Continued coverage from media outlets around the country…

Injury reduces Primal Quest team to three (Milwaukee Sentinel Journal)

Familiar terrain (Bozeman Journal)

Primal Quest team evacuated off Sacajawea Peak (Bozeman Journal)

Montana team leaves Primal Quest (Billings Gazette)

Primal Quest spokesman expects finish Saturday (A.P.)

The breaking news tonight is that Team Big Sky/Flathead Beacon has withdrawn from the event. The team arrived at TA 9 after emerging from the Crazy Mountains and elected to end their Primal Quest 2008 race. As the only team from Montana, the team was followed closely and cheered on by fans across the state. The team did Montanans proud and raced a good race. 

Earlier this evening the Primal Quest Search and Rescue Team received a 911 emergency signal from the SPOT Satellite Messenger being carried by TeamPeakAdventure.com who was out of Checkpoint 19, on their mountain bikes and speeding along in third place. 

Upon receiving the alert, the very professional SAR team quickly, and efficiently, went to work, communicating with the SPOT headquarters in Houston and the PQ medical team. Within minutes, personnel were rushing to the scene, with the exact GPS coordinates provided by SPOT. TeamPeakAdventure was soon joined out on the course by a number of emergency volunteers, ready to render aid as needed.

As it turns out, the SPOT device was inadvertently triggered after one of the team members wiped out on his mountain bike, and landed on top of the little orange gadget. When PQ personnel examined the SPOT, they found it caked in dirt and gravel, with the emergency button pressed. 

With the cause of the alert identified, and the team not only healthy and in good spirits, the very professional PQ SAR and Medical Teams stood down, relieved that the team was fine and continuing to race well. Most of the SAR and Medical Teams consists of volunteers who come to Primal Quest because they love the sport of adventure racing, and watching them in action, working in concert with one another was an amazing thing to behold. Well done team!

Photo by Jason Perriera

Notes from the race course as Day 4 of Primal Quest 2008 unfolds.

- The top of the leaderboard remains the same, with Nike, Merrell, and TeamPeakAdventure.com continuing to hold down first, second and third respectively. All three teams have come out of the Crazy Mountains, and as of this writing Nike has moved on to the Bridgers. By all accounts, Merrell has caught that second wind, and are now feeling good and moving well as a team. Their sites are set on catching Nike at this point. 

- Yesterday it was noted that Nike didn’t take their snowshoes with them into the Crazies, and since they are considered mandatory gear, they could have faced a penalty. However, after evaluating the course, PQ management has now made snowshoes as optional for the rest of the course, but when Nike left them behind, they were still considered mandatory. In order to not take a time penalty, Nike has been given an option to carry their snowshoes through the Bridger Mountains instead. 

- Yesterday morning the sun rose on CP12 it was discovered that a mountain bikes belonging to one of the Dirty Avocados teams was inadvertently run over by a support crew in the night. The bike was damaged beyond repair on the course, but the team that it belonged to hadn’t arrived yet to claim their wheels. Fortunately, PQ Course Director Chris Caul came to the rescue, loaning his personal bike to the unlucky team.

- Bike troubles weren’t confined to the Dirty Avocados either, as Team Active Racing’s support crew arrived at the same CP to find that one of their bikes were missing from the bike rack on the back of the vehicle. The last time they saw the bike was when they were in the parking lot of the local Walmart, but it was gone when they arrived at the checkpoint. It’s unclear if the bike was lost in transit. 

- The Captain at Transition Area 7, Marcy Beard, sends this anecdote from the field. When Team Nike ACG/GoreTex arrived to the TA and underwent mandatory gear check. When asked to verify their bear spray Nike ACG captain Peter Courogen was over heard saying, “We drew it once, then we realized we were hallucinating and looking at a stump.”

- Another great quote from the course comes from Nike’s Monique Merrill who says: “The trek through the Crazies Mountain Range was the most beautiful hike I ever did.”

Photo by Will Ramos

After having one of their teammates withdraw due to a minor, non-life threatening injury, Team Radioactive Beagles continues the race as an unranked team. The other members are in good spirits and racing well. 

Your daily dose of news from the PQ field…

- Teams are hoping to hear from friends and family from home, and comments are welcome. Go to your favorite team’s page on the PQ website and leave comments and words of encouragement. Simply click on a blog post on the teams page, scroll to the bottom and enter your note. When you’re all done, hit the “Submit Comment” button and your message will be off to the team. 

- The top three teams continue their assault on one another and the course today, not missing a beat with the removal of today’s whitewater course. Team Nike was the first team out of CP15 and are now heading into the Crazy Mountains, with Merrell in pursuit, and TeamPeakAdventure.com not far off the pace. Rumor has it that Nike left their snowshoes back at the TA however, and when last scouted, the Crazies were still covered by a deep layer of snow. 

- Teams were happy to see their bikes for the first time today after a number of long trekking sections, but arriving at CP13, where they were expecting to hit the Yellowstone River, they were told that their first bike ride would last longer than they had first expected. 

- Not everyone was happy to stay off the water today. Word from the course is that Team BaseCamp was hoping to test their skills on the Yellowstone, and even Dart-Nuun and Team Bones were a bit disappointed that the river was closed as well.

- Finally, the course change today was clearly a good idea, as it took PQ teams straight down Adventure Lane. 

Following the wild day yesterday on the Gallatin River that saw the closure of that portion of the course, the decision was made to keep teams off the Yellowstone River today as it nears it’s crest as well. Many teams are currently approaching CP12 where they will transition to the first mountain biking leg of this year’s course, but they’re about to learn that they’re in for more time on the bike than they expected.

The original course design had teams riding their bikes along the 17 mile Sportraxx by Simpson mountain bike segment to TA6 in Emigrant where they were originally going to transition to river kayaks. Now, however, they’ll continue along to TA7 on their bikes thanks to conditions on the river.

After carefully studying the Yellowstone, and speaking to local authorities, the choice seemed clear. The area rescue teams have their hands full insuring the safety of the local paddlers, and wouldn’t be available to assist in any potential issues involving racers. Safety remains paramount in all aspects of the event, and after all the trekking and whitewater the racers have seen so far, I’m sure they’re happy to see their bikes. 

Photo by Jason Perreira

More media coverage on Primal Quest 2008:

White-knuckle ride (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)

Primal Quest teams off to faster-than-expected start (The Missoulian)

Local Primal Quest team off and trekking (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) 

Former Billings resident ‘hooked’ on eco racing (Billings Gazette) 

Big Sky endurance race kicks-off (KBZK Bozeman)

Westport native prepares for primal journey (The Herald News)