A Danish Trekker taking part in the TGO Challenge, an annual walking event in the Scottish Highlands, took ill last week and activated his SPOT Messenger alerting rescue teams to his condition, and quite possibly saving his life. 

Niels VIntner activated his device at 3 AM local time after suffering from what is described as acute stomach pains. Once activated, the SPOT Messenger sent an alert to the monitoring station in Houston, Texas. From there, the location of the beacon was passed on to Scottish police in Fort William, who dispatched an RAF helicopter to VIntner’s precise location to extract him.

This event marks the first time that a SPOT Messenger has been activated in the U.K. The device is designed and manufactured by Primal Quest presenting sponsor SPOT who will use the Messengers to provide up to the minute tracking of teams while out on the course during the race. 

SPOT Satellite Messenger™ Enhances Premiere Adventure Race Experience with GPS Mapping and Real-Time, Leader Board Tracking 

MILPITAS, CA (April 23, 2008) –  SPOT Inc., the pioneer behind the award-winning SPOT Satellite Messenger, today announced its sponsorship of the Primal Quest Montana Expedition Adventure Race.  Called the “The World’s Most Challenging Human Endurance Competition,” Primal Quest 2008 Presented by SPOT is scheduled to take place in Big Sky Country, Montana June 23 through July 2, 2008.

Primal Quest fans can follow their favorite teams at www.ecoprimalquest.com, through real-time GPS tracking and custom leader board technology provided by SPOT allowing for up-to-date viewing on SPOT enhanced Google Maps™.  This technology is based on new SPOT services that allow users to broadcast their location and messages to others over the web.  The SPOT satellite messenger will be worn by each of the 70 plus teams of adventure racers during the 10 day, multi-sport competition.

“We have been looking forward to the innovative technology that SPOT is bringing to Primal Quest for many years,” said Don Mann, Primal Quest Director “SPOT is a lightweight personal satellite messenger that won’t slow the racers down and will provide continuous position updates of the teams along the Primal Quest course making it the most interactive Primal Quest in history.”

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 There has been a number of Primal Quest related episodes of the GoFAR Podcast of late covering a variety of topics PQ related.

First, we have an interview with Justin Wakefield of GoPro, a new partner for Primal Quest, who will be outfitting racers with their Hero Cameras for the 2008 race to capture an unprecedented amount of video and still images from the field. 

Teams interested in getting a sneak peek at Primal Quest Montana will want to check out this interview with Chris Caul, the 2008 PQ Course Designer. Chris discusses getting started in adventure racing, moving on to course design, and much more.

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PESCADERO, Calif. (TK DATE, 2008) – GoPro, a manufacturer of wearable digital cameras for sports, will be providing Digital HERO 3 wrist cameras and Helmet HERO gear mountable cameras for the Primal Quest Expedition Adventure Race June 21 – July 2, 2008.

GoPro will provide its wearable cameras and accessories to the 80-plus teams who will compete in a variety of non-motorized action sports during this summer’s race. This will allow the Primal Quest teams to capture exciting immersive video and photos while they labor through the punishing adventure race.

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We are excited to announce our partnership with the world-class adventure race known as Primal Quest, back after a two-year hiatus. Headed up by retired Navy SEAL and well-known/respected adventure racer and event promoter Don Mann (who’s also an avid Hammer Nutrition product user), the 2008 race takes place in Hammer’s home state of Montana on June 21 – July 2 (exact location TBA).

Labeled as “the World’s Most Difficult Human Endurance Competition” (or, as writer Jason Blevins puts it, “The sufferfest that eclipses all sufferfests”), Primal Quest (quoting their web site) “is a 5-10 day expedition adventure race. It is the largest non-motorized, multi-sport, multi-day event of its kind in the US. Primal Quest® is an environmentally friendly, ecologically aware wilderness Expedition Adventure Race®. Teams of experienced back country adventure athletes journey across expansive terrain using only a map, a compass and combined skills. Successfully finishing requires much more than stamina and mental fortitude. It requires selfless teamwork, spirit and absolute determination. Only co-ed teams of four are permitted to race. Team members are required to travel together at all times and must finish together in order to be officially ranked. Over $100,000 in Cash and Prizes will be awarded to the top finishing teams.”

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Introducing a New Primal Quest Partner Level, “The Primal Quest Prize and Swag Partner.”

Events such as ours would not exist without the support of generous contributions from sponsors. If you would like to donate prizes and/or swag for our 2008 event, please complete the form (PDF) located on the Sponsorship page of our site!

Thank you!
Sherry Simpson
Sponsor Director