Extreme team banks on experience

500 miles in 10 days, with 100,000 feet of total elevation gain

Mountain biking, kayaking, trail running, climbing, riverboarding. More than 500 miles in 10 days, with more than 100,000 feet in total elevation gain.

That's what's in store for a team of veteran expedition racers from the Flathead Valley who will compete in the brutal Primal Quest Montana expedition race at Big Sky starting June 21.

Team Big Sky-Flathead Beacon will be one of 82 teams competing in the race, with the top five teams splitting a $175,000 purse.

Darin and Kristen Fredericks of Bigfork and Andrew Matulionis of Whitefish are reuniting for the first time since 1995, when they competed together in the first Eco-Challenge Race. Missouri resident Thomas Etter was recruited to round out the four-person team.

"It's kind of like a reunion, 13 years later," said Matulionis, 42, a pharmacist in Kalispell who has built an impressive adventure racing resume, mostly in solo competitions. "I decided it's an opportunity that won't come along again. And because it's a major event being held in Montana, I couldn't pass that up."

The Bigfork couple have competed together in several shorter adventure races in recent years, most recently a 36-hour timed race in California called the Gold Rush. Primal Quest is their first long race since the 1998 Eco-Challenge race in Morocco.

Like Matulionis, the Frederickses couldn't pass up what is now considered the world's "most difficult human endurance competition" when it's being held in Montana.

"That's why we're doing it, because it's so close," said Kristen, 39, who runs a Pilates studio. "It's in our back yard, so we felt we have to do it."

The Primal Challenge is in its fifth edition, and according to Matulionis, it has effectively replaced the Eco-Challenge, a competition founded by Mark Burnett, the creator of the "Survivor" television reality series.

This year's Primal Challenge will start and end at Big Sky Resort, involving a looping route through rugged mountain terrain and rivers.

Organizers will not reveal the course until just before the race begins, said Matulionis, who has competed in four Eco-Challenge Races, two Raid Gauloises races and 28 solo "ultra-running" competitions.

"It's going to be tough," he said. "The elevation gain in this race is going to knock out a lot of teams."

Matulionis cites Colorado's Hard Rock 100 race, considered one of the toughest ultra-running races with 37,000 feet of elevation gain. Only half the competitors typically finish the two-day race, he said.

"I don't think people realize how hard 100,000 feet of elevation is going to be," said Matulionis, who speculates a lot of the climbing will be done on mountain bikes, and a lot of the distance will be covered on water, most likely the Gallatin and Madison rivers. Part of the race will involve competitors in wetsuits, coursing through Class III and Class IV rapids on river boards.

"We're in it to do our best and we all feel we can place very well," said Darin Fredericks, 42, a building contractor. "We feel competitive with the top teams that are going to be there. We have enough experience to play smarter these days."

Experience, says Matulionis, will be a major factor in everything from race pacing to navigation to team dynamics.

"You just know what to expect two or three days into the race," he said. "You know how to not run your body into the ground. There are a lot of first-time teams with younger members and they will go out and be in first place for two days and they're done. Teams that are in 40th place halfway through the race sometimes win."

Darin Fredericks has a similar take.

"It seems that older teams do better," he said, adding that experience in working with teammates who will have ups and downs at different times is a big part of expedition racing.

"That's a huge dynamic, just making sure that you are working with your team all the time," he said.

In his racing experience, Matulionis has seen teams fall apart because of tempers and incompatibility.

"There can be teams with personalities that clash, and they are just doomed," he said.

Compatibility played a part in the recruitment of Etter. The Fredericks put out an Internet inquiry for a much shorter race in Utah last year, and Etter was picked for the team.

"He ended up being a great teammate," Darin said. "He was super strong …. and we just clicked well."

Experience in navigating also is important, especially because teams cannot use GPS devices.

"A map and a compass. That's it," said Darin, who likely will share navigating duties with Matulionis. Having two navigators is necessary because of the effects of sleep deprivation. A navigational mistake can put a team off course by miles.

The unpredictable nature of expedition racing can be an equalizer among stronger and weaker teams.

Less than five minutes into last fall's race in California, Kristen slipped on a rock while crossing a creek, bashing her knee badly. The team kept moving, but after nightfall, the minor injury played a part in a decision to withdraw from the race, she said.

"You can have the top five teams from around the world competing … but anything can happen," she said, recalling the 1995 Eco-Challenge in Maine, where she found herself paddling a canoe with a hole in the hull.

She says the length of the Primal Challenge provides a lot of room for mishaps.

"It's a very long race," she said. "But it's funny, the distance isn't freaking me out, because once you're going, you're going. It's more the obstacles and the terrain challenges."

Kristen has concerns about weather: rain, high water or lingering high-elevation snowpack could influence the race.

"We have experience and I'm hoping that will carry us through," she said.

The Fredericks have children, and so does Matulionis, a big change since they last competed together. Back then, the team trained together often, but not now.

"Now we have families and kids and jobs," Matulionis said. "Juggling time has been difficult. We haven't had time to train together really. But we know what we need to do to get ready."

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com