Our friends at Bare Essentials magazine, one of our media partners for Primal Quest Badlands presented by SPOT, have put together another great article that takes an inside look at the race by interviewing Rick Emerson, the course designer who has come up with all the sadistic ways to punish the racers in August.

In the article, Rick discusses how he approached designing the course, balancing world-class challenges while showing off the best scenery that South Dakota has to offer. He also hints at how his own outdoor adventure experience influenced the design proces. As if that wasn’t enough, Rick also gives us some ideas on what we can expect in the Badlands in a few weeks time. He tops it off with his top ten things to know before you go that will be of interest to racers and fans alike.

To read this great interview for yourself simply click here.

Two great videos spotlighting Primal Quest have been released, one that looks back on the tremendous success of Montana and another that looks forward to Primal Quest Badlands presented by SPOT.

The first video was put together by Wouter Kingma, one of the talented photographers who came to Montana last year to chronicle the return of Primal Quest. Wouter shot many wonderful photographs, and he has compiled some of them together to create a great retrospective of last year’s race. Check out the video by clicking here and more of Wouter’s work can be found on his website OrangeExpressions.com. Great work Wouter!

The second video comes to us courtesy of KAMC TV in Lubbock, Texas. The video serves as a great introduction to adventure racing in general and Primal Quest specifically, with a glimpse of what teams can expect when they arrive in South Dakota in August. To view this video, click here.

Be sure to checkout both videos, and then head over to Inside Primal Quest to watch even more great video.

Seven weeks and counting!

As we all move into high gear for the final weeks before Primal Quest Badlands Presented by SPOT there are several important items to attend to.

Team captains are responsible for ensuring that each team member receives and digests this final Competitor Newsletter. There are several “Action Items” included in this document and we ask that you complete each task by the due date so that our pre-event planning goes smoothly.

We also ask that you honor our generous Partners by perusing their ads at the end of the newsletter. Their involvement has made it possible for us all to “play” in South Dakota this August.

Thank you for your continued enthusiasm and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Dawn Taylor Mann
Competitor Relations Director/Director of Operations
dawn.mann@ecoprimalquest.com

Most of us have dealt with the affliction from time to time; some of us more often than we would like to admit.  The symptoms begin subtly but are soon too strong to ignore:

You know the entire REI staff by name.  They look the other way when they see you coming.

The bike shop is the most dialed number on your cell phone this week, followed closely by that of a long distance teammate.  You hope to have a bit of prize money in hand when your spouse sees the phone bill.

Your co-workers keep asking why you are so “out of it” the week before your “vacation.”  You tried to explain last time but were so overwhelmed by questions about your best time in the mile and whether you thought you could finish a marathon that you decided to go incognito this time.

Recreational cyclists watch, aghast, as you, laden with a backpack, lights, map board, seven water bottles, and a paddle, ride back and forth along the bike path, making an adjustment every 50 meters.  Their incredulity increases when you ask their kid to hang on to the dog leash attached to your bike seat to determine whether it functions properly.

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Newly launched online magazine World Wide has profiled Primal Quest Badlands presented by SPOT in a brief article that calls PQ “The World’s Toughest Race”. Read the story here, and then checkout the rest of World Wide’s great content as well.

The U.K. based electronic journal launched back on May 4th, and is already building a nice catalog of content including regular news stories, featured articles, gear reviews, and more. Outdoor enthusiasts will find plenty to appeal to their sense of adventure in the photo and video sections as well.

Thanks for the story World Wide! Much appreciaed! And keep up the great work.

(Photo by Andres Vargas)

“We don’t have rock like that in Louisiana”. That’s the story I was telling everyone during the June Primal Quest ropes training session in Utah. I’m use to the flat land, mud, and swampy conditions in my home state so I was definitely out of my element. But with the expert instruction received during the two days of training, I felt at ease and right at home on the rock. To thank for that feeling are Jay Smith with High and Wild Mountain Guides and Dave Medara with Moab Desert Adventures. As the PQ Ropes Course Director, Jay ensured us that what we learned during the training would definitely help us in South Dakota.  Hopefully, I can remember all those great tips when the time comes during the race.

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