimalquest.com for more information.

A new Primal Quest Badlands presented by SPOT preview is available at both SleepMonsters and Checkpoint Zero. The story takes a look at the success of PQ Montana, and the partnership between the race and the State of South Dakota, that is paving the way for an epic event next August.

The story is written by Craig Stein, who did an excellent job of covering Primal Quest Montana this past summer and continues to write about adventure racing. Look for an upcoming story in Adventure World Magazine as well, and you can checkout more of Craig’s work at his official website, which includes examples of his photography from both the world of action sports, and elsewhere.

The search is on for a team of adventurous athletes who want to be a part of Team South Dakota. Primal Quest is looking to sponsor a team from the state to take part in the race next August, and all interested athletes are encouraged to apply.

To qualify, each competitor on the team must be a current resident of South Dakota, and the team must submit an essay documenting their qualifications and goals for the Primal Quest Badlands race. In that essay they should explain why they would be good representatives for South Dakota in Primal Quest 2009.

A host team in Primal Quest has never completed the race, and event organizers are hoping to change that. The team will need to obviously be in good physical condition, but should also be highly motivated, focused, and have a great team dynamic.

To learn more about this sponsorship opportunity, click here and scroll down the page a bit to find the section on PQ. You can also learn a bit more from the audio clips on this page at KOTA Radio. For further inquiries, contact Rick Emerson at emersric@rapidnet.com

Photo by Will Ramos

Primal Quest Badlands Presented By SPOT has been making the news lately, with a couple of stories popping up.

First, we have this story from the Rapid City Journal, that takes a brief look at the history of PQ and adventure racing in general. The story is a nice introduction to the race and gives a few insights into what new fans of the sport can expect when teams arrive in South Dakota next August.

The second story, found here, was released by the Associated Press, and also serves as a brief introduction to Primal Quest, calling the race a “sufferfest” for the teams. The 600-mile course through the Badlands and Black Hills will undoubtedly live up to that moniker.

Photo by Wouter Kingma

Australian magazine Bare Essentials, an online publication designed for the active, adventurous woman, has published several articles focused on Primal Quest in their November/December 2008 edition. You’ll find all three articles on pages 43-45.

The first story is a brief overview on the history of Primal Quest and adventure racing in general, while the second article gives a preview of Primal Quest Badlands and what teams can expect in South Dakota next August. The final story is an interview with mother-daughter racing team of Kathy Roche-Wallace and Melissa Hughes who competed in Montana in 2008.

The Bare Essentials web interface is a slick and easy to use, with plenty of content to read. It’s easy to page through the virtual edition, or jump directly to any article you like by typing it in at the top of the page. Thee are also tools for zooming in on the page or printing the stories that you like. 

Thank you to Bare Essentials for this outstanding coverage for Primal Quest fans down under.

Photo by Andres Vargas

KOTA Radio out of Rapid City, South Dakota, recently conducted an interview with Rick Emerson, the devious mind behind the 600 mile course that Primal Quest teams will be racing through next summer. You can listen to the audio online by clicking here.

In the interview, Rick gives an introduction to what adventure racing is all about, talks about the course itself, and Primal Quest coming to the Badlands, amongst other things.

Great interview Rick!

Photo by Andres Vargas