Adventure racer David Boyd, the captain of Team MOAT/Peak.com has passed away after falling more than 150 feet while hiking last week. The 47-year old was trekking the Blanca Massif in Colorado when the accident occurred. You can read more on this story here.

David was a well known member of the adventure racing community and his presence will be missed. An online photo gallery dedicated to his memory can be found here, and it contains a number of images from Primal Quest Montana, where Team MOAT finished in fifth place.

The thoughts and prayers of the entire Primal Quest team are with David’s friends and family. Our condolences at your loss.

Long distance paddler Roz Savage completed the first leg of her trans-Pacific, solo-unsupported row earlier this week, according to the most recent post on her personal blog, aptly titled “Aloha!”.

According to the post, Roz arrived in Hawaii at 5:55 AM local time on the 1st of September. The first stage of her journey took 99 days, 8 hours, and 55 minutes, and the last few hours were marked by a very rapid row into shore. In fact, it was so rapid that Roz beat her estimates and arrived in the wee hours of the morning, before any of the press were there to welcome her. She says that she arrived in Hawaii in much the same fashion as she had spent her time at sea, namely, all alone.

With this stage behind her, Roz will now return home, rest, and recuperate, before beginning the second stage of her journey, sometime next year, when she’ll set out from Hawaii and make way for Tuvalu Island, a distance of some 2,620 miles. Then, in 2010, she’ll complete the Pacific crossing by rowing from Tuvalu to Australia, an additional 2,324 miles.

Roz is now the first woman to row solo from California to Hawaii, and for that she should be incredibly proud. But I also know that this is only step one towards her goal, and it won’t be long until she’ll be looking ahead to her next stage. Congrats Roz! Job well done!

The Blackwater Escape and Evasion adventure race has been rescheduled, and will now take place April 25-26, 2009 in Moyock, North Carolina. Furthermore, the race has undergone a change in format, switching from a 24-hour race to a 12-hour event.

Blackwater Extreme Racing and Don Mann Productions are committed to bring a unique and exciting race to competitors. All of the traditional adventure racing disciplines will remain in the race. The change in date and format are designed to make the Blackwater E&E more accessible to a wider range of athletes.

Teams that have already registered will be offered a partial refund reflecting the change in the race to the shorter, faster format. For those teams that can’t make the rescheduled date, a full refund will be issued.

This spring, expect a fast and furious experience like no other. The Blackwater Escape and Evasion adventure race will test competitors as they run, bike, and paddle their way across a challenging twelve hour course, highlighted by a few surprises that only Blackwater can provide. Look for more details and race updates by checking www.blackwateree.com.

A hundred years after Ernest Shackleton’s famous expedition to the South Pole as part of the Nimrod Expedition, a British team is preparing to recreate that epic journey, and they just might want you to come along for the adventure.

According to this story, over at the Guardian, the Matrix Shackleton Centenary Expedition is looking for someone to join them later this year, as the six team members, who include Shackleton’s great-grandson Patrick Bergel, will walk in the famous explorers footsteps. But, they’re also looking for someone to join the team. Someone with a zest for adventure, a love of life, and the ability to work with the team. You’ll have to be in tremendous shape and be prepared to endure the challenging Antarctic conditions. To apply to join the team, just head over to this website for more information and to apply.

The journey will begin in October, and it is expected to last about 80 days. The team will fly to the Ross Ice Shelf from Punta Areneas, where three of them will set out to cover 900+ miles to reach the point where Shackleton and his team turned back. At that point, the four other team members will join them, and they’ll attempt to continue on to the Pole, completing the journey that Shackleton was unable to finish.

Hmm… they’re looking for someone with a sense of adventure, is in good physical condition, and works well as part of team. Sounds like an adventure racer to me. I’m sure any number of racers from Montana could fill the position. Perhaps this is your chance to go to the South Pole as part of a historic team.

My favorite part of the Guardian article is in the first paragraph, where they publish the original message that Shackleton posted when looking for crew members for his original expedition. I’ve quoted it below. Great stuff!

“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success”

Here’s another, more in depth, article from the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, taking a look at Primal Quest Montana and racer Keith Ash of  Team Towanda-Sepracor-RWG. The article does an excellent job of capturing the spirit of the race and it’s impact on those who participate. Here’s a bit of the story:

Keith Ash and his partners stood atop Bridger Mountain and soaked in the views of Montana from 10,000 feet.

“They call it Big Sky Country. Well, the sky was bluer than blue,” Ash said. “We had just climbed all night, it’s sunrise, and we’re on top of this peak. In the middle of the race, you just have to stop, break out some food and absorb where we are and what we’re doing.

To read the entire article click here. And when you’re done with that, head over to the official Team Towanda website to read their race reports from Montana. 

In a recent edition of Adventure In 60 Seconds, a regular feature at the National Geographic Adventure Blog , they mention that two young British explorers, Rob Hooper and James Gauntlett, have recently sailed into Sydney, Australia, completing their 26,000 mile, 395 day journey from the Magnetic North Pole to the Magnetic South. ThePoles.com has also covered the expedition as well.

Along the course of their journey, Rob and James had to, at varying times, employ the use of sledges, bicycles, and sailboats. The used the sledges in the polar regions, traded them in for bikes when traveling through warmer climes, and then transitioned to the ship when out on the open water. Their journey brought them plenty of challenges, as Adventure notes, they faced “a fall through the ice, king-sized storms, and a capsized boat” along the way.

Check out the expedition’s official website, which is extremely well done and offers all kinds of information about the trip. The slick interface alone is worth the trip over, but you’ll also find a well done, interactive map, a blog of the journey, information on the team, and a whole lot more. Seriously, this site should be the model for all expedition websites. Really great stuff.

Congrats to Rob and James for completing their journey. Well done guys. Now enjoy a much deserved rest. (Photo courtesy of ExWeb)

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, from Rochester, New York, published a nice introduction to the sport of adventure racing, and to Primal Quest, today. Here’s a bit of what they wrote:

Adventure races are nonstop, non-motorized, multi-sport team events that take place in the wilderness.

Contestants navigate to checkpoints using only maps and compasses. Mountaineering, hiking, kayaking, rafting, river boarding, orienteering and mountain biking are required skills. But endurance, strength, commitment, selflessness and sheer will are also tested.

To read the article in it’s entirety, click here.  

Photo by Andres Vargas

Marlene Wiig of Team CWC Stadium Dogs was profiled yesterday by the Victoria Times Colonist in Canada. Marlene discusses her Primal Quest experience in Montana, her urge to compete, and much more. An excerpt of the article follows:

Marlene Wiig spent a year training for Primal Quest, a gruelling 10-day race through the mountainous terrain of Big Sky, Mont. And she came home disappointed.

Just one day into the late June competition, she and her three male teammates had to abandon their quest. One member couldn’t continue because of a prior injury. Another’s pregnant wife was due any day. And race rules stipulate all four members of a team must complete a race or the team is disqualified.

To read the rest of the article click here.

(Photo by Candace Elliott, Canwest News Service)