Ben, Tom, and Jasper of Team Peak Pursuit join the show just hours after their finish at Expedition Oregon. In this Flash Episode, they recount their journey, how their preparation, teamwork, and communication helped along the way, and how much they have grown to love adventure racing. How did they do in the race? Give a listen to find out.
Thank you to Adventure Addicts Racing (https://www.adventureaddictsracing.com/) for sponsoring this episode of The Dark Zone: An Adventure Racing Podcast. Adventure Addicts offers a wide variety of events in Maryland and Virginia. Keep an eye out for information about their next race, The Buff Betty, coming this September 24, 2022.
The Dark Zone: An Adventure Racing Podcast 
Hey! I was pretty disappointed by this interview. After thinking about it this past week I finally decided that it is important to let you know why I feel this way.
I was a little thrown off when the fourth teammate of Peak Persuit was not mentioned in the intro (I’m always looking forward to hearing about the lady racers!) but didn’t think much of it at first. However the longer the interview ran, the more I started to question the lack of reference to the fourth (and female) team member. I could understand that she wasn’t part of the interview, but it was as if she wasn’t with them the entire race! It wasn’t until the last 3 minutes that Ashlie and Elora were mentioned.
You have interviewed Chelsey Magness and many other strong AR women. I have heard the concept of women as ‘mandatory gear’ referenced on the Dark Zone podcast. With the Mandatory Gear doc recently released, awareness of this concept is a hot topic in the AR world right now. I was really surprised that you, as a host, did not guide the converstation toward acknowledging the fourth team member before the last 3 min. I also thought that your comment regarding the “bar” being low to be a member of Peak Pursuit’s team was both hurtful to Ashlie (and Elora), and harmful to the greater female AR community. Sure, “work hard, have fun, be ready go to” are important, but your comments really left me thinking of the ‘mandatory gear’ theme (that I had grown hopeful we could leave behind), with little acknowledgement of the other qualities that Ashlie brought to the table that contributed to the team’s success on the course.
Based on the other episodes, I know that your intentions are in the right place. I am just writing in hopes that this might provide some perspective so that your actions and questions align with your intentions next time.
š Nicole
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