Musing and Errata on the world of Adventure Racing from the Yak
presented by MPGear.com

An email last night from Primal Quest, LLC puts all the rumors to rest:

Our sincere apologies for not officially communicating with everyone sooner regarding the status of the next Primal Quest Expedition Adventure Race.

Since the conclusion of Primal Quest Utah, we have been diligently trying to make arrangements to enable the race to take place in 2007 and beyond. As you know, PQ is a complex undertaking that requires substantial planning, financing and partnerships in order to maintain the high quality standard that PQ is known for. We realize placing the event on hold affects the racing community to a great degree, but please know we are continuing to explore every option in staging the expedition in the future and appreciate all the input we've received.

On behalf of our entire team, we sincerely appreciate your support and wish you success in the upcoming racing season.

UPDATE: I checked with Yoda (PQ's public relations guru, Gordon Wright) this morning to see if I could glean any additional insight:

"You'd be the first one to know if we'd bitten the dust, but your pessimism isn't neccessarily warranted. PQ is so big and intricate that it isn't a truly annual event - as those of you who were racing in 2005 will remember. It's also an expensive race to produce in the manner in which we've traditionally done, so we're taking every opportunity to develop the resources needed to stage the race."

EMS and GPMS tied for first with Bill Jackson AR, TravelCountry.com and Checkpoint Zero / GoLite rounding out the top five. Details at CheckpointTracker.com.

Our support crew got a few shots of the team in action (thanks Lisa).

This race was the first in the Checkpoint Tracker National Points series. Look the first series points distribution to be posted once official results are released by WeCeFar.

The United States Adventure Racing Association is proud to present the 2007 Collegiate Nationals Adventure Race. On April 15th, 2007 top competitors will converge on Reno, Nevada to represent their Universities and battle it out for bragging rights as the collegiate national champions. Two member teams will mountain bike, trail run and paddle their way to victory. Categories will include coed, male & female. This event will be televised on CSTV.

"...apparently people in West Virginia have not yet learned about the refreshing joys of soft-drinks, as [we were] repeatedly told that all they had was beer. (I stopped drinking coca-cola when I was 16Â?...was the quote of the race from a 70 year-old man sitting on his porch.)" Read more of Kyle Fedler's FIX05 race report ...

"OMG...there was actually ONE flat section in WV...who knew??...and then we turned off the highway and started to climb again. And we climbed non-stop...for 8 miles..." Read more of Karin Richard-Jacobi's race report ...

"We did lose the trail at one point and pushed our bikes around in a field looking for the pick up point. At this point we scared a few partying frat boys silly. They came out to see what was going on and when we finally called to them to see if they knew of the road we were looking for, they informed us that they thought they were seeing sea serpent and had come out to decide what they needed to do!" Read more of Kristen Dieffenbach's race report ...

Checkpoint Zero is seeking volunteers to man checkpoints at the upcoming Checkpoint Zero Adventure Race presented by GoLite in Helen, GA the weekend of March 23rd-24th.

If you're new to the sport, curious about the sport or a long time racer who's sitting this one out, we'd love to have your help and we're sure you'll have a great time.

Please complete the online Volunteer Registration form to sign-up.




All volunteers will be provided the following:

• Lodging on Friday and Saturday night (unless you're camping at a CP) in one of two 3-bedroom cabins across the street from the Unicoi Lodge
  
  
• A GoLite hat or visor (the new 2007 model :-)
  
  
• A dead sexy Checkpoint Zero t-shirt
  
  
• A pair of Merrell Overdrive adventure racing shoes
  
  
• A meal ticket to the pasta dinner Friday night before the race briefing
  
  
• The enduring love and affection of Yak for the rest of his natural life

For more information visit the official race site or send email to race@checkpointzero.com.