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where are they now?Barry SiffAWM: What was your proudestachievement during your racingcareer?While we had a great manyaccomplishments, achievements,and highlights, I would have tosay our top 10 finish at the 2000Raid Gauloises in Tibet and Nepalmust rank at the top. Until thefinal night, when another team ofAmericans passed us, we werethe highest ranked US team everat the Raid. We still ended upas the second US team, and itwas a remarkable race.AWM: What are you doing now thatyou are retired from competitiveracing?Shortly after I retired in 2003,I reacquainted myself with thesport of triathlon, and morphedMountainQuest Adventures into5430 Sports, www.5430 Sports.com.Since that time, 5430 has grownto be a major multi-sport eventmanagement company, and I havegotten back into racing triathlons(mostly Ironman races).AWM: If you were still racing...what event would be a must doin 2008?I think I would go down to CostaRica and do their Coast-to-Coast.I have spent quite a bit of timedown there – even got marriedthere – and I think it would bea cool race. I would not want torace in the United States; as quitehonestly, the allure of the sport wasalways the travel and explorationinvolved in the classic races.AWM: Summary of race history?I started racing in 1998 as a fillinfor a missing team memberat a 24 hour race in Colorado. Iwas hooked and did Don Man’sfirst “Beast of the East” that sameyear. In the years that followedLiz Caldwell (my business, training,and race partner, and I competedin Expedition Races in over 20different countries. While neverwinning the race outright, we werealways one of the more recognizedand respected teams – probablydue to our age (older)and notbeing superstar athletes like manyof our competitors. We also coauthoredone of the first books onthe sport, “Adventure Racing – theUltimate Guide.” MountainQuestAdventures, the company Liz and Ifounded in 1998, also put on some ofthe earliest 24 hour adventure races,as well as camps for beginners.AWM: When did you compete inyour first AR? Where? How didyou do?As I mentioned, I was playing hostto Team Toy Soldiers from NewJersey at a race in Colorado in May,1998. When one of there teammateshad a family emergency the eveningbefore the race. The team asked ifI would fill in. I had never put on aclimbing harness, paddled or rodea bike at night. I jumped in and hadan absolutely amazing experience.We finished pretty well (I believe7 th or 8 th ). And I was hooked.AWM: What was your favoritething about racing?Besides seeing some of the mostamazing places in the world andlearning about so many differentcultures, it was all about the teamexperience. Liz and I did everyrace together, but would selectdifferent team members for allof our races. The team aspect ofthe sport was certainly one of thethings I enjoyed and appreciatedthe most. We were blessed to beable to race and play with someabsolutely awesome people.AWM: Why did you retire fromcompetitive AR?Actually, all four members ofthe team that raced Primal Questin Tahoe retired following thatrace. While each of our reasonsand circumstances were slightlydifferent, I believe it stemmedfrom recognizing a change in thedirection of the sport. It had become– to us – more about racing versusContinued on page 34Adventure World Magazine July 200824