With Primal Quest Badlands presented by SPOT looming, big news hit the adventure racing community this week when it was announced that Robyn Benincasa, the captain of Team Merrell/Zanfel Adventure, would not be racing in South Dakota. But even more stunning, is the word that defending champs Team Nike has withdrawn from the race as well.

Benincasa has battled hip injuries over the past few years, and back in 2007 she was forced to undergo resurfacing surgery to repair damage to one of her hips. Yesterday, the adventure racing legend went back under the knife, this time to take care of her other hip, and that surgery will keep her from being able to join her teammates in the Badlands. Team Merrell will continue on without her however, as Denise McHale, who raced on Team Peak Adventure last season, will replace her on the squad.

While Robyn will no doubt be missed in South Dakota, the bigger story is the withdrawl of defending PQ champs Nike. Last week, team captain Mike Kloser suffered a crash while mountain biking, which left him with a broken collarbone, a collapsed lung, and five broken ribs, and while he is already on the mend, the injuried will obviously keep him out of the race. The rest of Team Nike reluctantly decided to pull out of Primal Quest rather than look for a replacement on short notice.

Obviously these injuries open up the top of the leaderboard in some very interesting ways. It seems for the first time in its history, Primal Quest will have a new winner, and the race will be wide open for any team to take the crown. Can Merrell break through at last with their leader on the bench? Or will anthoer team take the top of the podium? Either way, it’s going to be a lot of fun for adventure racing fans to watch. This could be the most competitive Primal Quest yet!

The premiere expedition-length adventure race in the world is coming to the premiere high-definition broadcast network this August, as Primal Quest Montana Presented by SPOT begins airing on HDNet starting August 8.  The series will run  for four consecutive Saturdays at 10:30 AM ET with an encore presentation  at 2:30 PM ET.

Primal Quest has been called “The Worlds Most Challenging Human Endurance Competition”, and HDNet viewers will have the opportunity to see why it has earned that moniker.  Sixty  co-ed teams of four will race non-stop for ten days across a course that is more than 500 miles in length. They’ll run, paddle, climb, and mountain bike their way through some of the most challenging terrain on the planet.

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Items For Sale On-site at Primal Quest Badlands Presented by SPOT
August 23, Noon to 6:00 pm
Memorial Park, Rapid City
(Adjacent to Rushmore Plaza Holiday Inn)

Surplus items from PQ’s inventory include:

• Necky Amaruk Tandem Kayaks (Used only 1 – 2 times)  New $1200  >>   Sale Price $550
• Hyside Rubber Inflatable Kayaks in good condition   New $500    >> Sale Price $250
• New Paddles – Aura, aluminum straight-shaft   New $105   >>  Sale Price $30/each
• PQ-Branded Heavy Duty 10’ x 10’ Pop-Up Tents (black)  New $250    >> Sale Price $125
• Generators 3000 watt   New $250    >> Sale Price $125

Avoid shipping costs by purchasing these items on site at the Primal Quest Badlands Post Race Celebration

* Given the cost of shipping and storing gear, it makes sense to reduce the current inventory and replace or lease equipment for future events.

For more details contact adventure@ecoprimalquest.com

Team Salomon/Crested Butte:
Three Weeks to PQ Means Time to do the Team Thing

Doing some things for the first time completely rearranges your perception of what’s possible in life, and riding the 401 Trail at Crested Butte ranks right up there with driving, using the internet, and having sex.  Comprised of almost an hour of tight, high-speed, downhill singletrack—not to mention chest-high wildflowers as far as you can see—the 401 provided the team with a bit of pure bliss after eight hours of excellent riding.  Although 10,000’ of climbing left us feeling less than cherubic at times, the mountain biking in Crested Butte is truly heavenly.

Saturday:  With three weeks down from the last big race and three weeks to go before PQ, it was time for some hard training.  After helping my old buddy and ex-teammate Dave Mackey load up his rented POD (he and his family are moving to California for PA school), he and I headed out for an excellent run up and down Bear Peak outside of Boulder.  You can’t beat Boulder for awesome trail running from town!

Sunday:  Nice weather provided a great opportunity for five hours of mountain biking from home in Golden to Bergen Peak in Evergreen and back.  With almost 5,000’ of climbing, it’s a good ride.

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Two years ago Primal Quest’s presenting sponsor, SPOT, revolutionized the outdoor industry with the release of their first Messenger device, a unique gadget that allowed anyone venturing into remote places to not only be tracked via GPS, but also call for assistance should they run into trouble. Last year, at Primal Quest Montana, we all witnessed the power of the device, and how it could change the face of adventure racing.

Last week, at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, SPOT announced a new device that will be released later this year. The new Messenger is an evolutonary step for the product, reducing its size by as much as 30%, while improving GPS performance with faster connection times. A new, more powerful antenna, allows the device to hold a better connection while under a canopy of trees, as well.

There are a host of other improvements as well, such as safety covers added to the SOS button to ensure that it isn’t accidently pushed. A new “message sent” light indicates when communcations have been successfully sent back to civilization, while a whole new dedicated button as been added just for the tracking funcationality.

The new SPOT Messenger is expected to begin shipping in mid-September, but no pricing has been anounced yet. Look for the new and improved unit to be on store shelves soon.

Sports Events Magazine, a periodical written for managers of sporting events, has recently published a story about the use of natural, outdoor venues, as part of an athletic competition. The story notes that the use of natural settings has become increasingly popular, but that they come with their own set of unique challenges as well.

Of course, fans of adventure racing already know how the setting can play an integral role in a race, and Primal Quest has been a perfect example over the years. 2009 is no exception of course, and Sports Events points to the marriage between PQ and the state of South Dakota, as an example of an outdoor athletic competition and an amazing natural venue, coming together to create a successful event.

The article offers some good insights for anyone planning an adventure race, as well as fans of similar events, who get a behind-the-scenes look at what considerations go into choosing a location. To read the full story click here.