The early morning hours brought three more teams to the end of the road, crossing the finish line for Primal Quest Badlands with a powerful sense of satisfaction. First it was Team SCAAR, who tore up the last mountain biking section, racing home in no time at all. They were closely followed by two unranked teams that had been traveling together for some time. Both Team SOAR and Native Eyewear were down teammates, but they hung on to finish the race.

 Well, what a night!  Although not the official end to the race, tonight marked the pinnacle of community involvement, as hundreds of Rapid City residents and others from throughout South Dakota streamed into Memorial Park to witness their hometown heroes, Team South Dakota, cross the finish line.  The crowd roared as the bikers’ headlamps became visible across the park – along with a mass of cyclists who had ridden out to greet the team and escort them in.

A hero's welcome - including the Volunteer Fire Department - welcomed Team South Dakota as they crossed the finish line

It was a truly special night and arguably the largest reception a finishing Primal Quest has ever seen!  It comes as no surprise to staff or racers, however, as throughout the race native South Dakotans have been following the race with amazing interest and devotion, following their team around the course and also cheering on the other teams.  Every team had similar stories about locals who adopted the race and cared for the racers. This ranged from a simple gesture like farmers filling up racers’ bottles with water to more elaborate involvement, such as one employee of Acme Bikes in Rapid City driving an injured racer to a checkpoint where he could receive medical care, or pizza delivery man Lou Gutierrez, who hiked to the top of Little Devil’s Tower in the middle of the night to deliver pizza to a remote checkpoint. The South Dakota Office of Tourism and Rapid City have truly succeeded in getting the word out about the race, and racers as well as residents have been inspired by each other.

Team South Dakota at the finish line

This marked another highlight of the race in addition to the celebration of the first local team to complete a Primal Quest and the involvement of local participants in this adventure. The large crowd that had gathered for Team South Dakota provided an opportunity to recognize a group of truly exceptional people, Team Big City Mountaineers and Team Spanos, who finished shortly behind the South Dakota team.  Team Spanos encountered problems early in the race as their navigator, Steve Leonesio, became ill with an electrolyte imbalance. He was forced to withdraw from the race, at which point, as the teams recalled, “Bad navigation brought us together.”

Without a navigator, Team Spanos found their way primarily by asking locals how to get around. In one experience, a South Dakotan said “I can’t read those maps and they’re no good anyways. Here’s how you get there…” and proceeded to give them detailed – and correct – directions.  Eventually, though, both teams ended up lost on the same trail. They found each other, began traveling together, and have continued to do so ever since. 

Fortunately, the teams were traveling together when Team Spanos member Lauren Liden, an accomplished mountain biker, got a stick in her tire and crashed hard face-first.  Both teams sprung into action, with the Big City Mountaineers each playing a role in assisting Lauren.  Angela Woodland kept Lauren calm and reassured her, keeping her from moving, which could have damaged her spinal cord. The other members assisted in stabilizing her head and neck, using their backpacks as support.  Because they were present, both teams were able to attend to Lauren while also coordinating a medical evacuation.  This quick response may have kept Lauren from being paralyzed, even though she did in fact break her neck.  Amazingly, her spinal cord was undamaged, and kept that way through the efforts of her teammates on Team Spanos and the Big City Mountaineers.  She was present at the finish to explain the circumstances of the accident to the gathered crowd and publicly thank her racing partners.

Team Spanos-Big City Mountaineers celebrate the finish to their extraordinary journey

That’s not all for this team of heroes – while Team Spanos consists of three members of a SWAT Team, who regularly risk their lives for the safety of others, the Big City Mountaineers are actually an organization of individuals that strive to bring the outdoors to the underprivileged youths of the inner city.  Their commitment to providing mentorship and assistance to at-risk youth was a driving motivation for Team Big City Mountaineers to participate in Primal Quest Badlands, their first PQ.  Their goal was to compete at a high level while still demonstrating sportsmanship, and the crowd agreed that they had met and surpassed their goal.  What makes their journey even more impressive is that they requested special permission from the race director to allow the two remaining members of Team Spanos to race with them (teams of two are not allowed for safety and other reasons).  In order to have Team Spanos race with them, they voluntarily went unranked/unofficial, even though they had met all cutoff times.  This is truly a team of very special and selfless individuals, and an inspiring story of dedication.

If South Dakota wasn’t already hooked on adventure racing from following their hometown champs, they surely are now after hearing the inspiring story of Team Spanos and Big City Mountaineers.

“Stupid prairie paddle ruined all the fun.” “You mean that ditch with water in it?”

“We’re not stalling out. We’re procrastinating. There’s intent there.”

“We had to remember our buffalo code of ethics.”

“Go West, Young Man!” “But I don’t even have a compass???”

“What was the highlight of your day?” “Deodorant.”

“I can’t wait to get done and eat food that doesn’t come out of a wrapper.” “All of my food usually comes from a wrapper so it’s no big sacrifice for me.”

To a bug that had crawled up a racer’s pants: “What are you doing there, you cheeky thing? You’re uninvited!”

Two teams that have traveled much of the race together, finished it together as well. Team Spanos, who are down two teammates, joined the Big City Mountaineers, and finished the race unranked, but plenty happy none the less.

Last week, Lauren Liden of Spanos took a nasty spill on her mountain bike, and ended up in the hospital with a neck injury. The first team on the scene was Big City Mountaineers, and they helped to stabalize and comfort Lauren until the ambulance arrived. Once she was off the course, by PQ rules, Spanos should have withdrawn from the race, but they asked to continue riding with the team that helped their friend, and BCM agreed to go unranked as well, to continue traveling with their new companions. The result? Two teams coming together as one, and finishing Primal Quest together.

Team South Dakota crossed the finish line earlier tonight to the cheers of a wild and raucous crowd that was more than ready to welcome home its heroes. The four racers, Gary Haven, Lisa Gustin, Andrew Busse, and Eric Hansen, became the first home team to complete a Primal Quest, and it seemed they had the entire state behind them every step of the way. The outgoing and very friendly people of South Dakota were supportive of all the racers, but it was clear who their favorite team was on day one. Congratulations to the entire team. You made the whole state proud!