Day 7 marks the end of the road for three top teams, as OrionHealth.com, Salomon/Crested Butte, and Merrell/Zanfel all finished within four hours of each other. This was a much closer race than expected, as Team OrionHealth.com held a substantial lead for most of the race — at times up to 13 hours ahead of the next team.
Much of the time difference was made up in the final push, as Team OrionHealth.com took a wrong turn biking back through the Badlands and lost several hours overnight. Unable to find their path, they laid down for a short period of rest, ready to re-engage at sunrise, when the light would make it easier to find their way back on course. They discussed how disheartening it was to be lost in that final push. They had been told they were ahead, but they didn’t know by how much (they mentioned the public certainly knew more about the race then they did). Knowing they lost several hours, they didn’t know if they had blown their lead, and felt it was a big emotional swing.
Team OrionHealth.com enjoys pizza and Ben & Jerry's ice cream at the finish
OrionHealth.com looked exuberant but exhausted – they were visibly overcome with the spectacle and the swarming crowds. Local television stations KEVN and KNBN were on scene, doing interviews and getting footage of the racers finishing. “You get used to being in the woods with these 4 people, and all of a sudden there’s all these people…” Still, the winners obliged the local news reporters with interviews, which were undoubtedly viewed by thousands of South Dakotans, who have been following the race more closely than anyone expected. They said they were looking forward to a good rest, food, a shower, and perhaps a frolic on the rope swing in the creek nearby.
Team Salomon/Crested Butte finished about two hours after OrionHealth.com, and was elated about the course and their experience. They particularly enjoyed the Badlands. Female team member Jari commented on how primitive and untouched parts of the course felt. They felt they could have been in Jurassic Park, and would not have been surprised to see a dinosaur stroll by. As for the hardest part of the course – “going through town at the end smelling all the donuts.” Racers were hard pressed to say anything negative about the course – the words “epic,” “spectacular,” “unbelievable” are used over and over to describe the South Dakota landscape and the amazing course put together by Primal Quest organizers in cahoots with some local adventurers. As for navigator Travis Macy, however, he claims he spent so much of his time looking at lines on a paper, “I still don’t know what the Badlands look like!”
Team Salomon/Crested Butte was interviewed by local television personality Bob Riggio from KNBN News Center 1, who was filming live when they rolled in behind him. After conducting the interview for all to see, he quickly got back to his film sight in front of the finish arches and did a quick weather forecast, working in some tidbits for the race. Local participation in this race has been as spectacular as the racers’ views. It is difficult to go somewhere in Rapid City where they do not know about Primal Quest. Kudos go in part to the South Dakota Office of Tourism and Rapid City, who have worked tirelessly to get the word out about the race, which has made such a difference to these racers.
Bob Riggio of KNBN interviews Travis Macy, whom Mr. Riggio called a politician for his diplomatic answers
Racers from Salomon/Crested Butte report running into a farmer who chatted with them on the final bike leg. Low on water, they asked if they could get access to a spigot on his ranch. He said sure, but did they know the Kiwis had only just come through about two and a half hours before? They didn’t realize that Team OrionHealth.com was so close, unaware of the navigation problems they had encountered. In fact, they clarified with the farmer “Do you mean Team Merrell/Zanfel?” The farmer said, adamantly, “NO! The Kiwis!” Once they realized how close the lead team was, the racers took off. “We raced the last two hours with the same effort we would do a two hour mountain bike race” said Eric Sullivan.
During the interview with Bob Riggio, he prodded Travis for some dirt on his teammates. Travis wouldn’t take the bait though, acknowledging the contributions of the others. He felt Eric must have opened and closed 5,000 barbed wire fences, while John Brown cheerfully towed a teammate when needed. Jari nurtured the team, even waking Travis up when he was delirious from exhaustion. “TRAVIS! PRIMAL QUEST!” she would shout, reminding him that they were in the middle of an enormous race. Not content, Bob asked further which of the teammates he hated most. “Well,” he said diplomatically, “I made one navigational error that I’m pretty mad at myself about.”
Presumably, the navigational error was the same one that tripped up OrionHealth.com the night before, and Merrell, who had managed to catch Salomon during the Badlands section. Merrell and Salomon had leapfrogged on the final section, trading the lead depending on who was sleeping, who was pushing ahead, and who found the track first. They both went off course briefly but quickly were able to get back on track, unlike OrionHealth.com, who has the misfortune of traveling that tricky section in the dark. Their only recourse, after biking back and forth for 6 or so hours, was to lay down and try to sleep until the sun came up and they could re-orient.
Team Merrell/Zanfel celebrates finishing PQ Badlands Presented by SPOT
Once both Salomon and Merrell were back on course and going on their final push, Salomon started pulling away, increasing the gap with each mile. This may be partly attributed to the incredible effort Merrell/Zanfel made just to catch up to Salomon. After pushing so hard in the Badlands, they may have had less left in the tank. On the other hand, Merrell/Zanfel also showed up at the finish line with a ball of duct tape wadded up and attached to a spot where the tire had blown a side wall. The racers indicated that it had been that way for 100 miles, and were amazed it held up so well.
Merrell had their ups and downs over the course of the race, and is still waiting to find out what impact a penalty stemming from their use of bikes on the swim course will have on the final ranking. They had not raced together as a team before, but all were experienced racers. Denise McHale, the wife of team member Greg McHale, joined the team a mere two weeks before the race, when Robyn Benincasa was forced to undergo surgery to resurface her hip. Denise and Greg competed in PQ Montana last year for PeakAdventure.com, which was strong in third place until they had to be airlifted off the Bridger Mountains due to extreme tendinitis. Denise was able to step in seamlessly, and even competed over her birthday this weekend (which apparently Greg remembered around 10am on the relevant day).
Team Merrell/Zanfel rode on a busted tire for the last 100 miles
These teams have been out on the course for nearly six and a half days, never allowed to be outside of visual contact with each other. For many, imagining going over six days without a television, or their cell phones, would strike fear in their hearts. Forcing them to spend the time nonstop, with minimal sleep, with three other people might drive them crazy. But these teams often played games to keep themselves mentally occupied. On the bike, Team Salomon would sing “She’ll be Coming around the Mountain.” Each teammate would have to make up a new verse (such as “We’ll be finishing PQ in 2 days when we come!”), and they would all sing the new verse. They rotated which teammate came up with the next verse, and as they did so, that person would take the front on the bike, also rotating lead duties to keep fresh eyes and legs. They also played a game called “Would you rather,” in which teammates try to outdo each other in describing distasteful or painful events, with comic effect.
It wasn’t all fun and games though, and the fatigue showed on the racers’ bodies (some more than others) as they sat down for a bit and their bodies began to stiffen up. Team OrionHealth.com crossed the finish line and immediately collapsed on the grass. While Eric Sullivan from Salomon bragged “Another blisterless race, baby!!!,” Anna from Orion took off her bandages to reveal what Eric called “raw hamburger meat,” which is the appearance some of the popped blisters had taken on. As she showed the group, there was a collective “Ew” and wince of pain, for many of them recognized the agony associated with foot injuries. When asked why he never got blisters, Eric said he didn’t know – maybe good feet – but then he reconsidered and said “It’s probably the Salomon shoes!”
Team Bones is now expected to arrive around 1:30am, making it a close race for third place once Merrell’s penalties have been tallied… Stay tuned for the latest and greatest in adventure…
Photos by Frances Fisher. For more, visit our website at www.flickr.com/primalquest.
