PQ article from the Billings Gazette

Primal Quest teams off to faster-than-expected start
Posted on June 24
By BRETT FRENCH, Billings Gazette

Teams competing in the Primal Quest Expedition Race trek across a ridge near Lone Mountain during the first leg of the race Monday morning.

PAUL RUHTER, Billings Gazette

BIG SKY -
The top teams in the Primal Quest Montana 2008 endurance race that started here Monday morning were expected to hit their first transition area three to four hours after climbing and descending 11,166-foot Lone Mountain. Instead, they made the 7,300-foot elevation gain and loss in about two-and-a-half hours.The speed surprised race director Don Mann. Asked if he expected such fast course times, he said, “No, no, not at all. Plus, they were going to take their time going up.”Primal Quest is billed as the world’s most challenging endurance competition. Over the next five to seven days, the top four-member co-ed teams are expected to finish the 500-mile event that ascends and descends 100,000 vertical feet while traversing the Gallatin, Bridger and Crazy mountain ranges... see http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/06/24/bnews/br81.txt for the rest of the article