Before the race festivities begin, I'd like to share the results of my interview with team WEDALI (We Eat Dust And Like It).  WEDALI's a pretty hard-core team - not only did they cross the line at the 2009 Primal Quest, but they were one of the first 5 to do so.

Joanna: I’ve been told you finished top 5 at the last Primal Quest.  What were your most memorable experiences at that race?  General strategy?

Justin: We had a pretty good showing at PQ and the race came together well for us in the end. One of the best things for our team was having our two non-racing teammates come to pre-race to get us off on the right foot. They really took care of us and helped with maps and gear before the race.  Secondly, our friends, family, and fellow adventure racers that supported us before, during, and after the race - I think we all felt so lucky to have such an awesome "support crew" - our 5th teammate.  Much of the race is a haze, but we definitely got off-track Nav-wise two times that put us to the test. One time on a not-so-awesome night bike-whack and the other on day 6 or so after a serious lack of sleep caught up with us. Some other brief memories.... Running a marathon and O-section of ~40 miles to start the race. Spending $45 on late-night munchies at a 24-hour gas station, sleeping three hours, getting a CP, then spending $35 on breakfast munchies at the same gas station. Death wish prairie chicken flying into Biz's face while biking to the reservoir. Fish jumping into our boat on the river paddle. Pooping in a bag. Getting bloody noses while biking/trekking. Erl chasing Buffalo. Jason seeing "farm machinery" in the tall grass. Andrea kicking ass Day 7. Sleeping in O2 Rainwear every night for a week. The Badlands at dawn. Getting three flat tires less than 2 hours from the finish. Crossing the finish line!

Joanna: Word on the street is that you start slow and finish hard.  How true is this?  What’s your reasoning since many teams choose to start hard and ease up to hold their place through out the race.

Justin: By "start slow" do you mean "not making it to the starting line on time?" Because that never happens.... Except earlier this year at LBL. And maybe a few other races.... Ha! Seriously though, we generally try to keep an even/consistent pace throughout the entire race. One of our general mottos is to "Race Smart, Race Steady." We know that at certain points we'll have to push hard, but doing so at the beginning of the race can definitely put the team into the hurt locker quick. By maintaining a steady pace, it might be an illusion of racing "hard" even though we might just be moving slightly faster relative to other teams. That being said, we always give a race everything that we've got, all the way to the end.

Joanna: Do you have any interesting stories / general facts you'd like to share about your team?

Justin: We Eat Dust And Like It first came together in 2003 with 4 members looking to complete the Minnesota Adventure Racing Series. In 2010, WEDALI kicked off our 8th season of adventure racing with 6 teammates from Minnesota and Iowa. We have a few alums now, but we think of it like a rock band - keeping a solid crew together for the long haul is challenging and rare, but your teammates are the most important decision of the entire race. We all bring different skills and strengths to the group, we all have different jobs with everyone seeing the big picture, and our number one priority is a commitment to the team over self. We never give up on each other and we pull together when things get tough. Rally Skittles help too.... Taste the Rainbow.

Our team is below:

• Jason Nielsen (Battle Creek, IA) - Jason. Married to Andrea. Three kids: Summit, Denali, and Kenai. Increased the team's average height by 5 inches. Rides a 29er like he stole it. Drinks whole milk. Mooo.
• Molly Moilanen (Minneapolis, MN) - Mo Money. Married to Biz. Sings while paddling to stay awake. Likes long treks on the beach. Considers AR teammates and friends more valuable than gold.
• Justin Bakken (Minneapolis, MN) - Biz. Married to Mo. VP of MNOC. Teetotaler. Working toward a Masters in Adventure Racing (GIS). Decent at all disciplines, especially eating and sleeping. Can time travel. Can time travel.
• Non-racing teammates include Scott "Erl" Erlandson, Scott "Scooter" Lund, and Andrea Nielsen.