Endurance athletes start 520 mile trek with run from the gondola

Imagine taking part in a race that you don't know when it starts, you don't know where to go or what you'll be doing at what time.

But, you need to be prepared for everything and pack accordingly.

That is exactly what 44 athletes are doing this week with Primal Quest 2015, a 520 mile race that involves running, orienteering, rock climbing, kayaking and biking. The 11 teams each made of four people started Wednesday at top of the gondola in South Lake Tahoe, then made their way down the hill for a 6.61 mile run to Lakeside Beach where they kayaked 5.92 miles to Cave Rock. There they got onto bikes and headed to the top of Spooner Summit where they got onto the Tahoe Rim Trail.

They will then mountain bike all the way to Kirkwood where they'll get off the bikes and doing orienteering over to Bear Valley. The rest of the event includes climbs up Lover's Leap at Strawberry and Calaveras Dome. At all times the team members must stay no more than 100 yards apart.

The teams have ten days to complete all of the events which means most of them will only sleep about two hours a day according to race director David Egbert. "You have to be ready for anything," he said.

Adventure racing began in New Zealand in the 1980s, moved to North America in 2002 and now is back in Lake Tahoe for the second time.

Engbert, who is from Placerville, helps his wife Maria Burton who is the brain child of the event. They have 15 paid members of their staff as well as 41 volunteers to make sure all runs smoothly.

Part of the volunteer staff includes medical staff from Barton Health. Dr Stephen Bannar, one of Barton Health’s orthopedic surgeons, is Primal Quest’s co-medical director. He was on board a pontoon boat during the kayaking segment along with Khristy Gavigan, a Barton RN and Nurse Kat from Grass Valley. Gavigan is the sports coordinator for sporting events that Barton participates in.

On Wednesday, the first team to make it to the beach was Team Bones, followed by Team GODZone from New Zealand. People can follow their progress via a GPS map on their website. Since the athletes will be traveling through the middle of the night, at press time of 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, Team Bones from the US is still in first place following by Team GODZone. They are crossing over Kingsbury Grade on the Tahoe Rim Trail.

The race has a total of 66,000 in vertical climb and 69,000 in vertical drop.

The Hard Rock Hotel is serving as the race's base of operations. "All of the agencies, Heavenly Valley and Hard Rock have been great to work with," said Engbert.