PIERRE, S.D. – Beginning August 14, South Dakota will host the 2009 Primal Quest Adventure Race. This 10-day expedition adventure race consists of 600 miles and has teams racing through the Black Hills National Forest, Badlands National Park and the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands.

“Hosting this type of race is a new venture for South Dakota,” said Richard Benda, secretary of the Department of Tourism and State Development. “We’ve already received a great deal of exposure from this and anticipate the interest will continue to grow as the event gets closer. The uniqueness of Primal Quest makes it perfect for the Million Dollar Challenge program.”

Primal Quest had several options that they were considering from across the United States and Canada; places like British Columbia, Idaho and Wyoming. However, after scouting a course that was already developed for them, the decision was made much easier and in a timelier manner than in past years.

“To be honest, South Dakota didn’t really even cross our minds for hosting this year’s race,” stated Don Mann, Director of Primal Quest. “We received a cold call from the Rapid City Convention and Visitors Bureau asking us to consider the state in 2009. From there, it was certainly an option due to the beautiful landscapes, the challenging terrain, climate and more importantly the friendly and cooperative people we worked with at the state and local levels who eventually helped to make it all happen.”

Several local, state and federal agencies have come together to help make this event happen and all have been instrumental in making South Dakota the next place to host the World’s Most Challenging Human Endurance Competition.

“Of all the places in the world that we could have chosen for the 2009 race, South Dakota just had to be it,” said Chris Caul, Primal Quest Course Director. “The course had already been laid out for us and we basically had to review it, tweak it and get several agencies to work together to connect the final pieces in the decision making process. And in South Dakota, that was not a problem at all.”

The Rapid City Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) has partnered with the South Dakota Office of Tourism through the Million Dollar Challenge program to bring Primal Quest to the state. The Million Dollar Challenge program is part of the 2010 Initiative to double visitor spending in South Dakota. Program requirements, applications and additional information are available at www.SDVisit.com.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 17th, 2009 at 1:47 pm and is filed under Primal Quest. 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.