Many people have been watching the progress of Team nuun/FeedTheMachine over the past day or so, and hoping that the team was alright. I can assure you that they are, as they have just crossed the finish line for Primal Quest Badlands presented by SPOT. If you watched the team on the SPOT Tracker, you probably saw them wandering all over the map yesterday, but after a bit of rest today, and a replacement bike delivered to the course this morning, they are now safely home, and in good spirits. Great work out of everyone on the team for not giving up and working very hard to get to the finish. nuun is an inspiration to all of us.

Team BIMBACHE EXTREM – FLOWMG.COM has completed Primal Quest Badlands, but certainly took the scenic route to get to the finish line. If you’ve been following them on the SPOT Satellite Tracker,  you probably noticed that they took an alternate route into town, which bypassed a mandatory checkpoint. Once they found their bearings however, they returned to the course, picked-up the missing CP, and returned to Rapid City and the finish. Congrats to the entire team for their determination and focus. Well done!

As the race draws to a close, the media coverage ramps up as well, with plenty of stories covering the first teams crossing the finish line and conditions out on the course.

- The Gear Junkie weighed in with two stories on Primal Quest yesterday, including one on OrionHealth.com crossing the finish line first and another on Gear Junkie favorite, Team WEDALI, who had an impressive finish to the race.

- Adventure World Magazine has supported PQ throughout the ten day run, and followed up yesterday with a story linking to one of our videos that has teams, and race director Don Mann, talking about the event.

- The Rapid City Journal has an excellent story online that explains how the first teams across the finish line may or may not end up as the winner of the event, with an explanation on time credits and penalties. The same paper followed up that story today with more news on other teams reaching the end of their 600 mile journey.

- KTIV, the local NBC affliate out of Sioux Falls, picked up an Associated Press story on the finish of the race, with the first three teams crossing the finish line.

- Radio KOTA also has a brief story on the Primal Quest continuing on, but wrapping up tomorrow.

Well, folks, the mystery of nuun has now been solved.  Although they did criss-cross the pathway multiple times, they eventually broke a bike frame straight through.  Not being able to ride, they decided they would sleep for a bit, and sleep they did — for 12 hours!  They have rented a new bicycle to complete the leg and are now underway to the finish.

Meanwhile, Bimbache Extreme/FlowMG.com opted to take Route 44 in. Although travel is not prohibited on that road, they did not follow the prescribed path and will receive a penalty.  They are en route to the last CP, #38, and are expected to finish within 1-2 hours.

Finally, we have receive requests for updates on Archipela. They withdrew for medical reasons, when one teammate’s feet were too blistered to continue.  Word on the street is that they have a great story to share, and they are taking today to visit Mount Rushmore. Watch this space for an update…

Two teams crossed the finish line within minutes of one another this morning, with Team Wintec-Subaru Canada and Aquan/iRule both finishing Primal Quest Badlands presented by SPOT. Both teams shared a breakfast of pizza and ice cream, while swapping stories from the course. These two teams will go in the record books as having finished the race as ranked, but having completed the shortened course through the Badlands. Congratulations to all eight racers for a job well done!

• More teams due in today, probably around mid-morning. Looking at the tracking this morning however, Team iMoat looks a bit lost. #
• Team nuun is having some serious navigational issues this morning. Check out their track on the PQ SPOT sat tracker: http://bit.ly/179wxt #
• Team WEDALI is about an hour from the finish line. They will be the fifth team to complete Primal Quest Badlands. Finishing strong! #
• http://twitpic.com/eqvlt – Suze and JD of SCAAR en route to Checkpoint 34; they're the last team to make the Badlands #
• @elmtea Yes. The rest of the teams hitting the checkpoint will be short coursed back into Rapid City on their Bikes. in reply to elmtea #
• Team iMoat is now less than an hour out of town. They will soon be across the finish line. #
• iMoat is Home! They are the 6th team to cross the finish line at the 2009 Primal Quest Expedition Adventure Race! #
• Team Merrell Haglöfs Multimania is on track at last, but nuun is still struggling with their navigation. We hear the SleepMonsters have them #
• http://twitpic.com/es98y – Team Endurox R4 prepared for the final biking section through the Badlands #
• http://twitpic.com/esbb2 – A welcome sight after a loooooong trek! #
• http://twitpic.com/esbcz – Checkpoint flag at CP 36 in the heart of the Badlands #
• http://twitpic.com/esbzl – Badlands National Park – one of the many views of these craggy rock formations the racers will be biking thro … #
• http://twitpic.com/esgl1 – Team Endurox R4 heads out on the Avis Mountain Bike through the Badlands – the final segment #
• Merrell Hagl”fs Multimania just rolled across the finish line. They had a tough day on the bikes with a few nav issues, but they are home. #