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CONFIRMED! New expedition race set for spring 2008 in western Canada
Ok folks it's no longer a rumor. I just got off the phone with race management and can now say unequivocally that this race is going to happen. So me reporting it means you can bank on it. After all, if you can't trust a yak, who can you trust?
The above mentioned were gracious enough to provide me with a ton of details (this race is going to change the AR landscape) that I can't share just yet and a few tasty nuggets that you definitely need to know now:
- The race is scheduled for spring 2008 in Western Canada, eh
- It will feature the biggest prize purse in adventure racing
- Entry fee is $10,000 per team
- You will not need a support crew as the race is unsupported
- Entries will be capped at 70 teams
- Registration is set to open August 1st if not earlier
Obviously, the timing of this news is not a coincidence. With registration for Primal Quest set to open in just under 10 hours, it's clear that the group behind this new event considers it important that racers realize that they have options to weigh before they commit to anything next summer.
The question now is whether and to what extent interest in each of these two races will impact the other and what that will mean in the end.
I think the answer to that question is going to be pretty clear fairly soon.
Stay tuned.
posted by Yak @ 1:45 PM
20 comments
20 Comments:
wow! sounds like a cool place, good price, etc...2 major (10+ day) expedition races in North America within a few months of each other may be one to many...whose gonna fold?
is it mark burnett coming back?!?! that would be AWESOME! :)
I didn't say anything about the format or length.
You can assume 10+ days if you want, but remember what happens when you ass-u-me things :-)
It's NOT Mark Burnett ...
Yak, Thanks a lot! We were set to sign up for PQ and it seems we now have options. When will we know more? Any other teams riding the fence like we are?
Why don't the two races work together? Is there room enough for two big races. I doubt it. We can't afford to do more than one a year. Which one is cheaper?
And? Now that PQ is full, the new race series doesn't release any news about their events? Common on.
It looks like a lot of the hot air has come out of the bag. Do they plan to release any information on the race before the August 1st registration date?
I confirmed with race management yesterday that an official announcement and website launch are planned for mid-July.
Can't wait to see who is putting the new race on. Hope it was not the TV people that ruined PQ on ESPN2 as is rumored.
Sure sounds like a stage-race to me. But I am definitely not going to send in my first $2,500 to PQ yet. I would rather race in CAN than Idaho or Oregon.
From what I understand, after chatting with Rich Brazeau while he was in Canada during post production, it was ESPN that pushed for the "race" format of the TV special instead of a more Eco Challenge like human interest angle.
The company that shoots the video and cuts the final product doesn't get to decide the format or style of what they are hired to deliver.
Had they stuck to what Burnett had already proven to be a winner they might have attracted the reality TV crowd. I suspect that wasn't an option with ESPN involved.
Hopefully this time around they won't press on trying to reinvent the wheel and instead will just give the people what they want.
Man vs Nature is a theme as old as the written word and it sells. Look at the new show, Man vs Wild. It's awesome.
If instead of focusing on the 3 teams in the lead they split their coverage among the entire field and seek out the more gripping drama then they'll have a hit.
Bottom line is the mass market doesn't understand AR and isn't likely to care which team they've never heard of wins the race.
Yak, is this race happening or was it just an empty rumor?
Would be nice to know some more facts and see who is organizaing it (Burnett? Fusil? Humpty Dumpty?) before we send in any checks to other races.
C'mon Yak, make them deliver the 411 firsthand. Flex your blogging muscle.
It's happening. Confirmed today that the official announcement is coming very soon as expected.
We're still waiting...
Me too :-)
Can't exactly MAKE them announce anything before they're ready now can I?
I've been re-assured as recently as the end of last week that we're indeed very close.
Down to finalizing last minute details with governmental actors from what I understand.
You'll know as soon as I'm given any more information.
I want to hold off on the 2nd mortgage (to pay the PQ fee) and sign up for this mystery race. That's if they ever come out with any information.
Sounds like someone is spoon-feeding the yakmeister some stinky.
Still waiting.
If they folks I'm talking to are spoon-feeding me some stinky then this will be the best human interest story to hit AR EVER!!!
You can bet your ass I'd replace my homepage with nothing but an in depth account, including the emails.
The blowback on the perpetrators would be epic :-)
I would like to register tomorrow. Hmm exactly who do I contact to do that?
We need to know the scoop, or to see the epic blow back. Who ever these guys are they are making you look silly.
I spoke to them the other day. All they are saying right now is that they hit a delay and news is coming.
From what I understand the issue relates to permits. That's not terribly surprising.
I'm hoping that before too much longer I'll something more definitive to say.
Hey, its September 7th, any word on this "official" race in Western Canada, eh?
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