We have less than two weeks until the start and we are going through final gear checks and logistics. In the time between, the Texas folk have been spending their spare time rappelling and ascending bridges within the greater Houston area (yep, no mountains here).  We are all very excited for the adventures to come and are already planning our strategies of how to get the other person to tow. I can’t believe that the time is almost here–it seems just like yesterday when I unexpectedly got an email from Dawn and I quickly called Tommy to tell him the exciting, yet disurbing news. Now we are here, with our awesome support crew of Mo (my fiancee) and Steve Shrader (Phil’s Dad), ready to take on the snow-capped mountains of Montana. Thanks goes out to all those out there supporting us, most notably Rick Sanders and Weihan “Warship” Lin of HART and fellow Houstonites, MOAT. I may have a brief moment to blog once up there, but if not make sure to keep track of us at www.ecoprimalquest.com!!

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The members of HART/Marmot have been hard at training since last fall, which includes taking some time to do some racing. Back in January, the Texas contingent (Tommy and Kenny) raced in the Too Cool Racing Big Chill 24hr held in and near Bastrop State Park, taking the 2-male division. They also participated in the Texas Independence Relay in March, a 200+ mile relay commemorating, yes, Texas Independence. And this past weekend, they participated in the Spread Your Wings 24hr, but unfortunately had to drop out during the 2nd to last leg due to another teammate falling ill.

Wendy has also been playing in the outdoors and recently participated in the TrackMe360 Training Race at Mt. Diablo, CA. This training race series is unique in the way that the teams are tracked and ranked–they can start the race at any time and any day during the month of May and ranking is done by use of SPOT Satellite Personal Messengers to track your progress. So far, Wendy’s team is in 2nd overall! The SPOT system will also be used for live tracking during Primal Quest.

Phil has been busy racing up in Michigan, snatching 3rd place in the solo male division for the Infiterra March Madness 6hr Race. In early May, he ran the Dances with Dirt - Gnaw Bone 50 miler and placed 2nd in his division. More recently, he raced the BreakOut 24hr race this past weekend, taking 3rd.

Stay tuned for updates as we march on closer to Primal Quest Montana!

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So HART/Marmot finally met up as a team in Moab for Camp Xstream to get all of our Primal Quest certifications out of the way. In the process, we were treated to wonderful scenery, awesome riding at Slickrock, interesting paddling training on the Colorado, and dramatic ascending, rappelling, traversing, and self-rescue activities near Porcupine Rim! As I always say, I will report more later, but we all know how well I’ve been at doing that lately…I have a queue the size of Texas! Anyway, I’ll certainly try to catch up, but the housewarming party this weekend will most likely take my full attention.

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Team HART/MARMOT is composed of four seasoned adventure racing and endurance athletes from across the country. Each team member brings talents and skills that will be put to the test this June during Primal Quest Montana, a 10-day expedition length race in the Gallatin Forest Area.

Kenny Farrow, 34, has been adventure racing since 2003. Kenny began competing in orienteering, road/mountain biking, triathlon, duathlon, inline skate, and running races shortly thereafter. Kenny is an active member of the Houston Adventure Racing Team (HART). Kenny completed his bachelor’s degree in Structural Engineering at Gonzaga University, then went on to the University of Notre Dame and graduated with a master’s and a doctorate. He now serves as an Associate for Stress Engineering Services, a specialized engineering firm.

Philip Shrader, 39 years old, is a member of the Southern Michigan Adventure Club (SMAC). Phil competes in adventure races, marathons and endurance trail running races. Phil has been adventure racing since 2005 and is a skilled navigator. Phil lives in Michigan and works at Shrader Laboratories, an analytical laboratory that specializes in environmental testing and problem solving for automotive suppliers. Phil works on computers programming software that controls the analytical instrumentation. When not racing, Phil can be found skiing, hunting, working around the house, or enjoying time with his wife and two daughters. Phil holds a bachelors of science degree in environmental studies and a masters of science in parks and recreation from Michigan State University.

Born and raised in Houston, Tommy Fuchs, 30, currently works at General Electric as a Turbine Repair Technical Planner. Early years of hunting trips sparked an interest in outdoor activities. Adventure Racing caught Tommy’s eye after watching an Eco-Challenge. Tommy started adventure racing a few months after joining HART in the spring of 2004. Distance paddling is Tommy’s strong point and he knows which way is north.

After a successful 2005 season finishing close behind Team Revo and other top teams, Wendy Welling, 40, refocused on longer races. An outdoor enthusiast, Wendy has worked with Pearl Izumi, Rock and Ice, Atomic Ski and Teva in the past and now is launching her own product. Before moving to Santa Rosa, CA, Wendy lived in Colorado for 12 years with most of that time in Summit County and Vail. She worked as a backcountry guide, winter and summer guiding the tenth mountain division hut to hut system between Vail and Aspen. Wendy has great endurance when it comes to running, is a strong biker, and is good when it comes to orienteering. More importantly, Wendy is a very dependable individual: a leader, always motivating her team and encouraging camaraderie, looking out for the team’s nutritional needs, and very well organized with the team’s gear.

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