Greg Yetter from SleepMonsters.com has written a great race report that can be found here. Alternatively, Chris Webster of The A-List has graciously submitted this wonderful race report below to give us all a sense of what Saturday was like. Photos by Will Ramos will be available soon. Visit www.waramos.com for more info. Enjoy!

Team A List — Chris Webster (The A List™) & Caroline Brosius (Super AR & world class paddler) –represented at the inaugural Primal Quest Sprint Series Adventure Race on May 10, 2008 at Pocahontas State Park, Richmond, Virginia. Short Story: The Richmond Virginia area venue is beautiful and the PQSS format is most excellent.

Details:

On hand for this race was the National PQSS Race Director, Joe Moerschbaecher, who just for fun flipped on The Rain/Wind switch the night before the race which dumped 4”+ of rain on the course and even though the weather was picture perfect on race day the course was wet & wild (read: chest deep stream crossings). Don Mann, Director of Primal Quest and creator of the PQSS gave the race brief and was on board the entire race to ‘encourage’ all the racers. We had a blast running, biking, orienteering, and paddling on mostly all single track trails through the park. The SEAL Team training log pt drills, ropes cargo net and ropes bridge were everything race organizers said it would be – and more! The cargo net obstacle is not for the faint of heart but after racing for almost 6 hours, who would let that stand in the way of a race finish! Just gotta suck it up and get up (and over) the obstacle. And just when we thought we were completely done, the course designers had one more surprise for us, a low crawl through very muddy mud pit! We threw ourselves in with wreckless abandon – finishing in muddy AR style! What a great race!

This race format of a 6 hour adventure race with various disciplines of an adventure race will be used for all Primal Quest Sprint Series Adventure Races nationwide, and of course the stellar race production company of Don Mann & crew leaves no chance of anything but a first class race!

The Primal Quest Sprint Series is a righteous adventure race for everyone ! – Top level ARs can use PQSS races to test gear, team mates, and skills, all the while getting a good 4-6 hours or training in, intermediate ARs will get in some strong training in anticipation for a longer adventure race format, beginner ARs can use this race to finally see what the fuss is all about without committing to a longer race, and those who stick to only sprint ARs will completely dig the PQSS adventure races. The PQSS has trail running/trekking, rideable single track MTB, optional orienteering, paddling, and PT Log drills and a ropes course thrown in for grins and giggles! No navigation is required, but a little nav experience goes a long way in this race format.

I will definitely race as many of the PQSS adventure races as I can get to !

See you at the races!

Photo by Will Ramos

The premiere edition of the Primal Quest Sprint Series (PQSS), www.primalquestsprintseries.com, is now upon us with the first race being held May 10, 2008 in Chesterfield, VA at Pocahontas State Park. This four to six hour multi-sport adventure race presents participants the opportunity to experience the high energy of the sport without the huge time/financial commitment required to tackle a 400+ mile expedition adventure race course. It will challenge the elite level racer with its intensity and introduce the beginner to the world of adventure racing. Two additional 2008 races are scheduled for September 6 at Moraine State Park in PA, and October 10 at the US National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, NC.

The PQ Sprint Series courses will feature many disciplines associated with an expedition length race such as mountain biking, trekking, paddling, and orienteering. In addition, there will also be unique endurance challenges, as well as technical decision making skills. Log PT drills and a ropes obstacle course are unique legs of the race that racers will face.

Click here to read the rest of the article. 

It’s been called one of the most difficult athletic events in the world, and now a little piece of it is coming to the South. Primal Quest is an annual high-profile expedition-length adventure race that finds the toughest competitors shelling out thousands of dollars to tackle some of the toughest terrain in the country. Past events have taken racers into the Utah desert and the remote San Juan Mountains of Colorado for over 400 miles of mountain biking, climbing, trekking, and paddling. But running an event of this magnitude—coverage has included spots on ABC and ESPN—is no easy task, and last year race organizers considered ending the event for good. Suddenly to the rescue came Don Mann, a former Navy SEAL and adventure racing pioneer from Virginia Beach, Va., who formerly owned promotion company Odyssey Adventure Racing, which produced the epic BEAST of the East adventure race. Mann sold Odyssey with no intention of returning to the sport, but out of nowhere, opportunity came knocking.

Read the rest of the article by clicking here. 

Front Royal, Virginia – Production company Race Day Films, LLC announces sponsorship of the Primal Quest Sprint Series.  As a part of sponsorship, Race Day Films will shoot the first ever Primal Quest Sprint Series race on 10 May at Pocahontas State Park, Virginia.

“We are very pleased with our new relationship with Primal Quest,” said Race Day Films founder John Stann.  “The Primal Quest Expedition Adventure Race is heralded as the “World’s Most Challenging Human Endurance Competition”, and I am sure the shorter, faster Primal Quest Sprint Series races will be incredible too.”  “We are also proud to support the Virginia film industry by shooting at Pocahontas State Park,” added Director Kevin Hershberger.

Don Mann, race director of the Primal Quest Expedition Adventure Race and the Primal Quest Sprint Series said, “The Primal Quest Sprint Series offers adventure race teams a wide variety of challenging activities like trail running, mountain biking, and the infamous Navy SEAL log PT.  We are excited that Race Day Films will be there to capture all the challenges and drama in Virginia on May 10^th.  We also invite athletes to participate in our September 6^th Pittsburg, Pennsylvania race and our October 4^th Charlotte, North Carolina race.”

A DVD of the 10 May Primal Quest Sprint Series race can be purchased at a special pre-release price through both www.racedayfilms.net and www.ecoprimalquest.com.  Those DVDs will ship in June 2008.

About Race Day Films

Race Day™ Films provides custom athletic videography of endurance and adventure races.  Other near-term Race Day Films video projects include the Great Chesapeake Bay Bridge Swim on 8 June 2008.  For more information, visit www.racedayfilms.net.

About Primal Quest

Primal Quest® LLC was founded in 2001 with the goal of bringing a world-class, multi-sport expedition race to North America.  The concept of Primal Quest included the fusion of premier television coverage for the event, substantial prize money for the winning teams, and responsible use of back country lands to promote a positive environmental message.  For more information, visit www.ecoprimalquest.com.

Following four successful expedition length races, the Primal Quest organization has launched the first Primal Quest Sprint Series. In 2008, its premiere year, the PQSS will consist of two races, the first on May 10th at Pocahontas State Park just outside of Richmond, VA. Starting next season, the PQSS, with eight races scheduled, will give amateur and elite athletes alike, the opportunity to win a spot in the 2009 Primal Quest Expedition Adventure Race.

Read more of Cory Rosen’s story over at Xtri.com

Grass Roots Racing
Contact: Franky Eyth, Race Director
4925 Penn Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15224 
412-362-2131 

www.rootsrace.com / grassrootsracing@comcast.net 

This year will mark the beginning of a Grass Roots partnership with Don Mann and the Primal Quest team. The latest news in the adventure racing world is about the Primal Quest Sprint Series (www.primalquestsprintseries.com). This recently announced series will take place in three venues this year but will grow to 8-10 venues by next year.

Teams of two–any combination–will race in the standard format of paddling, running, and biking over distances similar to most GRR events. The winner of the series will be given a paid slot in the 2010 Primal Quest expedition race. That’s an over $10,000 value!! 

Of the three venues for this year GRR will be responsible for course design and production of the second 2008 PQSS race-which is to be held at Moraine State Park Portersville, PA on September 6th. For our efforts we have been given several free entries to the PQSS (approximate $250 value each) and will be giving those as prizes to the top overall finisher and to the next top category finisher at each of the GRR series races that take place before the PQSS race on September 6th. 

The first of those races is the SONAR on April 19th. As the first race of a four race series this will be our shortest and fastest of the year. This event will start in the evening and will have some portion raced in darkness. The race will feature a short prologue and will focus on running (approx. 4 miles) and biking (approx. 10 miles) along with climbing and ropes activities. Total duration of the event will be in the three hour range for the middle of the pack. Price for this event is $80 per team. Or, better yet, register your team for the entire four raceGrass Roots Adventure Sprint Series (G.R.A.S.S.) for only $200!

Go to www.rootsrace.com for more race and registration information on this and all of the Grass Roots Racing events.

Last month we teased the arrival of the new Primal Quest Sprint Series (http://www.primalquestsprintseries.com/), a series of shorter, faster, higher energy, adrenaline-fueled sprint races brought to you by the same folks who produce the longer, harder, more intense Primal Quest expedition race.  In February, PQ management announced the dates and locations for the first three events. 

 2008 will see racers, runners, mountain bikers, paddlers, triathletes and any other athlete looking for a challenging and fun experience battling it out at these exciting east coast locations: 

• May 10             - Pocahontas State Park, Chesterfield VA (registration is now open)
• September 6    - Moraine State Park, Pittsburgh, PA
• October 4        - US National Whitewater Center, Charlotte, NC

 In 2009 the Sprint Series expands from three to as many as eight total races. And while management is still working on the dates and locations for ‘09, hosting offers have poured in from more than twenty states and three countries.  Come next year you might find yourself with Primal Quest racing opportunities stretching from Maine to California, Florida to Alaska (and oh yeah, Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica too)! Adding to the excitement is the series’ grand prize.  The individual who earns the most points from the ’08 and ’09 seasons combined wins a FREE entry into the next year’s (2010) Primal Quest expedition race.

 Speaking of the expedition version, Primal Quest Montana is less than 64 days away and the third competitor news letter, released in March, was chock full of details. 

 Course Director Chris Caul brought back notes from a recent scouting trip that included a small glimpse into what the climb sites might have in store for teams,

 We spend a great deal of our time scouting the climb sites with world renowned climbers Jay Smith and Conrad Anker, and are very excited about the addition of free climbing on this near vertical course.  As Jay describes, “The ropes course consists of rappelling, climbing fixed line, 4th and 5th class scrambling/climbing via hand-line, and a 5.5 route section which will require competitors to free climb (required roped free-climbing to Class 5.5).” 

 The full news letter can be viewed on the Primal Quest Montana website (http://www.ecoprimalquest.com/docs/pq-2008-newsletter-03.pdf). 

 And in case these many Primal Quest races are not enough to quench your thirst for competition, Don Mann has one more event up his sleeve for you.  Coming in October 2008 Don Mann Production and Blackwater are teaming up for the 24 – 36 hour long Blackwater Escape & Evasion Adventure Race. Stay tuned to these pages for more information about this new race.

Photo by Will Ramos

• February: Florida
• April: Louisiana
• May: Virginia
• August: Connecticut
• September: Pennsylvania
• October: North Carolina
• November: Georgia

Check back often for more details!!

Photo by John Nantes