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Entering the race is costly. The fee was $11,000 per team for the Badlands race in August 2009. But, the three winning teams each get more than their entry fee in prize money, plus free entry into the next Primal Quest event. —LF

Primal Quest (www.ecoprimalquest.com).

324

TransRockies Run

Rocky Mountain High

Buena Vista to Beaver Creek, Colorado, U.S.A.

The TransRockies Run through Colorado is no ordinary romp in the park: Participants climb a total of nearly 25,000 feet (7,500m) in elevation over 5 days while averaging 22 miles (35km) each day. The course takes runners through 110 miles (177km) of backcountry trails—most of the course is off-road—and runners can expect to endure the full gamut of Rocky Mountain extreme conditions, including freak snowstorms, torrential rains, thin mountain air, searing heat waves, and below-freezing nighttime temperatures, with the occasional bear, skunk, or mountain lion thrown in. The payoff? Spectacular mountain vistas, great group camaraderie, and the sense of achievement that comes from finishing one of the most well-organized and best-supported running events in the U.S.

The race has six legs, each of which ends in a campsite set up for runners so that at the end of the day they can simply kick off their dirty, well-worn shoes and relax. The route goes through a few small towns as well as through the White River and San Isabel National Forests, crossing countless streams, valleys, and ridgelines along the way. It’s mostly single-track trail running with a few paved trails in between, and plenty of long downhill sections as well as some slow, grinding uphills.

The event has a well-deserved reputation for supporting runners. In addition to plenty of rest and refreshment stops, there are also catered meals, massage and physical therapists, hot showers, lots of great schwag gifts, and evening celebrations including awards ceremonies and video presentations of the day’s run.

Modeled after the TransAlpine running event in Europe, the TransRockies Run has one unusual aspect that makes it a standout among races: It’s a two-person team affair, so participants—who usually must endure the loneliness of the long-distance runner—get more of a group experience from a partner who’s there when they need some encouragement, a swift kick in the butt, or just someone to celebrate with at the end of a grueling day.—ML

TransRockies Run ( 866/373-3376;www.transrockies.com).

When to Go: Aug or Sept; check website for exact dates.

Central Colorado Regional Airport, Buena Vista.

325

Alcatraz Swim

The Great Escape

San Francisco Bay, California, U.S.A.

An early morning fog floats over San Francisco Bay as the 7:45am ferry leaves from Pier 33, close to Fisherman’s Wharf. Destination: the famous citadel known as Alcatraz, 1.5 miles across the water. The former home of Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly is now a national park and recreation center. Yet this particular ferry is not carrying day-trippers or tourists. The hundreds of people who line the deck are planning their own unique escape. They suddenly begin to strip, pulling out yellow swimming caps and squeezing into wetsuits. As the boat pulls up close to the island prison known as “The Rock” they all begin to jump in the water, three and four at a time. A noisy gaggle splashes around in the freezing foam with gulls, cormorants, and egrets flying over ahead. The swimmers tread the water, chatting among themselves and pointing in the direction of the Golden Bridge. A starting horn blows and off they go, swimming frantically toward land.

The distance looks deceptively short. One of the reasons the island was chosen as a prison is because the tides that run around it are treacherous. The strong current pulls people west and can move a floater three miles off course in less than an hour. Swimmers are advised to swim against the tide, focus on their land destination and not on the swimmers ahead as they will end up going way off course and beneath the bridge where they will