off to Primal Quest 2009...

It has all come together and we are getting excited to get to South Dakota and have a fun and exciting race. Cyril, Aaron, Tessa and myself will be making the team up this year. The last month has been filled with trainings galore...including the following races

-Cascade Cream Puff
-Peterisoba
-Lake Tahoe Big Blue 24 hour race

I found out it was going to cost me an additional $800 to get my bike box and a bin to Rapid City on Delta Airlines so I've decided to drive. Considering the flight cost me $250, seems a bit unreasonable. I am officially boycotting Delta, until I use what ever credit they give me for cancelling my flight...how much would it have cost to ship golf clubs, or oversized golf clubs...$0.

Cyril just sent out the sponsor email below, I thought I would include it as it has good info and some interesting links in there.
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Dear Sponsors, family, friends, and media;

The team is about to embark on an amazing journey through the Badlands of South Dakota as part of the mighty Primal Quest (www.ecoprimalquest.com) called “The World’s Most Challenging Human Endurance Competition.” See below for a brief description of this incredible race which is sure to make you exhausted just reading about it.

Our team profile can be found at: http://team4.ecoprimalquest.com/

You can follow the up to the minute action on the leaderboard and race map as teams will be wearing the SPOT GPS tracking devices (device only emits signal for tracking and emergencies but teams can not use the system to navigate). This year teams will also have a profile on SPOT’s new online social community providing additional team profile information and individual team tracking history allowing viewers to monitor their favorite team in real-time. Ours can be found at: http://www.spotadventures.com/user/profile?user_id=45794

As a lead up to Primal Quest, we’ve been posting training and preparation blog entries on Adventure World Magazine’s website. We will continue to do so up to race start and afterwards. Here are a few of our latest postings:
http://www.adventureworldmagazineonline.com/gear/heat-elevation-and-a-scorpion-sting-team-nuun-feedthemachine/

http://www.adventureworldmagazineonline.com/news/pq-prep-in-washington-team-nuun-feedthemachine/

http://www.adventureworldmagazineonline.com/news/primal-quest-training-in-the-mountains-bring-on-the-elevation/

nuun is the hydration drink sponsor of Primal Quest so all teams will receive tubes of nuun at the start of the race and nuun will be available at all transition areas where teams will change disciplines. In addition to team nuun-FeedTheMachine, a few other nuun sponsored teams will be on hand including team iMoat, Five Ten / Numa, and Tecnu Extreme/Staphaseptic Adventure Racing.

Some fast notable teams to watch this year include the World Champions Orion Health, the young guns of Salomon/Crested Butte, the experienced Merrell/Zanfel Adventure, and the astute team of Bones. There are plenty more great teams competing this year and given the unpredictable nature of adventure racing, many other teams can pull an upset. nuun-FeedTheMachine finished 4th last year and we hope to even better this year.

To get a sense of Primal Quest, visit our 2008 photo galleries at: http://dartadventure.com/index.php/gallery

The race is sure to be intense to compete in and exciting to watch. If you intend to watch, send us some good vibes - we’ll need them.

Keep Exploring,
Cyril

Brief Description of Primal Quest
The race will be held from August 14 to August 23, 2009 where international co-ed teams of 4 will compete unsupported for 600 miles (965+KM) through the remote wilderness of South Dakota’s Black Hills and Badlands. The race is non-stop and requires all members to race together. If one quits, all fail. Sleeping is optional so teams trying to win push the envelop and will only sleep 2-4 hours/night out in the wilderness. Primal Quest is the longest human-powered, multi-discipline, multi-day event of its kind in the world. The demands of traditional adventure racing disciplines are represented; trekking, mountain biking, orienteering, swimming, and paddling but this year’s race will require more navigation (the entire course requires teams to navigate with map and compass. GPS are not permitted), climbing and rappelling and even cave spelunking under the Black Hills. Along the way competitors will race through lands where dinosaurs once roamed, run in the footsteps of Native American Tribes, passing herds of wild buffalo and navigate through endless towering spires, rock faces and waterways.