One More Primal Quest Blog

Primal Quest-Montana ended yesterday. The final team crossed the finish line at 1:25 pm. The awards ceremony started at 3:30, so we headed down to watch. Of the 84 teams who started the race 9 days ago, only 43 finished the 548-mile course. The "walking wounded" were all around us, many of them limping with noticeably enlarged feet and legs.


The pure grit and determination of these athletes are very evident. But, one team was particularly inspirational. The second-place team, Team Merrell-Zanfel is a team of seasoned adventure racers, and team captain Robyn Benincasa is the self-described "mother" of the team. Robyn, 40, has been racing since 1990, completing 9 Ironman races and 36 "expedition length" (7-10 day nonstop multisport) adventure races, often medaling in both. All of this while holding down her full-time job as a firefighter for the City of San Diego, and a member of the only all-female fire crew in the US.

This year was particularly tough for Robyn. 10 months ago, as a result of previous injuries, she had a total hip replacement. She had serious doubts about racing

with a "fake hip," wondering if her time had come to just quietly fade away. But, she decided she couldn't feel good about stopping without giving it one more try. So, she rehabbed her hip and started training again last January, and put together a team that she totally credits for their second-place finish. And, she says, that she will race again as long as the team is willing to "put up" with her.

Robyn says that whether you come in first, second or last is not the point. The meaningful reward is the personal change that takes place inside each individual racer as they complete the course. For her, getting to the starting line this time was just as meaningful as getting to the finish line.

She reminds me of a quote from one of my favorite marathon mentors, John Bingham -
"The miracle is not that you finished, but that you had the courage to start."

Life is an adventure!