Subaru Primal Quest Adventure Race Update

July 5, 2002 (1:00 pm; Mountain Standard Time)

Greetings:

This is the introductory e-mail update for Team Santa Fe and their progress in the 2002 Primal Quest Adventure race in Telluride, Colorado.

Why am I getting this? --- probably because you know one or more of the racers or support crew that are part of Team Santa Fe.
--- The racers are Carl Gable (team captain) (http://www.ecoprimalquest.com/teams/dspTeamNews.cfm?NID=%23%2A%2E%2D3%0A), Barb Dutrow (http://www.ecoprimalquest.com/teams/dspTeamNews.cfm?NID=%23%2A%2E%2D2%0A), Brad Fawcett (http://www.ecoprimalquest.com/teams/dspTeamNews.cfm?NID=%23%2A%3E%5D3%0A)and Joel Krypel (http://www.ecoprimalquest.com/teams/dspTeamNews.cfm?NID=%23%2A%2E%2D1%0A). [Note: I have a link to each racer’s bio on the Primal Quest website]. The Support crew for Team Santa Fe is Jessica Harrison, Jennifer Harrison and Bill Ross. I will add more about the team members later.
---- The Primal Quest website (www.ecoprimalquest.com) is nice, but it does not always give the depth of information that you would like. Most of you requested an e-mail update of what is happening with Team Santa Fe. However, I added a few other interested folks to the e-mail list. If you want your e-mail removed or want to add others let me know. Also, I will likely be posting these e-mail updates, with a few more images, to the Club South Runners website (www.lawired.com/csr/home.htm under "Adventures in Fitness"). [However, the server is currently down and I may have to change this.]

--- One other note. There is a second team, Team Stryker, that is part of the general Team Santa Fe organization and is racing under the name of their major sponsor – Stryker Corporation. I will keep track of them as well.

What is involved in an adventure race?
--- Adventure racing began late 1980s, with the Raid Gauloises, a race that sought to reconnect man with nature, to reclaim the spirit of discovery and adventure. The Raid created a new category of sport, the multi-day, team endurance race. Most of you are probably most familiar with the various Eco-Challenge Adventure races that have been run for the last 7 years. Teams must stay together and navigate through the outdoors for a race as long as ten days. The disciplines vary – mountain biking, paddling, trekking, rappelling – but the essentials remain: racing non-stop, around the clock, as a team, in hopes of meeting the rigors of the course and the great outdoors. (For a more complete history of adventure racing see http://www.ecoprimalquest.com/news/dspArticle.cfm?NID=%23%2A%2E%293%0A )

---- The Primal Quest Expedition Adventure will take place in Telluride, Colorado. The race is scheduled for July 7-16, 2002. A brutal course has been picked through the San Juan Mountain range. Race organizers have promised that Primal Quest will usher in a new era in expedition racing. A true test of human endurance, Primal Quest will feature co-ed teams of four, racing 24 hours-a-day, for up to 10 days, across a grueling 300-400 mile course requiring mountain biking, mountaineering, flat- and down-river paddling, fixed ropes and navigation. All members of a team must finish together in order to officially complete the race. Any team that has a member who is unable to finish for any reason is disqualified. The exact details of the Primal Quest course have not been disclosed, and will remain secret until the pre-race briefing to be held the day before the start of the race.

Why is the Primal Quest Adventure Race special? --- In a word – money.
--- This is the first of the relatively big money adventure races - $250,000. The winning team will take home the lucrative first prize of over $100,000. Additional cash prizes will be awarded for all teams finishing in the top ten. In most adventure races that prize money is basically enough to cover the entry fee. This has prompted that best adventure racing teams on the world to participate. This means that the 70 teams will have probably some of the stiffest competition ever. Even though the top teams will be competing prize money, the rest of the field competes for other reasons.

More later

Darrell Henry – Team Santa e-mailer