The USARA and Primal Quest have big news for the 2007 GoLite USARA Adventure Race National Champions. Primal Quest will be offering a team slot for this years National Champions.

USARA president Troy Farrar commented, “Don Mann is one of the pioneers of adventure racing in the US and has always supported the grass roots racers. I think PQ’s offer is awesome! Seeing the USARA National Champs get a chance to square off against the best teams in the world will be thrilling. We are excited that PQ has extended the offer and look forward to cheering on the 2007 national champions at Primal Quest.”

The number of of team slots was increased after the first 75 sold out in less than 12 hours. You still have a chance to join the adventure! Primal Quest will continue to accept race applications until all registrations are finalized.

Check out the full details on the Race Registration page.

At this very moment, Primal Quest Director Don Mann, Course Director Chris Caul, and several others are on the 2008 race course finalizing permitting and course design. Stand by for an announcement on the location soon!

In the meantime, start wrapping your brain around these facts:

The summit of Mt. Everest is 29,026 feet, which after leaving base camp is just over 13,000 feet in elevation gain.

Primal Quest 2008 will have over 95,000 feet of climbing.

More facts to follow…

For a relatively new team on the AR scene, New Zealand’s Orion Health have amassed quite a string of top-ten finishes in major international competitions. But, perhaps more significantly, they also have shown themselves to have a strong tendency for improvement year after year. In the Adventure Racing World Championships, they placed 5th in 2006 (Sweden) and then an even better 3rd in 2007 (Scotland). In the XPD Australia, an ARWS qualifier, they were 2nd in 2006 and then moved up to take first this year. They are also unbeaten in 24 hour races in their home country for the last three years – registering an astonishing 13 straight wins!

In PQ 2006, they surprised all by putting in a strong showing for such a new and inexperienced team, taking 8th. Now, with two years’ more international racing experience under their belts, they are hoping to continue that tendency to improve in PQ 2008.

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Though still months away, Primal Quest 2008 is in full swing and we are looking forward to the challenge as much as you and your teams.

As Directors of Competitor Relations, we are the bridge between the race and team captains. To that end, we are happy to announce the release of the first official Competitor Newsletter for Primal Quest 2008!

As with all important information regarding teams you can access the Newsletter from the Team Resources page.

The PQ Team Page is the place to be! Comments are open so leave a note at the bottom of the page if you are looking for someone to fill out your team. Or, if you are an individual who wants to race, you may find a team to compete with in the “World’s Most Challenging Human Endurance Competition.”

Our website attracts enthusiastic, adventurous people from around the world so the Team Page could also be a great place to recruit a support crew!

Michael Tobin’s Balancing Act
by Jacqueline Windh

Michael Tobin juggles the moment as he juggles his life – a few moments with newborn son Jack, a few words to wife Jenny, chatting with a nosy reporter on the phone… all as he packs up to leave for a five-day adventure race in China.

Michael entered the crazy world of AR relatively late, while in his mid-thirties. But rather than work his way up through the ranks, Michael (now 43) pretty much started out right at the top. And through the years, he has just stayed there. Since competing in his first adventure race in 2000, his impressive list of international AR wins includes EcoChallenge 2001, Raid World Cup 2004 and 2006, ARWS 2004 and 2007, as well as every edition of Primal Quest (Telluride 2002, Lake Tahoe 2003, San Juan Islands 2004, and Utah 2006). Some of his other titles include Xterra World Champion 2000 and 24-hour Orienteering World Champion 2004, as well as countless other victories in Xterra triathlon and duathlon.

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It is never to early to crank the engine on your team’s very own media blitz.

While everyone would love to have their very own stipple drawing show up in the Wall Street Journal, even a mention in your local paper can lead to bigger and better things. Two early case studies are PQ 2008 teams #23 Lucky and #71 Bagel Works. Both teams have received great press coverage recently including Team Lucky’s piece in Thursday’s Sacramento Bee, one of the five largest newspapers in California.

Check out their stories below and then start pitching your own team’s story to your local press! Then be sure to share with us your success and we will help spread the news via the PQ site!

Read their stories after the jump!

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