Subaru Primal Quest Adventure Race Update

July 5, 2002 (10:00 pm; Mountain Standard Time)

Greetings:

I was reminded that the Subaru Primal Quest is an expedition-length adventure race. This means that the race is multiple days (>2) over distances of several hundred kilometers. This is to contrast it with a "sprint" adventure race that is typically <36 hours. (This is not what I think of as a sprint.)

In the case of the Subaru Primal Quest Adventure race, the teams will be traveling 500-600 km (depending on how well they navigate) and will be expected to finish in 10 days or less. (The lead teams will likely finish in 4-5 days.) During the race the teams will experience over 76,000 feet of vertical gain. To put this in perspective, this would be like starting at sea level and climbing Mt. Everest, and then going back down and doing it again – all in a few days. In terms of the % of distance covered by each discipline the most distance will be covered on bike (63%), with 25% of the distance covered on foot and 12% covered by paddle. According to the website: "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." [Reminder: the race officially starts at 3 pm on Sunday, July 7 – near chair lift 4 of the ski hill in Telluride.]

Another interesting feature of this race is that each team will be provided with a global positioning (GPS) device that will record the movements of each team. This is only a receiving device and cannot be used to navigate. As the competitors battle through the nearly 300-mile course, they will deliver the GPS devices to staff at select checkpoints. The staff will then download the GPS data from the devices in seconds, and return them to the racers. The data will then be made available on the Subaru Primal Quest Web site.

(photo credit: SPQ website www.ecoprimalquest.com)

The Race Director of the SPQ described the area and the routes as follows:

"The San Juan Mountains of South Western Colorado is home to more land above 10,000 feet than anywhere in the contiguous United States. This is going to be one hell of a race. With many peaks over 13,000 feet and several over 14,000 feet, raging rivers and clear blue lakes the San Juan’s are perfect. Wild single track, dirt roads, steep couloirs and ridgelines that stretch across the skyline for days. Class III rapids meandered for miles and then spill quietly into a huge lake.

The altitude was to be one of the most challenging aspects of the course. 70% of all humans will have difficulty above 10,000 feet. Gender, fitness, age and almost every other distinguishing feature that make us different from one another has no bearing on weather or not we as humans come down with HAPE or HACE. HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema) or HACE (High Altitude Cerebral Edema) make up the two most common forms of sickness at altitude. If you don’t know what these are start studying, identifying the onset of these little pests could mean the difference between a finish and a DNF at the 2002 Subaru Primal Quest. Look for more information on this site as well as anywhere else in an effort to educate and prepare your team for high altitude racing.

Weather can always be violent, as I witnessed recently in the Rocky Mountains. Teams should count on a thunderstorm every afternoon, as it is monsoon season in July. Although they are fast moving and therefore relatively short-lived, the storms are often violent with high winds. On more than one occasion I had to quickly seek shelter from the lightning and massive hail storms.

Based on the time trials, the course will range in elevation from 3,000 to 14,000 feet and take place on dirt roads, single track trails, cross country, scree and ridge top travel. Also expect steep snow, overhanging rock outcrops and ridgeline travel. I found that the ridgeline travel demanded strong ankles and the constant squishing of your feet to one side or the other of one’s shoes. After 10-14 hours of this type of repetitive action on your feet and ankles, flat trails are welcomed with open arms.

The water sections were wild in their own right; racers will encounter anything from flat water to Class III rapids, and downriver paddling for miles. "

Now that we have some of the background down, the next communication will cover Team Santa Fe’s successful gear and skills check, and some of the early observations of the racers.

More later

Darrell Henry – Team Santa Fe e-mailer