---

Orion Begin 'Prairie Death March'

Team Orion Health / 19.08.2009

For the last 4 days Orion have been racing from the front, with only themselves as company. From the starters pistol they were first off the marathon run first stage, and have continued to build time on the chasing teams ever since. In the very early hours this morning the team reached the end of a grueling paddle stage, where ultra low river levels made for a slow average speed, taking 14 hours to cover a 40 mile section of the Cheyenne River.

The team took the chance to take a decent 3 hour sleep before heading off on the penultimate leg of Primal Quest, a 64 mile trek through the heart of the Badlands. Orion began trekking at 10:30am local time, and have covered 20 miles of the trek stage in ~6 hours , so at the current rate of travel they should be completing the trek around dawn tomorrow.

The team have been really focused on looking after themselves throughout the race, taking 3 hours sleep every night (in a shorter race they would usually take only 1.5-2 hours). Hopefully this will pay off in the final two stages, which will take their toll on some very tired bodies.

The 'Prairie Death March' (as it has been described by some teams!) coming this late in the game will really test the team's ability to look after themselves, especially their feet which have covered a lot of miles already!

Further back, Salomon Crested Butte still have some tracker problems and are not currently showing on the map or leaderboard, but are still in second place we estimate 6-7 hours behind Orion. An exciting battle is taking place behind to round out the Top 5 with Merrell-Zanfel with Kiwi Neil Jones currently holding 3rd position, but being chased hard by Bones and iMoat.

The final stage is a 55 mile mountain bike ride back to the finish line at Rapid City, through what looks set to be some stunning rocky and arid landscapes in the Sage Park Wilderness area.
<br><br>

[<i>You can read more about Team Orion Health and follow their blog on their team website at <a href="#" onClick="javascript:newsitewindow('http://www.orionadventure.com')" class="main">www.orionadventure.com</a>. </i>]

See All Stories On This Race