What do you get when you put four of the finest endurance athletes from St. Maartin, a tiny island in the Caribbean, on the same team; four racers from very diverse backgrounds, one American, one Argentinean, one British, and one Dutch? You get the St. Maartin Adventure Racing Team, or SMART for short – a tough, determined group of racers that have their sights set on Primal Quest Badlands presented by SPOT.

The team consists of Terry DeWitt (aka Dash), Juan Pablo Piscione (aka Giampo), Michael Bacon (aka Bacon), and Jan Willem Frederik (aka Frits).  Before joining forces, this foursome was already quite familiar with one another, as they have competed in marathons, Ironman triathlons, mountain biking races and other athletic events for years. But since they formed together as a team, they have dominated the inter-island, adventure racing scene on St. Maartin.

Looking for bigger challenges, and wanting to test themselves against the best teams in the world, SMART has begun preparing for the rigors of the Badlands.  Confident in their abilities with the core disciplines of adventure racing, they have been focusing on maintaining and improving their conditioning. Off-island clinics in orienteering and climbing have helped the team to hone those skills as well, while a schedule of shorter races will allow them to put everything into practice before heading to South Dakota in August.

The team clearly has a sense of humor, which will serve them well racing in the Badlands.  When asked to name their strengths, they quickly responded with the answer, “Jokes”.  More seriously though, they count the bond between of them, as well as their broad athletic experience as their true strengths that will help them to be competitive in the race.

And when asked to identify their weakness, their biggest concern was over the fact that Team SMART had never run a race of the length and distance of Primal Quest before. Even more worrying is the fact that Bacon will be going without his morning coffee, while Frits will be separated from his fine wines. Giampo is facing a week of speaking nothing but English and poor Dash will be going through Diet Coke withdrawals before the first checkpoint.

The St. Maartin Adventure Racing Team is proud of the little island they call home, a place that is a reflection of the team itself. The tiny island is divided between two countries, but serves as the home for more than 100 other nationalities. That diversity is reflected in SMART as well, and it is a strength that will see them through 600 miles of the most challenging South Dakota backcountry. Good luck team! See you in the Badlands!

The St. Maartin Adventure Racing Team would like to thank their sponsors Amstel Bright, The Daily Herald, and Tri-Sport of St. Maarten, without whom they would be unable to compete in Primal Quest this year.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 20th, 2009 at 9:15 am and is filed under Primal Quest, Teams. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.