Nearly a month after completing the full course at Primal Quest Badlands presented by SPOT, Team Tecnu Extreme/Staphaseptic continues to get plenty of attention from the media. This time, it is team member Mark Richardson’s turn in the spotlight thanks to this story from the Tracey Press.

Mark, who is a fire captain with the Tracey, California Fire Department, shares his experiences from South Dakota and dealing with the unexpected out on the course, including having his bike break down not far into the race and dealing with copious amounts of mud following heavy rains. He also discusses how he got started in endurance sports, as well as some of the valuable experiences he has gained while adventure racing.

You can read the full story here.

Photo by Mark Richardson

Team Endurox R4 continue to be the darlings of the media in Ireland, with yet more television coverage. This time, team member Eoin Keith gives an introduction to the sport of adventure racing and Primal Quest in particular. Eoin’s PQ Badlands jersey is even featured prominently in the video that runs nearly ten and a half minutes in length.

Eoin, another guest, and the host also discuss the rising popularity of the sport in Ireland, where a number of races now take place. They get into training, gear, and nutrition, and much more, including the importance of navigation, a segment that shows off the wonderful MyTopo maps quite clearly.

To view the full video click here.

In the two weeks since Primal Quest Badlands presented by SPOT, the race continues to generate plenty of interest in the media. Here is a sampling of some of the great coverage:

- Team Endurox R4 has been getting their fair share of attention, especially in Ireland, which two of the team members call home. Not only were they featured on the RTE news there, more than 385,000 viewers tuned in to to find out what Primal Quest was all about. The team was also featured in the Irish Times and the Evening Herald.

- The Rapid City Journal did a follow-up story on Primal Quest Badlands, noting that Team South Dakota finished the event in 14th place overall, moving up a couple of spots in the final rankings following the application of time credits and penalties.The entire state is still cheering this team on!

Continue reading ‘Primal Quest Badlands Post Race Coverage Continues’

Primal Quest is known as “the World’s Most Challenging Human Endurance Competition” and for years it has been the crown jewel of adventure racing. Its difficulty is legendary, and endurance athletes from around the globe have tested their stamina and skills against some of the most difficult courses ever devised for the sport.

Rumors have been circulating for weeks regarding the future of Primal Quest. In the days leading up to, during, and now following, the very successful race in the Badlands, there have been questions as to where Primal Quest would go from here. At this time, there is no clear cut answer to that question, but what is clear, is that the athletes, fans, volunteers and staff of PQ want to see more, and everyone remains as committed to the race as ever before.

No one is more committed to Primal Quest than Race Director Don Mann, who has a vision of where the race can go in the future. Mann is already in talks with other states in the U.S. and several countries around the world, to produce future races under the Primal Quest banner, and while there are no current plans for a race in 2010, he isn’t ruling it out either. If circumstances were to come together properly, he believes that his team could produce another race, provided they have state sponsorship and enough teams committed to compete.

Primal Quest Badlands was a challenging event to produce, thanks in no small part to the economic climate that is having an impact not only on adventure racing, but the global community as a whole. Many races were cancelled this year, and others have a dubious future at best. But thanks to great partners, like the State of South Dakota, the community of Rapid City, and SPOT, Primal Quest Badlands not only happened, but was also a rousing success. That success can be built on for the future, and that is the plan for now.

Primal Quest will return, and plans are already in motion for 2011. Be prepared for the return of the “Super bowl of Adventure Racing”. It will be back, bigger, and better than ever.

Team Intrepid had some bike problems in the wee hours of the night, but managed to cross the finish line shortly after 3:00 yesterday. Their timing was great — the post-race party was underway, and they were greeted with beer and wine! Way to hang in there Team Intrepid! One member was forced to run most of the final bike leg with his bike, but the team’s perseverence paid off. A member of SMAC/SOLAR accompanied them for the latter part of the race and provided much needed moral support.