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The day started with a fog that was thick enough to obscure the surrounding mountains but not thick enough to mask the apprehension in the air. Team Career Builder.com spent many hours last night pouring over maps and charting the course- so many hours that I was beginning to wonder if they decided to map the entire state of Montana as well! One thing can be said, no one will ever be able to say our team failed to prepare!
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Pre-race jitters filled the morning air……”did I train enough?”…….. “will the altitude do me in?”……. “what exactly are those majestic mountains waiting to shell out?” But the apprehension slowly began to turn to excitement as the fog began to lift.
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The teams gathered at the starting line. A shot was fired and the echoing gunshot warned the mountains that the teams accepted their challenge and with that Primal Quest 2008 officially began!
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Career Builder.com wasted no time letting the other teams that they were a force to be reckoned with. They started (and are still going) strong…. by check point 3 they were in 11th place out of over 80 teams and it is becoming clear that Team 49 has the potential to do extremely well in the most difficult race in the world! Today has been filled with trekking and at the time of this writing they have already covered nearly 50 miles.Â
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After a warm meal consisting of baked beans, ramen noodles and… pickles
the team will face the next challenge of nearly 30 miles of river boarding in icy waters. I have attached some pictures of the team just before the race start.Â
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As each of you crawl into your warm and toasty beds, send warm thoughts to our determined crew as they venture through the dark night.
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Until tomorrow…..
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Sheridan
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During the minimal time we have to find access to a WiFi network it is much easier to use an automated process to post pictures to Flickr instead of the blog. Â You can find the latest pics from the support crew on flickr here.
The team is doing well. Â We just saw them off from TA4. Â Everyone was thrown from their boats during the Duckie section. Â Ivy tells us there is some incredible HD footage from when she and Tom were shot out of the boat. Â The river was closed just as the team was strategizing about the riverboard section and we shuttled them to TA4 where they refueled and were off.
Their feet are definitely tender so they’re not moving as fast as they’d like but everyone is in good spirits and they thank everyone for sending them good vibes.
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Team Careerbuilder.com would like to thank Careerbuilder.com for their generous support which has enabled our team to reach the starting line of Primal Quest Montana this year. Without their financial support, our team would be woefully under-prepared in terms of gear!
Thank you to Elk Grove Graphics for their assistance with our team kit design and their tremendous support.
Thank you to Jody and the great folks at Greenfish Adventure Sports. When PQ threw us a curve ball and required snowshoes as mandatory gear, Greenfish Adventure Sports stepped up to the plate and express shipped our lightweight, Atlas Race snowshoes to us in plenty of time for a quick test romp through the snows of the Utah mountains before the race start. Thanks for the t-shirts guys! We will wear them proudly!
We would also like to thank Karan Estee and the Utah Kayak School. Karan went above and beyond, sharing her knowledge and skills, and hooking us up with some sweet gear!
In addition, a huge thank you goes out to the folks at Comprehensive Sports Orthopedics and University of Utah Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation for bringing Ivy from ACL reconstruction surgery to the starting line of Primal Quest in 15 months.
Lastly, we wanted to express our deep appreciation to all of our friends and family who have supported us during our training. It has been a year-long journey filled with hard work, emotional and physical struggles, and much much money spent on gear, training, racing and more gear. You are the reason we all made it to the start and we can’t wait to see you at the finish!
Team Careerbuilder.com is:
Brad Brozek - Navigator and fearless leader. Trekking pace keeper.
Tom Giese - Paddle God. Biking King. Overall Stud. Otherwise known as Hot Tom.
Michael Wollpert - Strongman. Race junkie. Fashion consultant.
Ivy McIver - The Girl. Team entertainment.
Support Crew:
Chuck Clark - Support Crew Chief. Veteran Adventure Racer. Team Photographer and GPS consultant.
Sheridan Chilcote - Master Chef. Legal Representation.
Jean Marasigan - Team Barista. Outdoor lover.
Team Careerbuilder.com is looking forward to the fabulous scenery, snowy mountains, and siiiick whitewater that awaits for Primal Quest Montana, 2008!!
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