Adventure racing: McNeil on ‘crazy vacation’

McNeil heads to Black Hills and Bad Lands of South Dakota for the ultimate endurance test.

Adventure racer and Springfield native Mickey McNeil says goodbye to family members who stopped by the Northridge Swim Club to see her before a long training session in preparation for Primal Quest. Primal Quest, the biggest adventure race in North America, takes place in South Dakota beginning Friday.

Staff photo by Barbara J. Perenic Adventure racer and Springfield native Mickey McNeil says goodbye to family members who stopped by the Northridge Swim Club to see her before a long training session in preparation for Primal Quest. Primal Quest, the biggest adventure race in North America, takes place in South Dakota beginning Friday.

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By David Jablonski, Staff Writer 11:15 PM Saturday, August 8, 2009

SPRINGFIELD — Mickey McNeil swam back and forth across the pool. At 8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 6, she had no company in the water at the Northridge Swim Club.

All alone in her Seaquest wetsuit and flippers, she dragged a waterproof pack. Tethered to her back, it floated 6 feet behind her.

McNeil, 45, barely made a ripple or a sound as she coasted back and forth across the 25-meter pool. The life of an endurance athlete consists of countless times like this — calm, controlled, planned workouts in which you know what’s going to happen.

For McNeil, however, this was the calm before the storm. Today she leaves Springfield with her parents, Marty and Don McNeil, for the Black Hills and Badlands of South Dakota. McNeil’s storm, the event that will test her sleep patterns, her feet and just about everything else for the next two weeks, is the Primal Quest.

It’s the 600-mile Super Bowl of North American adventure racing. McNeil, a massage therapist in Springfield and for the Cincinnati Reds, is competing in the event for the fourth time.

“People think I take crazy vacations,” McNeil said.

The race begins Friday, Aug. 14, and continues through Aug. 23. McNeil and her three teammates will hike, run, swim, kayak and ride mountain bikes during the race. There will also be caving and a fixed-line ropes course to test them.

It’s a non-stop race that the best teams will finish in six days.

“My teammates and I would say we don’t like to be DNFers. ‘Did Not Finish’ has never been in my repertoire” McNeil said. “If we can’t finish, it’s going to be either because the team had to make a medical decision or the race director says stop.”

McNeil’s teams have failed to finish in two of the three previous Primal Quests in which she has competed. That experience should help them this year. McNeil said she learns something every time she competes, and her teammates recognize that.

“She’s our most experienced racer,” said Chris Decker, 45, an ER doctor from Milwaukee who also raced with McNeil last year. “She’s able to pick up the loose ends we aren’t thinking about, like hydration and food. When we’re not working together as a team, she gets us redirected.”

McNeil played volleyball and softball and swam as a student at Kenton Ridge High School. She got into adventure racing because she likes the team aspect and the challenge.

“I love triathlons, but in triathlons, you just have to follow a line,” McNeil said. “Here, you have to use a map. You have to gauge your nutrition. I never kayaked before I got into this. I never did any climbing before this. There were activities in life I’d never tried, but because of this, I have.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0351 or djablonski@coxohio.com.

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