Although Team OrionHealth.com was expected to arrive early this morning, they had several navigational errors overnight — add this to the headwind that is steady at 30mph and gusting up to 36 – and they are now not expected to arrive until the early afternoon. To see their path, go to the SPOT tracker page, check the box for “OrionHealth.com” and click “Show Tracks.” You’ll see a couple of loops that were taken, and you can also see that the next two teams, Salomon/Crested Butte and Merrell/Zanfel, are nipping at their heels. Keep in mind, Team Merrell/Zanfel has a significant penalty to make up, so even if they finish slightly ahead of another team, they will most likely place behind them. The final penalty will be reflected in the official results at the end of the race.
The weather here in South Dakota has turned quite windy, causing race officials to shut down the water course until conditions improve. OrionHealth.com, originally expected to finish tonight, has been hampered by significant headwinds. Race HQ now believes the team will arrive early in the morning, possibly at daybreak. Track them with our SPOT tracking tool to get the latest and greatest information!
- The Rapid City Journal put together a story that recaps the race so far, while predicting a late finish tonight for Orion. Our estimates now have the team coming in during the wee-hours of the morning, at roughly 4 AM at this point.
Late this afternoon Team Cordura/Osprey Packs withdrew from Primal Quest Badlands presented by SPOT. The team is in good health, and suffered no medical issues, but one of the team members elected to not continue, and they decided to exit the race as a team.
All was not lost however, as the team withdrew at the checkpoint near Redshirt, a Native American reservation which graciously allowed them to use the showers in the locker room of the nearby school. It also happened to be the first day of classes for the returning students, who had the opportunity to chat with team members Kiviok Hight, Tom Zidek, and Scott Swaney, who explained to them about Primal Quest and the sport of adventure racing. Principal Barbara Ice showed the team around and introduced them to the students, who were intrigued by their visitors and all of their strange gear.
After spending some time at the school, the three athletes then toured the community, and met many of the locals. In fact, at one point, there were more than fifty residents from the town who came out to shake hands with the racers and wish them well. They had all been following the race and were excited to get th opportunity to meet some of the competitors in person.
It was a bit of a bittersweet day for the team. While their dreams of finishing Primal Quest came to and end, they did get to meet some very friendly people and serve as ambassdors to the sport they enjoy so much.
PQ River Director Josh Galt is back with more updates from the water, explaining the various conditions that the teams have been dealing with over the past few days while swimming and paddling around Angostura Reservoir.
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