Team Kathmandu Takes On Primal Quest

Team Kathmandu Takes On Primal Quest

New Zealand’s Team Kathmandu leaves on August 29 to take part in the Subaru Primal Quest - one of the world’s most gruelling multi-sport adventure events. The team was invited by the organisers and is seeded in the top five.

The Subaru Primal Quest begins on 5th September in the Lake Tahoe area bordering Nevada and California, and will see the best of the world’s adventure racers competing for the US$100,000 first place prize – the world’s largest prize for adventure racing. The 10-day event covers a wide range of disciplines including caving, mountain biking, hiking, rappelling, white water paddling, flatwater paddling, night navigation, orienteering and road biking.

Team Kathmandu will be among 100 teams from around the world, who will navigate through a 650 kilometres course, the details of which are kept secret until race day. Team Kathmandu members are currently training individually in their hometowns, as well as continuing their day jobs and family lives.

Team Kathmandu are: Duncan Hamilton (Hokitika) - team leader Kate Callaghan (Taupo) Chris Morrissey (Whakatane) Richard Ussher (Queenstown)
The two-person support crew are Alexandra’s deputy mayor Tony Lepper and Mike Rowley of Taupo.

The individual records of the competing members illustrate why the team has been seeded in the top five for this year’s Primal Quest.

Duncan has focused on multi-sport over the last few years and is ranked one of New Zealand’s top multi-sport athletes with wins in the veteran men’s section of the Coast to Coast in 2002 and 2003. In the last seven Coast to Coast events, he’s achieved three mixed teams wins, two team seconds and two firsts in the two day individual event. More significantly for Primal Quest, his Southern Traverse record is: 1998 - 1st mixed team; 1999 - 2nd mixed team; 2002 - 2nd mixed team.

Chris Morrissey has NZ first places for the Mount Edgecombe Grunt, the Tongarairo Classic mulit-sport event and the Whakatane 24-hour race, while Richard Ussher took first at the Kepler Challenge Mountain Run in 2002 and the Routeburn Rage Mountain Run for the last two years. Kate Callaghan has won the women’s Longest Day, the Motu Challenge and the Tongarairo Classic.

“The Primal Quest is to adventure racing what the Olympics are to athletics, and with their second place at last year’s Southern Traverse, Team Kathmandu is one of the teams to watch at this endurance event,” says Kathmandu’s Mark Williamson. “Kathmandu’s support includes getting them to the event and providing the clothing and equipment they need so the team can concentrate on winning and showing that NZ is still the leading nation of adventure racers.”

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