Here are a few more tips for Primal Quest success, this time courtesy of Kim Dunkin. Kim says:

1) Take care of your feet. No matter how fast you are if you have bad feet you are a liability.

Tip: Read Jon Vonhoff’s book Fixing Your Feet

2) The treadmill is your friend if you do not live in a hilly area. Put boards underneath the front  to increase the grade. Hike/Run up to 2 hours on a full incline.

I found it helped my strength for climbing on foot and the bike.

3) Be able to run 20 miles, bike 100 miles then kayak for 4-6 hours on the same day before you get to the starting line.

4) Be sure you love your team, it is a long race together!

Great tips! Simple but also very effective. To read more of Kim’s tips and thoughts on adventure racing and endurance sports, head over to her website at Extreme-Adventure-Sports.com.

Photo by Will Ramos

Awhile back we requested that experienced Primal Quest racers share their tips and experiences. Our first submission comes to us from “Earring” Doug Judson of Team Tecnu Extreme/Staphaseptic Adventure Racing. Doug writes:

Aaaahhh, the million dollar question.  How to prepare for a PQ or a longer expedition competition?? Well, after racing off and on since 1997, I have had many good and some not so good races. I have made ALL the mistakes, and generally learned from those mistakes.  Having a successful race is about controlling the variables, so that also translates to training.  The more you control your environment, the less apt you are for injuries, the better aptitude for success, and the better race you will eventually have.  I was pulled from PQ MT because I had severe pneumonia, and near kidney failure from my illness, the altitude change, and by generally just NOT taking quite as good care of myself as I should have.

Read the rest of this entry »

“How do I prepare for Primal Quest?”

This is a common question we’ve been getting a lot lately. Racers, fans, and even the media all want to know what it takes to compete in the “Superbowl of Adventure Racing”.  We figured who better to answer that question than the men and women who train for and compete in Primal Quest.

We’d like to hear from all Primal Quest veterans with their tips for success. Tell us about your training schedule, favorite foods while racing, unique approach to competing, or any other items that you think could be helpful to adventure racers aspiring to compete in Primal Quest.

Submit your best tips to us in an e-mail, along with a short bio, and we’ll compile them and post them to the PQ website. This new page will be called “AR Tips” and will serve as a great reference point for new and experienced athletes alike.

Send your best tips to: info@ecoprimalquest.com

Check back often for updates!

Photo by Andres Vargas