Elk Mountains Grand Traverse

March 29, 2008 - Crested Butte/Aspen, Colorado

By Craig Stein

While the calendar says it’s officially Spring, the Colorado Rockies are still enveloped in the deep snows of Winter. It is 12:00:01 AM and the race has just started with temperatures hovering around 32 degrees Fahrenheit. 125 teams of two have assembled in Crested Butte for the 11th edition start of the Elk Mountains Grand Traverse (EMGT). A mere 40 miles of Colorado back country lie ahead for participants before they reach the finish line at the base of Aspen (Ajax) Mountain Ski Resort. The course traces the 1880’s mail route between the once booming mining towns of Crested Butte and Aspen Colorado. The front running teams hope to have an incident free night in order to reach the finish in under eight hours but that is not typically what the EMGT doles out. Anything from gale force winds and extreme avalanche danger to equipment failures potentially await teams as they race into the dark. 

Continue reading ‘Primal Quest Winter Adventure Racing Training Report’

“The Super Bowl of Adventure Racing” – Sports Illustrated

500 miles, 10 days and 100,000 feet of elevation gain!

Primal Quest Montana, to be held in Big Sky Montana country June 21 – July 2, 2008, is still open for registration! Need more reasons to sign up?

Primal Quest is produced by the most experienced adventure race production team in the world, and is being hosted by Big Sky Resort, one of the premier mountain resorts in America. Our 40+ sponsor partners and the 150 volunteers coming from 27 different countries will help to ensure this 5th edition of Primal Quest is an event not to be missed.

Along with the many wonderful sponsored items, gifts, services and SWAG that have been so generously provided, PQ partners will also soon be releasing:

• A new state of the art interactive web site to be released prior to the event.
• A new state of the art Interactive Leader Board – and Live Tracking to accommodate frequent video and photo web updates throughout the competition.

If you were impressed by our PQ-Utah 2006 Leader board and tracking capabilities, you will be sure to be awed by what we have in store for Primal Quest Montana 2008.

Continue reading ‘Why Primal Quest is the Superbowl of Adventure Racing’

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.

Continue reading ‘GoPro Sponsors Primal Quest Expedition Adventure Race with Wearable Digital Cameras’

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.”

Continue reading ‘Hammer Nutrition partners with Primal Quest!’

Odyssey Adventure Racing and Primal Quest continue a tradition of excellence and shared passion as a formal partnership is announced…

Odyssey is proud to join Primal Quest Montana as a Gold Partner, guaranteeing a slot in Montana for the winning team of the Endorphin Fix 3 Day Adventure Race this upcoming April in West Virginia, U.S.A.

In April of 2007, PQ Montana course director, Chris Caul, completed the Odyssey E-FIX 2 Day AR as a soloist on a single speed mountain bike – no small feat. “The course Joy designed last season was the most challenging, most rewarding, and most beautiful AR course I’ve raced yet. I can’t imagine a better event in the eastern U.S. with which to test one’s mettle and shear fortitude.”

Continue reading ‘WINNING FIX TEAM GOES TO PRIMAL QUEST MONTANA!’

From WKRG News5
By Jennifer Abney Anchor

 At a time when most people rely on diet pills and surgery to lose weight, one Louisiana man decided to lose weight the old fashioned way. And, he is now racing his way to better health.

Dave Poleto struggled with weight loss for over 30 years. His story is a familiar one to many.

“I am just like everyone else, I spent my whole life on that weight loss/weight gain roller coaster,” said Poleto, “I would lose 20 pounds and then gain back 25 pounds.”

Poleto’s motivation to lose weight began with a simple request from his son.

“I was with my son at the park, he was saying come run with me, play with me Dad,” said Poleto, “And, I physically couldn’t keep up with him.”

That day Poleto made a decision to lose weight and keep it off.

“I started by signing up for walks, for 5k’s,” he said.

In just one year, Poleto lost 100 lbs. He went from a size 44 pants to a size 34. For him, constant motivation was the key. In just a few years, he went from participating in 5k’s to competing in a 10 day long- 450 mile adventure race. It challenged him to run, bike and paddle his way to the finish line!

For years Poleto watched an event called Primal Quest on television. “Primal quest is the ultimate endurance challenge,” said Poleto.

[ Read Full Story ]

Greg’s gritty directorial debut about the realities of staging a race of this magnitude. Shot and edited on location in Moab, UT

Click here to check it out!