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Primal Quest Badlands
posted Tuesday, November 11, 2008 by Yak @ 10:52 AM - 0 comments

By now, most hard-core adventure racing enthusiasts know the location of the next Primal Quest, "The World's Most Challenging Human Endurance Competition." The 600+ mile, ten day expedition length, multi-discipline race will be held August 15th - 24th, 2009 in the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota, USA. Don Mann Productions and the South Dakota Department of Tourism announced the dates and location of the 6th edition of this legendary adventure Friday, September 26th on location at Custer State Park.

After the extremely successful return of Primal Quest Montana in the Summer of 2008 the organization was focusing on taking the race to several international locations, but that was to change. "We have always enjoyed producing this event in the U.S.," expressed Race Director Chris Caul. "We had a lot of racer feedback saying they wanted the race to stay domestic."

Veteran adventure racer Robyn Benincasa, captain of Team Merrell/Zanfell, agrees that the Badlands venue is a positive decision. "I love racing in the United States...I'm so used to packing up everything for airline weight specs and paying way too much in excess baggage fees that driving to a race is a rare treat."

Robyn, at the time of this interview, had just returned from the Furnace Creek 508 in Death Valley to her home in San Diego, California. She finished the non-stop bike race in 33 hours: 10 minutes. "This was actually my first bike race, believe it or not." Robyn revealed, "Interestingly, all of the girls on the podium were in the 40-plus age group. Nice to be reminded that we ultra types are actually just hitting our stride in our early 40s! Definitely not a race for the youngsters."

In the Summer of 2008 South Dakota representatives contacted Primal Quest and invited the organization to check out what the state had to offer. "After several follow-up conversations, a scouting trip was planned," said Chris Caul. "From spending time on the ground, seeing the terrain, we knew we had our next race course!" Caul expounded, "We are excited about the vast and trailless areas South Dakota holds. I have never seen a location that has such variable terrain. The different landscapes of the area will be an unbelievable experience for the racers."

"Most people have never experienced the beauty of South Dakota. The scenery of the Badlands is like another planet," Don Mann, Primal Quest Producer, enthusiastically conveyed.

As the most prolific adventure sport event producer in the world, Don Mann has been instrumental in reviving the Primal Quest brand. He is moving it forward, with a fraction of the initial budget, regaining the image it once had when backed by seriously large capital. Mann is very optimistic about the success of Primal Quest Badlands - presented by SPOT. "We expect even more media coverage and exposure than we had in Montana. With more than nine months before race day we already have the entire course planned and expect to have nearly 90% of this layout unchanged by the time permitting is finalized."

Don and Chris have already been on most of the 603 mile tentative race course. In South Dakota, unlike other previous Primal Quest venues, bushwhacking is OK unless otherwise posted. "This means teams will be able to pick their own route between check points along the course." Don Mann's optimism is bolstered by the warm reception South Dakota has shown the Primal Quest organization. "We have around 75 local and state officials backing this event 100%. We should have less issues with permitting than any previous race," Don proclaimed.

"We have a saying here in South Dakota, we roll out the red carpet, not the red tape," stated South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds. "That doesn't mean we'll cut corners; what we will do, is give an up or down answer very quickly." This approach to such a large expedition type event should help speed along the permitting process, at least at the state level. Governor Rounds continued, "In South Dakota, we don't want people to just look at the natural beauty of our rugged terrain, wide open prairies and beautiful Black Hills, we want them to use the trails, streams and rivers. We just ask folks to leave these areas just as they found them."

Commenting on the organization's ecological standards the Governor said, "The Primal Quest team's goal is to be environmentally friendly and we will hold them to it." Primal Quest could mean millions of extra dollars in visitor spending from the exposure the race will bring the State. The Tourism Department is already a partner in bringing Primal Quest to South Dakota. "We have substantial time and money invested in it's success. That commitment will continue until the last team finishes the race and beyond." The Governor’s office feels strongly that South Dakotans will embrace this event and want to be involved with it.

The Primal Quest media team will showcase the wonders of South Dakota to the world through it's television agreement with Rush HD and other standard definition networks. Print media magazines and newspapers will publish articles before during and after the race. The public will also follow the race online through the Primal Quest web site and the near real time tracking of each four person coed team through GPS devices, provided by presenting partner SPOT.

Unlike the 2008 Montana version of Primal Quest, the Badlands event will be an unsupported race. This means no plush RV's and multi-person support crews to pamper the racers at each transition area. Race team's will be responsible for carrying their own food and vital equipment during each leg of the course. "I'm a big fan of support crews, so that aspect about the 2009 edition is a bit of a bummer for me," racer Robyn Benincasa replies. "I think support crews allow family and friends to be involved at a deeper level and to really be part of the team, not to mention the ever important emotional support they can offer." Robyn Continues, "On the other hand, a non-supported race definitely levels the playing field a bit. For example, in the 2008 primal quest, the timing of the sections worked out perfectly for team Nike to run the race like a stage race and sleep comfortably in their motor home every night. That was a huge factor in their speed and ultimate success, since they had warm food and a bed every night versus a bag of cheetos and a pupply pile of teammates on the freezing ground like most other teams. Good for them for using their crew to their benefit and working hard to get back to them every night."

There are other major differences the South Dakota environment will pose. 580 of the total 600 mile course will be comprised of off-road travel. Orienteering and route finding will be required during each leg of the race. According to producer Don Mann; one-third of the race duration will be spent on the water, one-third will be on mountain bikes, and one-third will be comprised of the trekking/climbing/spelunking. "The race through the South Dakota Badlands will have more single track mountain biking than any previous Primal Quest," proclaimed Don. The planning team is excited about the number of terrain options course designer Rick Emerson has presented to them. "We have a very knowledgeable course designer who truly knows every inch of the course," said race director Chris Caul. "He has found us more climb sites and caves than we can ever use. We are working closely with the local spelunking groups, as well as the land managers, to select our best options," Chris continued. "The climb sites are truly unlimited, and much like Utah, endlessly beautiful," Don Mann expressed. The entire Primal Quest production team believes that the South Dakota event will be, "The benchmark that all future Primal Quest races will be judged against!"

Team and Volunteer registration opens today, November 10th, at http://www.ecoprimalquest.com. Primal Quest Badlands 2009 will cost each team $11,500. The price is $1000 less than it was for the Montana 2008 race. This should help to encourage more teams to enter the event. While the cost has dropped, the prize purse has increased from $100,000 to $175,000 in cash and prizes for the top finishing teams. "Bring it on!" exclaims Robyn Benincasa. "That will probably draw at least a few more international teams to the party." Robyn continued, "I've never raced for the money, so its not a factor for me. Just a nice bonus when it happens! If I were in AR for a living, I'd definitely be living on the streets of San Diego in a Geo Metro by now. Prize money is a nice-to-have, but with four people and so much gear and equipment, you can't count on it! Just getting to the finish line of the Primal Quest and feeling like you had a great race is a victory for most teams. That’s worth far more than any prize money."

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